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Saigon Buries War Past

Breakneck rush to development leaves high-rises in place of multi-tiered history

By Michael Foreman, Newser User

Posted Aug 19, 2008 12:21 PM CDT

(Newser) – It looks like Saigon, “the Paris of the East,” can't wait to ditch its colorful culture and tumultuous history for a shining capitalist future, Peter Jon Lindberg writes in Travel + Leisure. Officially Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnamese “cosmopolis,” 8 million strong, boasts the world's fastest-growing retail market, with high-rises and reclamation projects replacing its once "singular sense of place."

Foreign expatriates and returning Vietnamese have spread global trends among the locals, two-thirds of whom were born after the war's end in 1975. Says one British expat, "There’s a sense of exasperation among young Vietnamese when it comes to the war. They’re sick of hearing about it. For anyone under 30 the attitude is, 'Let’s move on.'"

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Younger Vietnamese are "sick of hearing about " the war. ((c) Augapfel)

High-rises and reclamation projects are replacing Saigon's once "singular sense of place." (©..:::::::[E8Club]%u2122:::::::..)

Gucci and Louis Vuitton shops replace traditional storefronts in the streets of Saigon. (© ..:::::::[E8Club]%u2122:::::::..)

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Today’s visitors—at least those under 35—seem more interested in Saigon’s present. They’re here for edgy fashion, for stylish restaurants and sultry nightclubs, for the Norman Foster skyscraper set to rise downtown. - Peter Jon Lindberg, Travel and Leisure

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Saigon Buries War Past