Also known as Ho Chi Minh City, the capital of South Vietnam from 1955-1975, today Saigon is Vietnam’s largest city and commercial heart. Home to over 10 million people, this bustling city is replete with skyscrapers, shopping centers and motorbikes. New and old, traditional and trendy blend here. Among the historic sites to visit are the Old Post Office of Saigon, the Notre Dame cathedral, Dong Khoi Street, the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum. The Chinese district of Cho Lon is home to the bustling Binh Tay market and Thien Hau Pagoda. There is abundant nightlife; for a traditional evening, take in a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show on the riverside outdoor terrace of Ngon Restaurant. About 40 km from Ho Chi Minh City are the Cu Chi tunnels, 250 km of tunnels dug in the 1940s during the French occupation and expanded in the 1960s during the Vietnam War. In this underground community, residents took refuge against the American bombings.