The old Bec villa at 33 Lê Quý Đôn, pictured in December 2011

This article was published previously in Saigoneer

Despite the ongoing destruction of colonial buildings in Saigon, there’s still a small quarter of District 3 where it’s possible to identify villas which were once occupied by rich French rubber planters.

The area of District 3 bordered by Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Lê Quý Đôn and Võ Thị Sáu has long been known unofficially as Saigon’s “rubber plantation district.” In the early 20th century, many rich French rubber planters bought or rented homes in this area, close to the Saigon offices of companies like the Société plantations des terres rouges, the Compagnie des Caoutchoucs de Padang, the Compagnie des Caoutchoucs d’An Vieng and the Compagnie des Caoutchoucs de Cambodge.

17 Lê Quý Đôn

All of these offices were located at nearby 236 rue Mac-Mahon, now 236 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa, an address which even today is still home to the Rubber Research Institute of Việt Nam (Viện Nghiên Cứu Cao Su Việt Nam) and the Việt Nam Rubber Group (Tập Đoàn Công Nghiệp Cao Su Việt Nam).

The French villa at 17 rue Barbé/Barbet, now 17 Lê Quý Đôn, first appears in colonial records in 1923 as the home of Monsieur J Pierret, proprietor of the Société des plantations de Route-haute in Tây Ninh. In 1923-1925, Pierret served as Treasurer of the Union of Indochina Rubber Planters (Syndicat des Planteurs de caoutchouc de l’Indochine). By 1928. he could be found renting another villa (now demolished) at nearby 167 rue Mayer, now Võ Thị Sáu.

The old Bec villa at 33 Lê Quý Đôn, pictured today, completely hidden by trees

During the same period, the villa at 33 rue Barbé/Barbet, now Gạo restaurant at 33 Lê Quý Đôn, was the residence of Monsieur Bec, owner of the plantation An-Nhon. In contrast to number 17, this villa was actually owned by the Bec family, and their crest may still be seen today above the entrance door of the villa. In the early 1950s, the Becs sold the property to King Bảo Đại’s uncle Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Lộc before returning to France.

Further along the same road is another heritage property at 45 rue Barbé/Barbet, now 45 Lê Quý Đôn. In 1924, this was the residence of Monsieur Perot, Director of the Société des plantations de Courtenay, but by 1927 it had become the residence of a senior government administrator named Blanchard.

45 Lê Quý Đôn

While serving as President of the Cochinchina Budget Commission, Monsieur Blanchard was the Director of no fewer than three large rubber plantation companies – the Compagnie des Caoutchoucs de Cambodge, the Compagnie du Caoutchouc Padang, and the Société des plantations des Terres Rouges.

Perhaps the best-known relic of Saigon’s “rubber plantation district” is the grand mansion at 169 rue Mac-Mahon, now the Hồ Chí Minh City Children’s House at 169 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa. It was built in 1927 for millionaire plantation owner Madame de la Souchère, a larger-then-life character who is often cited as the model for the character of plantation owner Éliane Devries, played by Cathérine Deneuve in Régis Wargnier’s 1992 film Indochine.

The former Souchère mansion at 169 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa

She built this huge mansion in 1927, but lived there for only three years – in 1930, it was repossessed by the Bank of Indochina after she had lost her entire fortune in the economic crisis. The mansion later became the residence of General Philippe Leclerc (1945-1946), commander of French forces in Indochina after World War II, and in the late 1960s the residence of the Deputy President of the Republic of Việt Nam. In 2015 it underwent a sympathetic renovation.

Like so many other old structures of their kind, these few surviving colonial planter villas are not recognised as heritage buildings and as such their future remains uncertain.

Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group pages Saigon-Chợ Lớn Then & Now to see historic photographs juxtaposed with new ones taken in the same locations, and Đài Quan sát Di sản Sài Gòn – Saigon Heritage Observatory for up-to-date information on conservation issues in Saigon and Chợ Lớn.

An electric tram on Saigon’s boulevard Bonard (Lê Lợi) in the late 1920s

This article appeared in the Echo Annamite newspaper on 19 April 1926.

On the 6th April at 2:45 p.m., a young Annamite [Vietnamese] woman was abused by two tramway conductors – one an Indian, Mr Dayot, and the other a local, Mr Ngu – in the following circumstances:
Pressed by the departure of the train, our young traveller climbed on board and sat in first class, although she was only equipped with a second-class ticket.
Mr Ngu ordered her to move.
As the tram had already moved out of the station, the young woman begged him to leave her where she was for now, promising to relocate to second class as soon as they reached the next station.
Instead of showing the elementary gallantry and common decency due to this frail individual, who also happened to be one of his compatriots, Mr Ngu proceeded to pour shovel loads of insults on his interlocutor.
And that, in front of many other passengers.
“If you wish,” replied the young woman, “I’ll pay extra. But let please do not use these offensive words.”
The other refused to listen and was about to hit her, when Mr. Dayot arrived.
“Shut up or get off!” he yelled, making threatening gestures at the poor lady, on whom he bestowed, in turn, a string of curses.
For what must be the thirty-sixth time, we draw the attention of the Director of the Tramway Company to the total lack of education of his staff members of all nationalities.
We begin to tire of this situation.
Let him take tough sanctions against these officials, otherwise the trams risk being deserted by travellers who pay to be well served, and not to be insulted.

Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group pages Saigon-Chợ Lớn Then & Now to see historic photographs juxtaposed with new ones taken in the same locations, and Đài Quan sát Di sản Sài Gòn – Saigon Heritage Observatory for up-to-date information on conservation issues in Saigon and Chợ Lớn.

General Joseph Joffre in 1915, before he became a Marshal (Musée Carnavalet)

This article was published previously in Saigoneer

French government photographers have left us a detailed photographic record of Great War hero Marshal Joffre’s December 1921 visit to Saigon 

After distinguishing himself in World War I, former French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre (1852-1931) became a Marshal of France and turned his attention to diplomatic affairs. It was in this capacity, in 1921-1922, that Joffre embarked on a grand goodwill tour taking in the United States, Indochina, Siam, Japan and China.

Marshal Joffre in Saigon

Altogether, Joffre spent nearly a month in Indochina, visiting Cochinchina, Cambodia, Annam and finally Tonkin, where he had served between 1885 and 1888 as an engineering officer. In advance of his visit, several streets and squares were named after him.

From the time of his arrival in Saigon on the morning of 9 December 1921 to his departure for Phnom Penh on 13 December 1921, Joffre’s visit was tightly choreographed and very thoroughly documented by government photographers.

Here is just a small selection from the many images taken during Joffre’s visit, along with his complete itinerary, which was published in the Écho annamite newspaper (22 November 1922) nearly two weeks before his visit!

An “Arc de Triomphe” was installed in the rue Catinat in honour of Marshal Joffre

Marshal Joffre and the Governor-general leave the Palace

Day 1 – 9 December 1921

8am – Embarcation at the Rigault de Genouilly pier
9.30am – Presentation of government agencies and services at the Palace of the Government-general
11am – Reception at the Town Hall, address by the Mayor
12pm – Private lunch at the Palace of the Government-general
4pm-5pm – Visit to Saigon, passing through the place du Maréchal Joffre (former water tower square)
5.30pm – Visit to the Governor of Cochinchina
6pm – Reception for war veterans
7.30pm – Private Dinner at the Palace of the Government-general
8.30pm-9pm – Torchlight procession
9.30pm – Fireworks display

Marshal Joffre and the Governor-general visiting the Chinese city

Marshal Joffre meeting notables in Cholon

Marshal Joffre at the ceremony for laying the foundations of the TSF station in Cholon

Marshal Joffre at the horse races

Day 2 – 10 December 1921

9am-10am – Visit to Cholon
10.15am – Laying the foundations at the new TSF (Wireless) Station, Cholon
12pm – Lunch at the Palace of the Government of Cochinchina
4pm – Horse Racing
5.30pm – Reception for indigenous notables of the Government of Cochinchina
6pm – Reception for Catalans at the Continental Hotel
8pm – Dinner at the Palace of the Government-general
9.45pm – Ball at the Palace of the Government-general

Officers stand to attention as Marshal Joffre reviews the troops in Saigon on 11 December 1921

Tanks parade before Marshal Joffre in Saigon

Day 3 – 11 December 1921

7.30am – Grand review of garrison troops
12pm – Private lunch at the Palace of the Government-general
4.30pm – Flower parade
7.30pm – Dinner at the Palace of the Government-general
9pm – Reception at the Cercle militaire

Ethnic minorities visiting Saigon in honour of the arrival of Marshal Joffre

The Palace of the Government-general in Saigon, illuminated in honour of Marshal Joffre

Day 4 – 12 December 1921

Morning – Excursion to Cap-Saint-Jacques, breakfast at the Cap
Afternoon – Return to Saigon, or trip to Thudaumot, Bienhoa
8pm – Private Dinner at the Palace of the Government-general
9pm – Public ball, boulevard Charner

Day 5 – 13 December 1921

8.30am – Departure from Saigon to Phnom Penh

Officers in charge of different parts of the programme

Torchlight procession: COMMANDANT GUILLERMEAU
Flags, Illuminations and Fireworks: Messrs. JOSSE & ROCHÉ
Horse races: M. BALLOUS
Flower parade: Messrs. BALLOUS, MESSMAECKER, FONTANA, JOSSE, ROCHÉ, LE VILLAIN, JACQUE
Public ball: Messrs. MARTIN & FONTANA

Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group pages Saigon-Chợ Lớn Then & Now to see historic photographs juxtaposed with new ones taken in the same locations, and Đài Quan sát Di sản Sài Gòn – Saigon Heritage Observatory for up-to-date information on conservation issues in Saigon and Chợ Lớn.

A “Rafale” armoured train pictured in south-central Việt Nam during the late 1940s, image from the archives of ECPAD (Etablissement de Communication et de Production Audiovisuelle de la Défense)

The Railways of Việt Nam is a new one-hour illustrated talk by Tim Doling, author of The Railways and Tramways of Việt Nam (White Lotus Press, 2012).

Illustrated by over 140 historic maps and images, this one-hour talk recounts the fascinating story of Việt Nam’s rail network, most of which was built as a tool of colonial exploitation by the French between 1885 and 1936.

One of the Saigon-Mỹ Tho line’s five SACM Belfort 4-4-0T “locomotives à grande vitesse” stands at Saigon Depot in the early 1900s

Its turbulent history mirrors that of Việt Nam through more than 90 years of colonialism, 30 years of devastating war and 40 years of reconstruction.

