The time-honored Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council and People’s Committee headquarters welcomed over 1,000 visitors on Sunday, cementing their status as the city’s most sought-after tourist destination.

This marks the highest number of visitors to enter the building in a single day since it opened to the public in 2023.

In the final two days of 2023, the tour at the headquarters of the People’s Council and People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City stayed open without a lunch break and extended its hours by an additional 60 minutes in the afternoons to accommodate around 2,500 visitors. 

After successfully piloting the tour during Reunification Day (April 30) and International Workers’ Day (May 1) last year, the city’s tourism authorities developed tours of the building into a periodic event, establishing it as a unique inner-city tourism attraction.

During its eight openings in 2023, the 114-year-old edifice hosted nearly 11,000 visitors completely free of charge, displaying its well-maintained architecture, which boasts a distinct southern French influence.

Voted as one of the 100 interesting things to do in Ho Chi Minh City in 2023 by both experts and tourists, the tour has contributed to the vibrancy of inner-city tourism, especially during the New Year holiday.

Designed by French architect Femand Gardes, the edifice, considered one of the city’s classic architectural structures, was built in 1898 and completed in 1909.

During the French colonial period, the building was called Dinh Xa Tay.

Before 1975, the year when Vietnam was reunified, it was named Saigon City Hall and hosted the offices of government officials and high-level meetings.

On April 30, 1975, the building became the workplace of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and People’s Council.

Located at 86 Le Thanh Ton Street in District 1, the building faces Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street and overlooks the Saigon River.

In 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism recognized the building as a national architectural relic site.

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