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

1866 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

John Thomson, a Scottish photographer and one of the earliest to document East and Southeast Asia, took this view of Saigon in 1866, a few years after France established the colony of Cochinchina.

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

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View of Saigon 1866

EU: Saigon, Cochin China. Photograph by John Thomson (1866)a, Ho Chi Minh City, 1866

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

EU: North Saigon on river Mekong, Ho Chi Minh City, 1866

EU: North Saigon on river Mekong 1866

EU: Saigon, Cochin China [Vietnam]. Photograph by John Thomson, (L0055789), Ho Chi Minh City, 1866

EU: Saigon, Cochin China [Vietnam]. Photograph by John Thomson, (L0055789) 1866

EU: Saigon, Cochin China, Vietnam. Photograph by John Thomson, [L0055789] 1866

EU: Saigon, Cochin China [Vietnam]. Photograph by John Thomson, [L0055789] 1866

EU: Saigon, Cochin China Vietnam. Photograph by John Thomson (L0055789) (1866) 1866

EU: Saigon, Cochin China [Vietnam] - tree-lined street, John Thomson, neg. 1085 (1866), Ho Chi Minh City, 1866

EU: Saigon, Cochin China [Vietnam] - tree-lined street, John Thomson, neg. 1085 (1866) 1866