The first half of the talk traces the growth of the Vietnamese rail network, starting with the very first railway lines from Saigon to Mỹ Tho (1885) and from Phủ Lạng Thương (Bắc Giang) to Lạng Sơn (1894), and continuing through the construction of the Transindochinois (North-South line), which was opened in five successive stages between 1905 and 1936.

It examines French attempts to build lines of exploitation into southern China via Lào Cai and Đồng Đăng, and also looks at the abortive 1920s scheme for an “Interior rail route” through the Mekong valley, of which only the extraordinary rail-and-cable-car connection from Tân Ấp to Xóm Cục and Ban Na Phao (see The Railway which Became an Aerial Tramway) and the so-called “Rubber Line” from Saigon to Lộc Ninh (see Saigon’s Rubber Line) were actually achieved.

One of over 960 sabotage incidents on the South Vietnamese railway network in 1965

It also considers the repeated failure of the French to connect Phnom Penh with Saigon, the “missing link” which, when eventually completed, will link Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok directly with Beijing, Moscow and Europe.

The second half of the talk examines the devastating effect on the railway network of more than three decades of war, beginning with Allied bombing during the later years of Japanese occupation (1943-1944), and continuing with the catastrophic damage inflicted during the First and Second Indochina Wars (1945-1975).

The talk assesses the impact of war on the rail network both in the North (Democratic Republic of Việt Nam) and in the South (Republic of Việt Nam).

It brings the story up to date by looking at the gradual reconstruction and development of the rail network which took place after 1975.

The talk concludes with a brief overview of recent plans to develop a modern twin-track electrified standard gauge railway, linked not just to China but also to Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand.

For more details please email tim.doling@historicvietnam.com.

Tim Doling is the author of The Railways and Tramways of Việt Nam (White Lotus Press, Bangkok, 2012) and also conducts 16-day and 13-day Việt Nam Rail Tours.

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group Rail Thing – Railways and Tramways of Việt Nam for more information about Việt Nam’s railway and tramway history and all the latest news from Vietnam Railways.

The main mosaic panel, located in the corridor alongside the former Catinat-Ciné building

This article was published previously in Saigoneer

Over the past 12 months, a great deal of attention has been paid to the fate of the 1924 Moroccan mosaic staircase in the lobby of the Tax Trade Centre. Yet that great work of art is not the only mosaic in Saigon which is currently under threat of destruction.

The 151 rue Catinat entrance to the Catinat-Ciné (now the Art Arcade at 151 Đồng Khởi), pictured in the late colonial period

The redevelopment of 151 Đồng Khởi, announced last year, will involve the demolition of a tiny former film theatre building, situated in an alleyway between Đồng Khởi and Nguyễn Huễ boulevard and still decorated with some of the most intriguing mosaics of the late colonial era.

Believed to date back to the mid 1930s, the Catinat-Ciné became popular in the late colonial and early VNCH periods for its cheap ticket prices and “non-stop cinema” – in reality, 1pm-to-midnight screenings of second-run films which had already done the rounds of the major cinemas.

According to one local historian, by the 1960s the Catinat-Ciné had become a “tea room” music venue, known later as Đêm Màu Hồng, where the group Phượng Hoàng performed in the days before singer Elvis Phương joined its ranks and transformed it into one of Saigon’s leading pop groups.

Since 1975, the old Catinat-Ciné building has been used as an office space, but the original building survives, and with it the unique mosaic panels which decorate it.

An early 1950s view of the 151 rue Catinat entrance to the Catinat-Ciné (now the Art Arcade at 151 Đồng Khởi)

These include small mosaics on either side of the front entrance, plus a large mosaic panel in the corridor alongside the building which will be familiar to regular patrons of l’Usine restaurant upstairs. Despite some minor damage, most of the mosaic tiles remain in place. Sadly, the name of the artisan who created the murals is not known.

There can be no doubt that these unique works of art will face the wrecking ball unless a conservation campaign is launched to remove, restore and reinstate them in whatever new building is constructed on this site.

The smaller mural panels, located either side of the front doors of the former Catinat-Ciné building

The exterior of the former Catinat-Ciné building

Decorative coving and light fittings in the 151 Đồng Khởi entrance to the former Catinat-Ciné, now the Art Arcade

Decorative work on the walls of the 151 Đồng Khởi entrance to the former Catinat-Ciné, now the Art Arcade

Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group pages Saigon-Chợ Lớn Then & Now to see historic photographs juxtaposed with new ones taken in the same locations, and Đài Quan sát Di sản Sài Gòn – Saigon Heritage Observatory for up-to-date information on conservation issues in Saigon and Chợ Lớn.

Cyclos outside the Halles centrales (Bến Thanh Market) in the late 1940s

This article was published previously in Saigoneer

Banned from an ever-increasing number of city streets, the cyclo is rapidly becoming an endangered species. But spare a moment to appreciate this much-maligned form of transport, invented by Phnom-Penh-based French industrialist Pierre Coupeaud and launched here exactly 80 years ago this month by means of a high-profile demonstration run from Phnom Penh to Saigon.

