Going back 27 years to Chinatown in Saigon

Cho Lon was a city established in the 19th century. It was merged into neighboring city Saigon in 1931, and “Saigon – Cho Lon” was born. The "Cho Lon" part was dropped and the merged city became just “Saigon” in 1956.

Since then, Cho Lon has often been referred to the largest Chinatown in Vietnam.

Nowadays, Cho Lon consists of four districts: 5, 6, 10 and 11. District 5 is the home of many Vietnamese-Chinese people.

During his trip to Vietnam in 1991, French photographer Patrick Zachmann took pictures of the Cho Lon quarter, enabling this trip down memory lane.

Photos by Patrick Zachmann/ Magnum Photos

Two cyclos, an old bus and a few bikes at a T-junction.

On a Cho Lon street corner marked by an absence of motorized means of transport, a glimpse of the bell tower of the famous Cha Tam Church can be seen in the distance.

In front of a motel in an alley.

From doorways in an alley, people watch the rain.

Inside a herbal medicine store run by a Chinese family.

Making shoe soles in a factory.

Two women pair sandals in a factory.