Districts & Neighborhoods In Ho Chi Minh City
The city has the status of a municipality in Vietnam equivalent to that of provinces, which is made up of 24 districts.
These are 5 rural districts (comprising an area of 1,601 km2 or 618 sq mi), designated as rural (huyện)
These consist of 19 urban districts (with a land area of 494 km2 or 191 sq mi), which are designated urban or suburban (quận)
5 commune-level towns and/or townlets; there are also about fifty-eight communes and two hundred fifty-nine wards.
Củ Chi district
Củ Chi is a rural area in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This came from the old Mon-Khmer words Tonle Sre (which means “river of rice-field”) or Sre (“rice field”).
Cu Chi Base Camp was home to the 269th Aviation Battalion of the US Army during the Vietnam War that began in 1967.
Its famous Cu Chi tunnel, which were constructed during Vietnam war and served as Viet Cong’s headquarters. Today, there are several industrial parks located in this area.
The population was 355,822 people in 2010.There is an approximate surface area of 435 km2. Cu Chi town serves as the capital of this district.
Within it, there is one city – Cu Chi City (also known as a district capital) and twenty communes.
Hóc Môn district
In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam has a suburb called Hóc Môn. During 2010, this included approximately 358,640 inhabitants spread across an entire territory measuring 109 square kilometers.
District Hóc Môn borders District Củ Chi to the north; Bnh Dương province to the east; District 12 to the south and Bình Chánh and Bình Tân districts to the west.
From between1698 and1731 Vietnamese from central and northern parts fled into Hòc Môn because they wanted to escape frequent wars between Nguyễn and Trịnh. It was still a wilderness with roaming wild animals such as tigers. The new settlers named it Hoc Mon meaning ‘the alley at taro’ due its aboundance of taros grown in its swampy places.In1885,the18 Betel Nut Gardens saw an uprising take place here..
Hóc môn has an intersection known as Giồng T-road junction where many French death squadrons shot dead anticolonial captives among whom were Phan Đăng Lưu, Hà Huy Tập, Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, Võ Văn Tần and Nguyễn Văn Cừ on 28 August 1941.
In April 1997, seven communes split to form District 12: Thạnh Lộc, An Phú Đông, Tân Thới Hiệp, Đông Hưng Thuận, Tân Thới Nhất, a piece of Tân Chánh Hiệp and a piece of Trung Mỹ Tây.
Hóc Môn District currently comprises the Hóc Môn Town (thị trấn Hóc Môn) plus eleven communes (xa).
Bình Chánh district
Bình Chánh is a rural district in Vietnam located at the southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. Urbanization has caused the number of people living in Bình Chánh to increase more than any other area within the city. By 2018, there were 680,000 inhabitants in this district. Its overall square extent measures 253 km2. The metropolitan center of this district is situated at Tan Tuc.
District Bình Chánh borders District 8, District Bình Tân, District Hóc Môn, and District Nhà Bè.
Nhà Bè district
Nhà Bè is a peripheral part of Ho Chi Minh City which is the biggest city of Vietnam by population. In 2010 it had an area of 100 km2 and its population was 103,793.
District 7 borders Nhà Bè on the north, Long An province on the south, Đồng Nai province on the northeast, Cần Giờ district on the southeast, and Bnh Chánh district on the west.
Nhà Bè district consists of Nhà Bè town and six communes.
Cần Giờ district
Cần Giờ is a seaside suburb of Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam’s Southeast region.
The distance between this region and Ho Chi Minh City centre is about fifty kilometers. As per data compiled for that time period, Can Gio occupied an aggregate land space (704 sq km) with a total number of residents (70,697) consisting mostly ethnic Kinh (80%) as well as Khmer Krom and Cham peoples. The UNESCO recognized Cần Giờ Mangrove Forest represents a biosphere reserve or a cultural heritage site.
On its northern side is Nhà Bè commune while Tiền Giang Province stretches along its western border; Dong Nai Province lies due east of it; and Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province is southward facing, lined by the East Sea. The western boundary of the district is marked by the Soai Rap River, which can now be accessed via the Binh Khanh Ferry Terminal and which will soon have a new bridge connecting to Can Gio.
The Cần Giờ district consists of Cần Thạnh and six communes.
District 1
Located in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, District 1 (Quận 1, Quận Một or Quận Nhất) serves as an important city center. This district had a total area of 7.7211 km2 (2.9811 sq mi) and a population of 204,899 according to figures from 2010 census. This unit is divided into ten subgroups known as wards (phường). Most offices for administrative purposes in the city are found here; consulates too are located here, as well as other major buildings. With its higher population density and prosperity District 1 remains one of the most up-market areas within Saigon. These two streets form Ho Chi Minh City’s primary business district: Đồng Khởi street and Nguyễn Huệ boulevard in District 1 respectively. The property market on Đồng Khởi street reached $50,000 per square meter in value at that time.
