Pearl of the Orient
Ceded to France by the 1862 Treaty of Saigon, the city was planned by the French to transform into a large town for colonization. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, construction of various French-style buildings began, including a botanical garden, the Norodom Palace, Hotel Continental, Notre-Dame Cathedral, and Bến Thành Market, among many others. In April 1865, "Gia Dinh Bao" was established in Saigon, becoming the first newspaper published in Vietnam. During the French colonial era, Saigon became known as "Pearl of the Orient" ("Hòn ngọc Viễn Đông"), or "Paris of the Extreme Orient".