By the early 1930s, the use of human-powered rickshaws in many parts of Asia was increasingly viewed with concern on humanitarian grounds. In 1933, trials were held in Paris to test a number of pedal-powered alternatives. The French Public Works Ministry recruited two former Tour de France champions, Speicher and Le Grèves, to test a variety of different “tri-porteurs” (three-wheel pedal-driven passenger-carrying vehicles) along the wide paths of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.

The human-powered “pousse-pousse” rickshaw

Two years later, a Phnom Penh-based industrialist named Pierre Coupeaud designed his own lightweight “vélo-pousse.”

A keen athlete from the Charente region of France, Coupeaud had moved to Indochina in the late 1920s, and by 1933 he managed one of Cambodia’s leading bicycle companies, Établissements Pierre Coupeaud et Cie at 147-151 rue Galliéni, Phnom Penh.

Coupeaud arranged for his “vélo-pousse” to be built in Paris and then brought it back to Phnom Penh where, in 1935, after securing a public service licence from the city government, he manufactured a small fleet of the vehicles for use on the streets of the Cambodian capital.

Flushed with this initial success, Coupeaud then tried to sell the idea of cyclo travel to the Saigon authorities, but they were not interested. Eventually, he devised a plan to prove publicly how good his new invention was.

An article published in Le Journal magazine of 11 April 1936 describes what happened:

The most curious race ever to be organised

Two Indochinese cyclists recently travelled from Phnom Penh to Saigon on a “vélo-pousse,” the cyclist and passenger swopping places to complete the journey in shifts.

Coupeaud’s “crew” poses for photographs after the successful February 1936 demonstration run from Phnom Penh to Saigon

We thought we had exhausted every possible formula for the cycle race, but we were wrong! A French sportsman, who is also a businessman, has just invented, quite by accident, a new style of performance cycling competition. Once a cyclist and soccer player in France, this young man, Pierre Coupeaud, emigrated to the Far East and settled in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, where he now sells bicycles and sporting goods.

Cambodia is home to a human-powered rickshaw known as the “pousse pousse.” Many of us will be familiar with this vehicle, which is used throughout the Far East. It comprises a large wicker chair mounted on lightweight wheels, which the Chinese and Indochinese pull by means of stretcher poles, taking the traveller at full speed through the cluttered cities of the Far East.

We have been trying for several years to find a more humane replacement for the “pousse pousse” by replacing arm and leg power with pedal power. Just a few years ago, while I was organising the first “tri-porteur” trials in Paris, I received a visit from a Russian colonel who owned several significant rickshaw concessions in China and was keen to demonstrate a new passenger-carrying “tri-porteur,” but he was unable to produce the intended machine.

Our friend Pierre Coupeaud had more perseverance. Coming to Paris last year, he left with a passenger “tri-porteur” which he had manufactured here. Unfortunately, setbacks awaited him in Indochina, where the Saigon administration, considering the invention to be revolutionary, refused him permission to put his “cyclo-pousse” into circulation. In vain, our friend argued that pedalling with a passenger in the front appeared less degrading to the driver and was certainly more humane than expecting him to run along the road pulling a rickshaw. However, knowing the strength of Eastern traditions, colonial officials would not yield.

Undaunted, M. Coupeaud trained up two local cyclists to demonstrate his machine. They were in fact two excellent riders who had participated in many cycling competitions, and by using them, Coupeaud determined to show the authorities what his new vehicle was capable of. He therefore organised a trial run from Phnom Penh to Saigon via Souairieng – a total of 240 km – to demonstrate the performance qualities of his “cyclo-pousse.”

A cyclo driver in Saigon in the late 1930s

The event was scheduled for Saturday 9 February 1936, departing from the Chamber of Commerce in Phnom Penh. The “cyclo-pousse” was followed by a car carrying officials equipped with chronometers.

Coupeaud’s “crew” left at 4pm that afternoon and travelled all night, arriving in Saigon the following morning at 9.30am, having covered the entire distance in just 17 hours 20 minutes. Excluding a 50 minute ferry trip, an average speed of around 15 kilometers per hour was achieved.

The two cyclists took turns to pedal the vehicle, swopping places from time to time to permit some rest. They were both fed and watered regularly en route, so that they were able to arrive perfectly fresh in Saigon the next morning.

Will we introduce such races to France? Could we in future see Speicher-Archambaud and Guerra-Olmo “cyclo-pousse” race teams competing in the Tour de France?

L. A.

Following this successful and very high profile demonstration run from Phnom Penh to Saigon, the Mayor of Saigon authorised the commissioning of the first 20 cyclos for public use. By 1939, the Cochinchina capital had 200 cyclos, and this versatile vehicle had also been introduced to the streets of Hà Nội. By 1940, the Indochina “pousse-pousse” or human-powered rickshaw was no more.

A Saigon cyclo

A cyclo driver waits for passengers outside the Saigon Municipal Theatre in the late 1950s

Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group pages Saigon-Chợ Lớn Then & Now to see historic photographs juxtaposed with new ones taken in the same locations, and Đài Quan sát Di sản Sài Gòn – Saigon Heritage Observatory for up-to-date information on conservation issues in Saigon and Chợ Lớn.

