EU: Saigon, Cochin China, Vietnam. Photograph by John Thomson, 1866 (L0055788)

1866 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

One of a pair of images taken in Saigon, the capital of French Cochin China, by the Scottish photographer John Thomson in 1866. Thomson was among the first Western photographers to document Southeast Asia in depth, working with the bulky wet-plate cameras of the era, and his Cochin China plates are now held among historic photographic archives.

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Ho Chi Minh City through time — all 118 photos taken here (1866–2025) →