Many of the North Vietnamese that came to Saigon during the 1950's and 1960's were entrepreneurs, other were intellectuals, and other were politicians. All this led to the expansion of the business and cultural life in Saigon. In the western world Saigon was known as the "Pearl of the Orient" .
In 1975 Communists invaded the city, and the country was reunified. The official name of the city was changed to "Ho CHi Minh City". Until a few decades Saigon was closed to foreigners. Nowadays Saigon is a city open to the world. The official name may still be Ho Chi Minh, but Vietnamese call it Saigon.