 A review of La Pagode de Dakao by A. E. Lelièvre and Ch. A. Clouqueur, C. Ardin, Saïgon, 1914, 25pp., published in Le Journal des savants, Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (France), 1915

The Société des Études Indochinoises of Saïgon has, for a colonial society, rather a long history. Its creation dates back to 1883, when it took the place of the Comité agricole et industriel de la Cochinchine (Cochinchina Agricultural and Industrial Committee). Apart from its Bulletin, it has also issued a series of monographs about the various provinces which make up our colony, as well as a number of separate printed publications, some of which, like l’Astronomie Cambodgienne (Cambodian Astronomy) by F. G. Faraut, have considerable scientific value.

The booklet by Messrs Lelièvre et Clouqueur is dedicated to a monument of quite recent origin; Indeed, the Ngoc-Hoang Temple, better known in Saïgon as the pagode de Dakao, dates only from 1900, when the foundations were laid under the direction of Luu Minh, on the site of the former Mieu (temple) of Dakao, of which we can still see a wall, next to the stump of a large sacred tree of the banyan species “Cây da” or “Cây dung.” A legend, the first part of which seems rather contrived, reports that “the Chinese Luu Minh, sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his brother, devoted his entire fortune to the genie benefactors who had delivered justice by helping him to escape, and built the current pagoda next to the remains of a sacred tree, which, when it was hit by lightning, saved many people who had sheltered under its foliage.”

The new temple, opened in 1906, is one of the most beautiful monuments in Cochinchina, and the modest objective of the study by Lelièvre and Clouqueur is to draw attention to this building, the architecture of which does not present any particular curiosity, and to excite the interest of visitors.

The authors provide us with a detailed description of the interior of the monument, which seems very richly decorated, but does not seem to me to be of special character, as it is a Taoist temple devoted to the Supreme Being, Chang Ti (Thuong De); there are many similar temples in China.

The publication of this booklet appears to me to have been a pretext for reproducing, in black and white and colour, the drawings by one of the authors, Mr. Clouqueur, which are very interesting to see because they have been reproduced with perfect fidelity by a local printing company.

Henri Cordier

Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group pages Saigon-Chợ Lớn Then & Now to see historic photographs juxtaposed with new ones taken in the same locations, and Đài Quan sát Di sản Sài Gòn – Saigon Heritage Observatory for up-to-date information on conservation issues in Saigon and Chợ Lớn.

Plan of the City of Saigon, fortified in 1790 by Colonel Victor Olivier, reduced from the Great Plan drawn in 1795 by the order of the King of Cochinchina by M. Brun, Engineer in his service

As the foundations for the Catinat Building were being laid in January 1926, large sections of bastion wall from the first Gia Định Citadel of 1790 were uncovered. On 8 February 1926, the Écho annamite newspaper published this fascinating article by Vietnamese scholar Ung-Hue on the history of Vauban military architecture in Cochinchina.

Since the discovery of the remains of the citadel built in Saigon according to the Vauban system by French officers in the service of Gia-Long, there has been much interest in the fortifications of this nature which were built in Cochinchina.

Undoubtedly, the Bulletin des Amis du Vieux Hué, edited by R. P. Cadière, has made a valuable contribution to the history of our country. But so far it has not published any study on the Annamite armies or on the military arts of Annam. However, as Napoléon III once said, “The history of peoples is largely the history of its armies.”

While waiting for the Association des Amis du Vieux Hué, or perhaps even the Société des Etudes indochinoises de Saigon, to take responsibility for undertaking this work as part of their ongoing studies of Indochinese archaeology, history and philology, I think it may be interesting to gather together some information on the ancient “Vauban” citadels which were built in Cochinchina by French officers in the service of Gia-Long, or by their Annamite imitators.

Let’s recall first of all that King Louis XIV’s military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707) perfected the methods of fortification developed by his predecessors; and that, better than any of them, he knew how to adapt his citadels to the terrain in which they were built. Also, although one speaks generally of three Vauban “systems,” most textbooks admit that the illustrious engineer never strengthened two fortresses in the same manner, and that it was his successors who invented this threefold classification simply to facilitate its teaching.

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban (1633-1707)

Vauban also made improvements in the methods of attacking a citadel, developing his famous “parallel trench” system to ensure the decisive superiority of attackers over defenders. It was in order to make a citadel able to resist the maximum onslaught that he constantly studied methods of attack and then modified the fortifications accordingly. It was he who pioneered using the topography of the land when locating a fortress, and who carefully positioned the outer and inner walls, projecting bastions and lines of half-moon batteries, hiding his citadels behind massive fortifications and making them practically invulnerable.

The publication of plans and drawings of the Vauban citadels constructed in Cochinchina have, from a historical and military point of view, an importance of the first order. There no doubt exist many documents of this nature in the Directorate of Artillery and the Saigon Cadastre (Land Registry) Service. For example, I reported in a previous article on the plan of the Saigon citadel built by Olivier and Lebrun, which came from the collection of M. Bouchot.

That plan, which is now kept at the Cadastre, is a copy in reduction of a drawing found by M. Pont, former head of that service. It is a work in which the name of the draftsman has unfortunately been omitted. A second copy was presented by M. Pont to the Société des Etudes indochinoises when he was president of that society; it is probably this copy which was reproduced by George Dürrwell in his book Ma chère Cochinchine, trente années d’impressions et de souvenirs, février 1881-1910 with the following caption: “Map of the City of Saigon, fortified in 1790 by Colonel Victor Olivier, reduced from the Great Plan drawn in 1795 by the order of the King of Cochinchina by M. Brun, Engineer in his service.”

