Cho Lon Market In Ho Chi Minh City Editorial Photo

Cho Lon is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.Cholon was incorporated as a city in 1879, 11 km from Saigon. By the 1930s, it had expanded to the city limit of Saigon. On 27 April 1931, Cholon and the neighbouring city Saïgon were merged to form a single city called ‘Saïgon–Cholon’; ‘Cholon’ was dropped from the citys official name in 1956 after Vietnams independence from France in 1955. The official name ‘Saïgon–Cholon’, however, never entered everyday vernacular and the city continued to be referred to as ‘Saïgon’. During the Vietnam War, soldiers and deserters from the United States Army maintained a thriving black market at Cholon, trading in various American and especially U.S Army-issue items. This was the area, near the Quan Âm Pagoda where photojournalist Eddie Adams took his famous execution photograph.