You end the route in Mê Linh Square, beside the river. From the top of his pedestal, Trần Hưng Đạo stretches out his arm towards the water.

1Three statues in a century

This square has changed its hero several times. In 1878 the French placed here a statue of Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, who had led the conquest of Saigon in 1859. Later the South Vietnamese government replaced it with a statue of the Trưng sisters, heroines who rebelled against China in the first century and had ruled from Mê Linh, which gives the square its name. That statue was pulled down by a crowd in November 1963, after the coup against Ngô Đình Diệm. In 1967 the present one was installed, the work of the sculptor Phạm Thông: a general almost six metres tall on a pedestal of about ten. It was restored a few years ago, along with other monuments dating from before 1975.

2The name of the wharf

Trần Hưng Đạo is the general who defeated the Mongols on the Bạch Đằng River in 1288, and the wharf in front of you bears the same name. Steamers used to dock here and goods were unloaded; today passenger boats leave for trips up and down the river, and at sunset families come to stroll in the breeze.

3What to look for

  • The general's arm, pointing at Bạch Đằng Wharf.
  • The triangular stone pedestal.
  • The far bank, with the skyscrapers of Thủ Thiêm.

Documented

The statue of Rigault de Genouilly (1878), the toppling of the Trưng sisters statue in 1963 and Phạm Thông's statue of 1967 are documented.

Oral tradition

It is said the crowd tore down the Trưng sisters statue because its faces copied those of Madame Nhu, Diệm's sister-in-law; it was a rumour of the time that has never been proven.

Sources and credits

Tim Doling, “Saigon's Famous Streets and Squares – Mê Linh Square”, Historic Vietnam; University of Trier, Augustus in Saigon project; Tuổi Trẻ newspaper, “Cận cảnh những tượng đài hơn nửa thế kỷ ở TP.HCM sau tu sửa” (2024).

Photos:

  • Bronze statue of Trần Hưng Đạo on a tall stone pedestal beside the Saigon River: trungydang, CC BY 3.0.

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