Districts were created on May 27th1959 including districts one through eight besides three others remaining under HCMC’s jurisdiction today. In those days though they were fewer with their name still standing originally for historical characters such as Ben Nghé Ward later changed to Trần Quang Khải Ward), Hòa Bình Ward,, Tự Đức Ward etc., which made up old District I whereas its counterpart was smaller when compared to present-day equivalent having been divided into seven wards, including Bến Thành, Bùi Viện, Cầu Kho, Cầu Ông Lãnh, Huyện Sĩ, Nguyễn Cảnh Chân and Nguyễn Cư Trinh. The two districts were then combined into one which is District 1 today in May 1976.
District 1’s population is 204,899 out of Ho Chi Minh City’s total population of 7,162,864. The district has an area of 7.7211 km2 (2.981 sq mi). The population density of the district is 26,538 people per square kilometer (68,730/sq mi), which is much higher than that of Ho Chi Minh City at large (3,419/km2 (8,860/sq mi)) and Vietnam itself (259/km2 (670/sq mi).
Ho Chi Minh District one occupies a central place within the confines of Ho Chi Minh City. To its north are Bình Thạnh District and Phú Nhuận District through Thị Nghè canal while to the west it shares boundaries with District 3 through Hai Bà Trưng street and Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai street; To its east it borders Thủ Đức city via the Saigon River; Its southwestern boundary with District five is formed by Nguyễn Văn Cừ street while its southern limit is common with district four separated by Bến
District 1, also known as Saigon CBD or Little Tokyo for Vietnamese , is a financial center in Vietnam. It houses Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange and many multinational banks’ branches like HSBC, ANZ, Standard Chartered Citi JPMorgan Chase Bank of China Maybank etc. In addition to being home to a concentration of retail complexes that play host to luxury brands throughout the world; this makes it Vietnam’s best shopping spot.
During the outbreak of COVID-19 in Vietnam tourists had been barred from entering into District One hence causing financial distress for many restaurants bars clubs hotels.
Some famous landmarks in district one include: Notre Dame Cathedral Municipal theatre Central Post Office People’s Committee headquarters Phạm Ngũ Lão Street The Presidential Palace Museum of Art Majestic Hotel Tao Dan Park and Rex Other than these, most of District one’s roads built and designed after 1946 were done by the French. However, the buildings that are still standing today and were built after French colonial rule ended have all been recently renovated.
The highest skyscraper in town up to January 2016 was Bitexco Financial Tower which is a symbol of modernism with some cultural influences. Besides, Bùi Viện street and Nguyễn Huệ street are also frequently visited tourist sites.
Moreover, Landmark 81 has become another feature since 2018; further, it is currently the tallest structure in the city.
District 3
The third district is an urban area in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam.
Just like district one, district 3 is the heart of the city with numerous businesses as well as religious places, history sites and tourist spots.
In December 1920, it became one of Saigon’s first districts.
This district covers an area of 5km2, bordered by Districts One, Ten and Tan Binh.
The Xa Loi Pagoda situated here is the biggest pagoda in the city. Other than that there is also Vinh Nghiem Pagoda which can be found here. In this part of town are many French styled villas. Important offices in District Three include the Royal Thai Consulate (77 Tran Quoc Thao).
It has been split into fourteen wards called Ward 1 to Ward 14 respectively.
As at 2010 it had a population of approximately one hundred and eighty-eight thousand nine hundred and forty-five people.
District 4
It is located on a triangular island and delineated by water bodies: The Saigon River and Thu Duc city to its north-east; Ben Nghe River and District One to its north-west; while Te Canal and District Seven limit it off from the south side.
District Four has fifteen wards in total.
District Four is surrounded by waterways as it looks like a triangle. Northeastwardly lies Saigon River which divides Distrist4 with Thủ Đức City but towards northwest we find Ben Nghe river separating Distict I from Disricrt IV and on southern side there is Te Canal dividing District IV from District VII .
Its entire territory measures four square kilometers while for that same year; two thousand ten, its population stood at one hundred eighty three thousand two hundred sixty-one residents!
Over time some massive apartment blocks have been built within this place including Rivergate Residence Millenium Galaxy Nine Icon 56 etc.
District 5
This district, which has a population of over a million people, covers an area of about four and twenty seven thousand square kilometers.
