Saigon is the old name of Ho Chi Minh city. Saigon is also the name of a fantastic river flowing through the city. This river gave birth to the Saigon - Cholon port and the most buoyant riverside city in Southeast Asia in the early eighteenth century. Today Ho Chi Minh City with a population of about 6 million is the largest city in Vietnam and one of the three biggest municipalities in the country (the others being Hanoi and Hai Phong).