Apart from this plan, there also exist drawings of five other Annamite citadels or fortified works built in Vauban style. These are the fortresses of Bien-Hoa, Ben-Ca, Phuoc-Tan, Long-Thanh and Tan-Uyen. They were executed to 1:2000 scale in 1854 by Marine Infantry Lieutenant Cullard and signed by Corporal Maquard.

No monument “à la Vauban” was built in Can-Tho. After the occupation of Bien-Hoa, Gia-Dinh, Dinh-Tuong (the former name of the province of My-Tho) and Vinh-Long by French troops, a mandarin of An-Giang (Chau-Doc) was ordered by the Court of Hue to build two store-fortresses (bao) in order to keep the precious objects of the provinces safely and also to store food for contingencies. Thus, two bao were erected, one in the village of Long-Thanh (Sadec), under the name of Bao-Tien (forward store), and the other at village of Dinh-Hoa (Can-Tho) under the name of Bao-Hau (Rear store). These works were square-shaped buildings built from masonry, but today only barely-recognisable ruins remain. They served for some time as a refuge for troops and Annamite irregulars who resisted the French army.

At Chau-Doc, in the village of Long-Son, canton of An-Thành, one may find the remains of an ancient citadel built in 1838. It had not yet been completed when a Cambodian revolt forced the officers of Minh-Mang to abandon it and flee to the capital of Chau-Doc, where they built a large redoubt, now destroyed. That citadel, defended to the north by the Rach Cai-Vung, was surrounded on its other sides by ditches 20m wide and 2.50m deep. Within what is left of the ancient walls, we may still see three platforms without any special character.

Located some distance from the village of Vinh-Lac, on the edge of the Ha-Tien Canal, we may also note the shapeless remains of an old earthen fort which was built in around 1820 to monitor the digging of the canal.

In Ha Tien itself, there are also traces of a citadel which was built, it seems, by Mac-Cuu; but the few sections of wall which remain are in such a state of decay that it is impossible to work out the shapes or indeed dimensions this citadel could have had.

The citadel of My-Tho (formerly Dinh-Tuong), like that of Saigon, was built in the reign of Gia-Long by Olivier and Lebrun. A plan was drawn up in 1873 by M. Pont, when he carried out a cadastral survey of that province.

At Sadec, there exists the foundation of the old earthen fortress in the village of Long-Hung, at the mouth of the Rach Nuoc Xoay. The Nguyen-Trao-Thiet-Luc reports that Nguyen-Anh (later Gia Long) took refuge there during his war with the Tay-Son.

Two fortresses existed in Tay Ninh, that of Quang-Hoa in the village of Cam-Giang, and that of Bau-Don in the village of Phuoc-Thanh. The latter was located exactly at what is now km 63 on Route Coloniale No 1. Nothing now remains of either fortress, apart from some light remains which are now completely covered by high grass and forest.

The citadel of Vinh-Long was demolished in 1877.

The book Dai-Nam-Nhut-Thong-Chi or “General Description of the Great Annam,” written in Chinese characters, includes a plan of all the citadels built in the reign of Gia-Long by Olivier de Puymanel, who is better known under the names of “Ong Tin” or Colonel Olivier.

The citadel of Saigon,  the ruins of which were discovered in January 1926, was destroyed following the revolt of Le-Van-Khoi, adopted son of Le-Van-Duyet, who had served as Viceroy of Cochinchina under Gia-Long and Minh-Mang.

J. Silvestre published the story of this revolt in the Annales de l’Ecole libre des Sciences politiques. Without adding anything to what we might call the “famous lines of history” surrounding the Great Eunuch, our former Director of Civil and Political Affairs gave us a more complete and finished picture of the story. His article contains many details for which we may look in vain in biographies of Le-Van-Duyet, and these details are of the kind which help us form a better idea of the character of both the men involved and the era in which they lived. J. Silvestre has borrowed mostly from the writings of contemporaries of Le-Van-Duyet. The judicious use he makes of these documents gives his story the advantage of dramatic colour, transporting the reader back to the early 19th century to experience the events he recounts. The passage dedicated to Le-Van-Khoi is particularly remarkable in this respect.

We know that after the death of Le-Van-Duyet in August 1832, Emperor Minh Mang ordered the governor of Saigon to pronounce, by posthumous judgment, on the conduct of Le-Van Duyet. From the beginning of this strange process, the entire family of the late Viceroy were arrested and incarcerated, on the pretext of questioning. Among them was Khoi, a Tonkinese of Muong ethnic descent. Involved in a rebellion and taken prisoner by the troops of Le-Van-Duyet after having put up a very brave fight, he had been saved from punishment by the Viceroy, who recognised his courage and uprightness. From that time onwards, Khoi attached himself to the fortunes of his benefactor, whom he followed in Saigon, eventually being promoted in 1832 to the grade of Lieutenant Colonel.

Minh-Mang’s posthumous investigation into Le-Van-Duyet continued for some time. On the occasion of the Viceroy’s death anniversary, Khoi asked permission to go to his private home to celebrate the ritual ceremonies there. The chief justice agreed, placing him under the escort of several soldiers.