The Chinese community is the largest in District Five. In this district there are many hospitals, secondary schools as well as tertiary institutions.
In 2010 it had a population of approximately one hundred and seventy-four thousand one hundred and fifty-four people.
It occupies an area of 4.27 km² in total.
There are fifteen wards from Ward one to Ward fifteen in District Five.
District 6
District 6 (known as Quan 6 in Vietnamese) an urban district, is part of the city of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam’s largest city. In 2010, it had 253474 inhabitants and covered a total land area of 7 km2. It comprises of fourteen subdivisions referred to as wards ranging from Ward One to Ward Fourteen.
In its northwards are Districts Eleven and Tân Phú; eastwards is District Five; southwards lies the Eighth one while Binh Tan borders it on the west.
District 7
District 7 (Quan 7) is a residential settlement in Vietnam’s biggest city, Ho Chi Minh City. The district had a population of 274828 in the year 2010 and covered an area of 36 km2.
The Phú Mỹ Bridge that was open in September 2009 links District 7 and Thủ Đức city. This district houses the new town of Phú Mỹ Hưng.
It consists of ten wards (phường).
District 8
District 8 is a neighborhood in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s biggest city.
The population of the district was four hundred and eighteen thousand nine hundred sixty one and its land area was 7.3 square miles (19 km2) by 2010.
It is subdivided into sixteen wards named as Ward 1 through to Ward16.
Quan 5 and Quan 6 surround it from the north while Quan 4 and Quan 7 bound it on the east; southwards lies Binh Chanh District while on the westward side is Binh Tan District.
District 10
District 10 is a part of Ho Chi Minh City with the highest population, and is situated on an area of 239,053 km2 of land which makes up about 0.24% of the total city area.
Ward 1 through to Ward 15 are names given to its fifteen sub-groups.
It shares borders with Districts Five and Eleven in its north and west respectively; District Three in its east and Tan Binh District to its south.
District 11
District 11 (Vietnamese: Quan 11) is an urban district (quan) of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest city. The district had a population of 232,536 in 2010 and covered an area of 5 km2. It has been broken down into smaller subgroups referred to as wards which are numbered from Ward 1 through to Ward 16.
Tân Bình District is the northern neighbor of District 11, while District 5 marks its southern boundaries; it shares borders with Districts 6 and Tân Phú on the western side and District10 divides it from the east.
District 12
The population of the district was 427,083 persons in 2010. The entire area of District 12 is equal to 53.0 square kilometers. Districts are made up of smaller groups called wards, which are parts of the larger units of administration.
District 12 can be found between Bình Dương province and Thủ Đức City on the east side; Hóc Môn District on western and northern sides; provinces such as Bình Thanh, Gò Vẑp, Tan Binh or Tan Phu on southern side from where it looks like.
In total there are ten (10) wards that make this district.
Gò Vấp district
Gò Vấp is a district in Ho Chi Minh City. In the 80s, it underwent a lot of urbanization. It has more people living in it than most other districts.
A high level of urbanization makes Gò Vấp one of three city districts with the highest population growth rate. Gò Vấp’s population alone leapt from 144,000 in 1976 to 223,000 in 1995 and then further to231,000 people in 2000; that figure surged to 413,000 by 2003 but finally reached as high as456 thousands in2004. During those years (1980-2003), the average annual increase was at around13.66% thus making the area almost tripled its size. According to the latest census (2017), Gò Vấp had about663,318 inhabitants.
Gò Vấp is Vietnam’s suburban area lying on its north and northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. Gò Vấp borders District Twelve to the north and west, Phu Nhuan District to the south and Tan Binh District to the west while Binh Thanh District lies towards east. The land stretches over an area of 20 square kilometers.
Bình Hòa and Thạnh Mỹ Tay broke away from Gò Vấp District in July1976to form Bình Thạnh district while My Binh joined Cu Chi district after some time, Nha Binh, Thành Lộc An Phú Đông Tan Thới Hiệp merged with Hoc Mon district.Ward numbers for Gò Vấp comprise of;1-17 but most parts are residential.
Gia nh province was previously called Go vap up until when it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
The population of this district (according to a recent count) totals663313 persons with an average density of33,602 per km2. Gò Vấp is inhabited by 8 ethnic groups including Kinh (98%), Hoa (1.8%) and others making up to 0.2%.
Tân Bình district
Tân Binh neighborhood is situated in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It is the location of the city’s International Airport. The ward number ranges from one to fifteen, so there are 15 wards in total. It occupies an area of 8.66 sq mi or 22.43 km2. According to the 2019 census, Tan Binh district had a population of 474,792 people.
