Vietnam | HCMC - District Name Changes

Saigon is officially, like really back. District 2 went away and is now part of Thu Duc City. 

Vung Tau is part of HCMC (shrugs). Vietnam is still awesome though, so whatever. 

They completely overhauled the municipal structure of the cities and provinces of Vietnam in 2025 with Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 (passed on June 12, 2025) and Resolution No. 74/NQ-CP. 

Read more about it below…..

If you've been to Saigon before -- yes, Saigon, and I'm going to keep calling it Saigon because that's what people actually say, yes the locals -- you probably knew your way around by district. District 1 is the city center. District 3 is where you go when you want something a little more local, a little less tourist. District 7 is the Korean expat bubble with the good BBQ. District 2 is where the expat families and the international schools are.

That whole system is gone now. As of July 1, 2025, Ho Chi Minh City officially abolished all of its districts.

Not reorganized. Not renamed. Abolished.

Let me break down what that actually means, because if you're planning a trip or you're heading back like I am, you need to understand this -- not because your cab driver is going to be confused, but because the paperwork, the addresses, the official forms -- all of it changed.

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THE SHORT VERSION

Vietnam merged Ho Chi Minh City with two neighboring provinces -- Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau -- making HCMC one of the largest cities on paper in the world. The old 22-district system was scrapped and replaced with 168 wards and communes citywide.

The neighborhoods didn't move. The coffee shop you loved is still there. The street food is still there. But the administrative structure underneath all of it is completely different, and the new names are what's going on official documents now.

Here's the full breakdown of what replaced what.

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THE INNER CITY -- NUMBERED DISTRICTS

DISTRICT 1 (the city center -- Ben Thanh, Bui Vien, the Opera House area)

Split into four new wards:

Sai Gon Ward -- City Hall, the Opera House, the old colonial core

Ben Thanh Ward -- Ben Thanh Market, Bui Vien walking street

Tan Dinh Ward -- the Pink Church, the indie cafes, local residential streets

Cau Ong Lanh Ward -- the southern end, local markets, Co Giang area

If someone tells you to meet them in "District 1" -- that still works conversationally. But if you're filling out a form or trying to find an official address, you need to know which ward you're actually in.

DISTRICT 3 (the Turtle Lake area, Xuan Hoa, the local coffee scene)

Split into three new wards:

Ban Co Ward -- War Remnants Museum end, more local residential

Xuan Hoa Ward -- Turtle Lake, the cafe streets. They kept the name. That's not nothing.

Nhieu Loc Ward -- along the canal, breezier, one of the nicer walks in the city

DISTRICT 2 (Thao Dien, Thu Thiem -- expat hub east of the river)

Consolidated into a single ward called An Khanh Ward. It covers seven communes and one ward. The Thao Dien neighborhood with all the international schools and Western restaurants is inside An Khanh now.

DISTRICT 4 (street food, snails, the Vinh Khanh seafood street)

Split into three wards:

Vinh Hoi Ward -- Vinh Khanh Food Street is here. It survived.

Khanh Hoi Ward -- riverside side of the district

Xom Chieu Ward -- local, dense, old Saigon energy

DISTRICT 5 (Cho Lon -- Chinatown)

Split into three wards:

Cho Lon Ward -- the main Chinatown hub, the markets, the temples

An Dong Ward -- the tailors, An Dong Plaza

Cho Quan Ward -- temples, older parts of the neighborhood

DISTRICT 7 (Phu My Hung -- the planned city-within-a-city, Korean expat territory)

Split into three wards:

Tan Phu Ward

Tan Hung Ward

Phu My Ward -- this is where Phu My Hung proper sits

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THE URBAN NAMED DISTRICTS

These weren't numbered -- they had names already -- and most of them kept their names but had their internal wards consolidated down.

BINH THANH -- riverside district, mix of old Saigon and new development. Went from 24 internal wards down to 15.

GO VAP -- northern urban district. Went from 16 wards down to 6 newly named wards: Hanh Thong, An Nhon, Go Vap, An Hoi Dong, Thong Tay Hoi, and An Hoi Tay.

TAN BINH -- airport district. Consolidated, now includes a ward called Bay Hien covering the old ward 10-12 stretch.

PHU NHUAN -- central, along the airport road. Consolidated.

TAN PHU -- western residential. Consolidated.

THU DUC CITY -- already a city-within-a-city before 2025. Created in 2021 by merging the old District 2, District 9, and Thu Duc District. Under the 2025 restructuring it now has 12 named wards: Hiep Binh, Tam Binh, Linh Xuan, Long Binh, Tang Nhon Phu, Long Phuoc, Long Truong, An Khanh, Cat Lai, Thu Duc, Phuoc Long, and Binh Trung.

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THE SUBURBAN AREAS

BINH CHANH -- southwest suburban zone, now has 7 communes: Vinh Loc, Tan Vinh Loc, Binh Loi, Tan Kien, Binh Chanh, Hung Long, and Binh Hung.

HOC MON -- northwest. Consolidated.

NHA BE -- southern waterways area. Consolidated.

CU CHI -- far north, home of the famous tunnels. Consolidated.

CAN GIO -- coastal mangrove district. Consolidated.

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WHAT THIS MEANS IF YOU'RE GOING TO SAIGON

For getting around -- basically nothing changes. Grab drivers know the city. The neighborhoods haven't moved. If you tell a driver "Ben Thanh Market" or "Thao Dien" or "Phu My Hung" they know exactly where you're going. Nobody on the ground is using ward names in casual conversation yet.

For official documents -- this matters. Visa forms, lease agreements, hotel registrations, anything that asks for an address is going to use the new ward system. If something asks for your district and you write "District 3," that's technically no longer correct. The correct answer is Xuan Hoa Ward, Ban Co Ward, or Nhieu Loc Ward depending on exactly where you are.

For Airbnb and booking sites -- most listings haven't caught up yet. You'll still see "District 3" in the neighborhood description. That's fine. Just know that behind the scenes the address on the actual paperwork uses the new ward name.

For the big picture -- HCMC is now one of the largest cities in the world by area. Binh Duong to the north is industrial. Ba Ria-Vung Tau to the south is coastal -- Vung Tau beach is now technically part of the city. The city went from roughly 2,000 square kilometers to over 6,700. The population jumped from about 9.9 million to nearly 14 million. That's not just an administrative change. That's a complete redrawing of what HCMC even is.

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THE BOTTOM LINE

The soul of Saigon hasn't changed. Bui Vien is still loud and chaotic. The coffee is still perfect. The banh mi is still the best street food on earth. But the paperwork changed completely, and if you're going there for more than a week -- especially if you're renting an apartment, dealing with a visa extension, or trying to register anything officially -- you need to know the new names.

Bookmark this page. You're going to need it.

And if anything has changed or I got something wrong, drop it in the comments. I read them.

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TAGS: Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, Vietnam, HCMC Districts, Vietnam 2025, Expat Life, Vietnam Travel, District Renaming, Ward System, Southeast Asia