At this time, it was customary for people recruited for military service to be transferred from their own province to another, or for those condemned to exile outside their province to be conscripted into armies elsewhere. So it was that the soldiers charged to monitor Khoi were his countrymen who had been recruited from Tonkin, and they proved more than ready to support him. Khoi took the opportunity of the Viceroy’s death anniversary to gather his friends and other people loyal to the memory of Le-Van-Duyet and armed them. On the next night, they surprised and killed the main mandarins of Saigon.

With all of the Tonkinese soldiers rallying around their leader, many other people in Cochinchina embraced Le-Van-Khoi’s cause. From that moment, Khoi found himself master of Cochinchina. He set up a government, of which he became the leader with the title of Generalissimo. But the court of Hue quickly assembled an army to quell the insurgency; at the same time, it bought with money the betrayal of some rebel leaders, and suddenly Khoi found himself besieged in the Saigon citadel, awaiting the help he had requested from Bangkok.

At the end of 1833, the royal army began the siege of Saigon. The city was defended by about 2,000 soldiers. Early in 1834, the Siamese arrived and easily captured Ha-Tien and Chau-Doc. But they then disbanded and proceeded to plunder the country. Shamefully beaten by the Annamites, they hastened back across the border with their booty.

The siege of Saigon lasted until 1835. In the seventh month, the royal army made a supreme effort, For three days and three nights, Minh-Mang’s artillery bombarded the citadel. Then at 4am on the 10th, the firing suddenly stopped and a massive assault was launched from all sides.

Despite the desperate resistance of the besieged, the citadel was taken and its defenders were either killed or captured.

Order was restored in Cochinchina, permitting the case against Le-Van-Duyet to resume. His tomb was razed, and over the ruins was erected a pillar surrounded by chains, together with this contemptuous inscription: “Here lies the eunuch who resisted the law.”

The citadel of Saigon was destroyed and replaced by another one of smaller dimensions. It was that smaller citadel which was taken in 1858 by Admiral Rigault de Genouilly.

Ung Hue

Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group pages Saigon-Chợ Lớn Then & Now to see historic photographs juxtaposed with new ones taken in the same locations, and Đài Quan sát Di sản Sài Gòn – Saigon Heritage Observatory for up-to-date information on conservation issues in Saigon and Chợ Lớn.

“La première résidence des Gouverneurs à Saigon” – an exterior view of the first governor’s palace, from the 1931 book Iconographie historique de l’Indochine française (1931) by Paul Boudet and André Masson

This article was published previously in Saigoneer

It’s often assumed that the Norodom Palace (1873) was the first colonial governor’s palace to be built in Saigon, but it was in fact preceded by a much humbler structure, the Hôtel des Amiraux-Gouverneurs.

For more than two years after the French conquest of Cochinchina in 1859, the early Admiral-Governors – Rigault de Genouilly, Jauréguiberry, Page and Charner – were billeted in temporary premises within the Naval Barracks next to the Saigon River.

Admiral-Governor Louis Adolphe Bonard, 28 November 1861-23 April 1863

However, when Admiral-Governor Louis Adolphe Bonard took over in November 1861, a dedicated governor’s palace was deemed a priority and the Naval Engineering Corps was charged with building one.

Unfortunately at this time funds were still limited, so it was decided to build a temporary palace which could be replaced at a later date by a more permanent structure. In December 1861, a set of wooden buildings was imported in kit form from Singapore and assembled at the top end of the rue Catinat (Đồng Khởi), next to the place de l’Horloge (Clock Square, after the clock tower which stood at its centre), an area which was already home to several other colonial government offices.

Standing on the site occupied today by the Trần Đại Nghĩa High School, this Hôtel des Amiraux-Gouverneurs incorporated a governor’s residence, offices and meeting rooms, a 600-seat salle de spectacles (events hall), a stable and a pig farm. Drawings of the building were published in the 1931 book Iconographie historique de l’Indochine française (1931) by Paul Boudet and André Masson.

Phạm Phú Thứ, 1821-1882

Diplomat Phạm Phú Thứ, who accompanied royal mandarin Phan Thanh Giản to Saigon in 1863-1864, described the building as follows:

“The Governor’s palace comprises four buildings constructed in a line, each with nine compartments and eight doors.
The central compartment of the first building forms the main entrance. The four two-storey compartments on the west side of this building are the Governor’s apartments, while the four compartments on the east side form the offices.
An intermediate structure connects the first building with the second building, where the reception or conference room may be found. On the west wall of this room are hung two large portraits: the one on the right is that of the Ung Ba Su (Emperor), the Head of the French State, while the other one on the left is that of Y Pha Ra Tri Xa (the Empress), the Queen. In between them is hung a small portrait of the son of the Head of the French State. On the east side, the sixth and seventh compartments form waiting rooms, while at the rear we may find the Salle de spectacles or music room.
This building, painted very beautifully, connects with the third building, where the dining room is located.”
(Bulletin des Amis du Vieux Hue, No 1-2, April-June 1919).

“La première résidence des Gouverneurs à Saigon” – portraits of the French Emperor and Empress inside the first governor’s palace, from the 1931 book Iconographie historique de l’Indochine française (1931) by Paul Boudet and André Masson

The Salle de spectacles of this first governor’s palace was used for a variety of functions, including the staging of performances by visiting theatre and music companies before the inauguration of the first Théâtre de Saïgon in 1872.