Tân Binh is located at the center of Ho Chi Minh City. It is flanked by Districts 10 and District 11 in the south; Phú Nhuận and District 3 in the east; Tân Phú in the west; and Districts12 and Gò Vấp in the north.
The terrain of this district is mainly flat with a little elevation from sea level which rises up to nearly nine meters (29 feet) around Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport while most parts have an elevation between four and five meters (13-16 ft).
According to the April 1st, 2019 census there were 133,745 households with a population of about 474,792 residing in this district. Of these people, approximately16.5% were younger than fourteen years old while approximately77.5%fall between ages15-64and roughly6% were individuals aged65and above with males at about94 for every100 females
Tân Phú district
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, has a neighborhood called Tan Phú. As of 2010, the district had 407924 people and was about 16 km2 in size. These wards are made up of eleven discrete areas organized within the district. District six and District eleven lie to its south while districts twelve and tan Binh border it from the north east and west respectively.
The district got separated from Tân Bình district in December 2003. It is composed of eleven units namely; Tân Sơn Nhì, Tây Thạnh, Sơn Kỳ, Tân Quý, Tân Thành, Phú Thọ Hòa, Phú Thạnh, Phú Trung, Hòa Thạnh, Hiệp Tân and Tân Thới Hòa.
Bình Thạnh district
In 2017, the district had a population of 490,618 people and a total area of 21 km2.
Bình Hòa and Thạnh Mỹ Tây are two wards that were combined to form this district’s name from G Vp District formerly. In the same year, these two wards were separated from G Vp District and made part of Bình Thạnh District.
Bình Thạnh is divided into twenty wards: Wards 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13,14 ,15 ,17 ,19 ,21 ,22 ,24 ,25 ,26 ,27 and28 among others while some have been dissolved and merged into other wards; Wards4 ,8 ,9 ,10 ,16 ,18 ,20 and23.
It shares its borders with Thủ Đức city on the east side as well as Phú Nhuận district on the western side; District one on the south side while it has Gò Vấp districtandDistrict twelve on its northern boundary.
Situated on the Saigon River is Bình Quới Tourist Village at Thanh Đa Peninsula.
Phú Nhuận District
This area covers a total area of 4.88 km2 and has a population of 180,100 people. Phú Nhuận district is sometimes considered as the center of the city because it is located centrally among its surrounding neighborhoods. In 2003, this district had an estimate of 181,243 residents. It occupies an area of exactly 5 square kilometers.
As at March, 2021, Phú Nhuận District had thirteen wards – Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 3, Ward 4, Ward 5, Ward 7, Ward8 ,Ward9 ,Ward10 ,Ward11 ,Ward13,Ward15 and ward17 . In the case of Phú Nhuận these are Wards eleven that later became ward11 and Wards thirteen that changed to ward13 in the year twenty-twenty-one according to standing committee on national assembly. These two new areas have been referred to as ‘’ward’’ for convenience.The same thing happened to ward16 which was formerly called ward6 in nineteen-eighty-two.
Phú Nhuận is an upcoming popular location for young Vietnamese professionals who want to live somewhere different from their peers. This district also has hidden coffee shops or cafes. Some cafés are designed according to garden/vintage style as well.
Binh Tan district
Bình Tân is a sprawling industrial hub of immigrant workers who have left their villages in the countryside for economic prospects in the city and an administrative district in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The area had a population of 611170 people living on a district area about 52 square kilometers in 2010. The name is derived from Bình Hưng Hoà, Bình Trị Đông and Tân Tạo.
Bình Tân District borders District 12 and Hóc Môn District to the north, Bình Chánh District, as well as District 8 to the south; its eastern areas are linked with District six, eight and Tan bimh while westwards lies Bình Chánh district.
Thủ Đức
Thủ Đức has a status of a Vietnamese city within a city (sub-city) ruled by Ho Chi Minh City.
The new city was created on 9 December 2020 by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly from District 2, District 9, and Thu Duc Districts. This area covers an area of 211.56 km2 and in 2019 there were 1,013,795 inhabitants living here. The establishment of Thu Duc City will help to increase contributions of the major city towards national economic growth as well as fast track development of Southern Key Economic Zone (SKEZ).
This new city-within-city model has been adopted by several places in the world including London’s financial hub Canary Wharf, Silicon Valley in the United States, Gangnam in Seoul or Pudong in Shanghai. It was suggested that Thu Duc be given discretion to make decisions while at the same time policy incentives should be made available for increased innovations thereby promoting competition just like what China did to Shenzhen whose economy is now bigger than Hong Kong’s.
