Mỹ Tho is a beautiful city in southern Vietnam’s flat Mekong River delta region. The city was the traditional gateway to the Mekong Delta. By the 17th century, the city was one of the most important commercial centers in today’s Southern Vietnam. When the French colonial campaign against Vietnam began in the 1860s, Mỹ Tho was one of the most critical strategic cities in the country. The French capture of Mỹ Tho in 1862 marked the end of French colonial rule in Cochinchina, a development that inaugurated nearly a century of French leadership in Vietnam. During colonization, the economy prospered, attracting more immigrants. During World War II, the French Vichy government interned foreign nationals in Mỹ Tho. Japanese forces seized the camps in May 1945, anticipating an Allied attack. Foreign nationals were confined throughout the war.
Today, the economy of Mỹ Tho is based on tourism, fishing, and agricultural products such as coconuts, bananas, and longans. Here are some fabulous Photos of My Tho in the 1960s.