After the demolition in the early 1870s of the first wooden cathedral – the Église Sainte-Marie-Immaculée, which stood on the site of the modern Sun Wah Tower until it became infested by termites – the salle de spectacles was also pressed into service every Sunday as a makeshift church.

Despite Phạm Phú Thứ’s flattering description, the Hôtel des Amiraux-Gouverneurs was a very basic structure in a city which already had several large and impressive brick buildings. One in particular, the imposing Maison Wang-Tai on the Saigon riverfront – see Wang Tai and the Cochinchina Opium Monopoly – could be seen by everyone arriving in the city.

“La première résidence des Gouverneurs à Saigon” – the Salle de spectacles or events hall of the first governor’s palace, from the 1931 book Iconographie historique de l’Indochine française (1931) by Paul Boudet and André Masson

Indeed, it’s said to have been a source of great embarrassment to the French authorities that a Chinese businessman had such a splendid headquarters while the colonial Governor still resided in a wooden hut. That embarrassment is often advanced as a reason why so much money was spent in 1868-1873 on the spectacular new Palace of the Government (later the Norodom Palace, see Saigon’s Palais Norodom – A Palace Without Purpose), reportedly the most expensive civic building constructed in East Asia during the late 19th century.

In 1873, after the colonial Governors had moved out, the old wooden palace buildings were given to the Société des Missions Étrangères de Paris (MEP) and Father Henri de Kerlan transformed them into a school named the Institution Taberd. The new school was taken over in the late 1880s by the Christian Brothers, who in 1890 had it reconstructed as the large three-storey colonial building which today houses the Trần Đại Nghĩa High School.

Clock Square and the Telegraphic Services Office in 1862

Built in 1890 by the Christian Brothers, the Tabert School, now the Trần Đại Nghĩa High School, stands on the site of the former Hôtel des Amiraux-Gouverneurs

Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group pages Saigon-Chợ Lớn Then & Now to see historic photographs juxtaposed with new ones taken in the same locations, and Đài Quan sát Di sản Sài Gòn – Saigon Heritage Observatory for up-to-date information on conservation issues in Saigon and Chợ Lớn.

A central Saigon street scene in the mid 1920s

A brave nhà-quê named Pham-Van-Vang, aged 28 and originally from Binh-Luong-Trung, Go-Cong province, wanted to visit Saigon, which he had never seen and of which he had heard so many wonderful things.

So, on the 15th of last month, after selling in Cholon a cargo of paddy which had netted him 3,000 piastres, our man took the opportunity to take a “Grand Duke’s Tour” of the “Pearl of the Orient.”

Newspaper advertising for the Nam-Viet-Khach-Lâu dormitory

While Vang went into raptures standing in front of the gleamingly lit stores of the rue Catinat, two individuals dressed in European style, named Muoi-Cho and Ba-Duoc, engaged him in conversation and offered to guide him around the capital.

Vang having accepted their services, they brought him to the annex of the Nam-Viet-Khach-Lâu [a Vietnamese person’s dormitory run by the Hotel d’Annam], where they rented a room in which they relieved our naïve country bumpkin of the sum of 500 piastres over a game of baccarat.

After this first exploit, the swindlers led their unwitting victim to the house of a Monsieur Maturin on the rue de Champagne [modern Lý Chính Tháng, District 3]. The master of the house proposed to his new “friend” that they take a walk to the Halles-centrales [Bến Thành Market], an invitation which Vang accepted with pleasure, considering himself honoured to keep company with such a kind ông-tây.

On the way, the two men stopped at a Chinese bistro, where they drank a toast to their mutual health and their new friendship. Maturin, citing urgent business, then asked Vang to return alone to his house on the rue de Champagne, promising that he would join him there.

The Gendarmerie coloniale, Saigon

Arriving at Maturin’s house, the nhà-quê was surprised to find the European there already, together with Muoi-Cho, Ba-Duoc and a young métisse named Mademoiselle Vidal. Immediately, the quartet pounced on the naïve peasant, striking him repeatedly with a stick in order to rob him of his remaining 2,480 piastres.

Then, in an attempt to cover up what they had done, Maturin grabbed the unfortunate Vang by the collar and led him to a nearby police station, where he filed a complaint against him for trespass and attempted theft.

However, Maturin soon fell into his own trap. Known as the leader of a gang of thugs and repeatedly convicted for fraud, the disreputable character immediately aroused the suspicions of the sympathetic commissioner, Monsieur Chapuis. During the course of the very detailed investigation which followed, the guilt of Vang’s aggressors was firmly established.

Maturin was referred to the public prosecutor’s office. Mademoiselle Vidal was allowed out on bail, pending the outcome of the investigation.

As for his two native accomplices, they both fled and are now actively being sought by police.

Tim Doling is the author of the guidebook Exploring Saigon-Chợ Lớn – Vanishing heritage of Hồ Chí Minh City (Nhà Xuất Bản Thế Giới, Hà Nội, 2019)

A full index of all Tim’s blog articles since November 2013 is now available here.

Join the Facebook group pages Saigon-Chợ Lớn Then & Now to see historic photographs juxtaposed with new ones taken in the same locations, and Đài Quan sát Di sản Sài Gòn – Saigon Heritage Observatory for up-to-date information on conservation issues in Saigon and Chợ Lớn.