State Bank of Vietnam

Table of content 

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• Clue 1: The building design 

  • Clues and questions

  • Interpretation of (1) Exterior design (2) The roof decorative details (3) Interior design

• Clue 2: Maps and location

  • Clues and questions

  • Interpretation of (1) Chinese Arroyo and rice production (2) Saigon Harbor and international trade (3) The financial district

• Clue 3: Currency and economy

  • Clues and questions 

  • Interpretation of (1) French Indo-China piastre of 1887 (2) 100 piastres banknote (1911–1920)

• Connecting the dots

  • What does the visual evidence tell us about the Banque de l'Indochine Saigon and its history?

  • Banque de l'Indochine Saigon nowadays

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When visitors walk along the bustling streets of District 1 in Saigon, the Banque de l'Indochine Saigon appears with a unique appearance compared to other buildings in the area. The building uses mainly stone materials, has an impressive height, and occupies an entire city block. These give it a very different appearance from the contemporary cement buildings with modern and simple designs. The building is a place to store and transfer money, so there are always police standing around to protect the building and remind people passing by not to walk too close to the building or take detailed pictures. All of this adds to the majestic and mysterious character of the building.

1.1. Clues 

• Photos of the overall design of the building
  • The photos I took of the building in March 2022.
  • View the building on Google Map, Google Street View, and Google Earth
• Photos of the building throughout the history
  • Image gallery of buildings throughout history from virtual-saigon.net 
• The interior design of the building
  • The interior design of the building from Manh Hai Flickr and anhxua.vn in the 1920s
  • The interior design of the building from the public Facebook post of the bank staff 
  • The interior design of the building by photographer Alexandre Garel, from a public Facebook post (picture 1, picture 2) and his public Youtube video
• Architect and building design
  • Detailed building design by the architect Félix Dumaill from archiwebture.citedelarchitecture.fr
  • Biographical of Félix Dumail - the architect of the building from Citedelarchitecture.fr

1.2. Guiding question

1.3. Interpretation of the architectural design

1.3.1. Exterior design

The building locates at number 8, Võ Văn Kiệt Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Three sides of the building face the city streets, one the riverfront (Fig. 1). The French architect Félix Dumaill used granite as the primary material for the construction to add the value of timelessness and beauty to the building [1]. This building occupies an entire city block and has a height equivalent to a 5-story building. People walking around the building will find themselves small when walking next to a structure of such height and enormous size (Fig. 2).

From the horizontal view, the facade of the building has four layers. The base of the building is designed much higher than many other buildings giving the building a formal look. Passengers who want to enter the building will have to enter the main gate from two adjacent gates or up the stairs. The second layer is the highest part, including ten pilasters, and it creates the classicizing look of the building. The pilasters have classic architectural details such as base, shaft, capital, frieze, and cornice (Fig. 2). The third layer includes ten short pilasters, and the fourth layer is the roof with decorative details. The prominent height of the second layer compared to the third and the fourth creates a sense of heaviness in the building.

Vertically, the building has a symmetrical design. The facade of the building has three main blocks. The middle block has eight pilasters, giving the building an antique look similar to Greek temples. The second block consists of two large gates on either side where cars can enter. This section protrudes more than the middle, giving depth to the building's facade. The third block is the main functional block of the building, designed to be entirely rearward to help make the two main parts of the facade stand out even more (Fig. 4). All architectural details combined give the building a feeling of magnificence and timelessness. In addition to that beauty, the decorative elements on the roof give the building an even more unique and exotic look.

1.3.2. The roof decorative details

The top floor of the building has unique decorative motifs on the railing and the roof (Fig. 5). Some sources say that these details were influenced by Cham and Khmer architecture  [2]. But I also could not find concrete evidence to prove this, although there are some similarities in the curving shape between this decoration and the Naga snake symbol of Cambodia (Fig. 6). Another hypothesis is that these curving shapes were inspired by the flame palmette antefixes originated in Egypt and were reused in Greek decorative arts (Fig. 7) [3].  The combination of various details of the building is called eclecticism. Eclecticism originated from the Greek word "eklektikos" as “selective”. A famous school of architectural design in the 19th and 20th centuries incorporates elements of classical architecture with ornaments from other cultures or architectural periods.

1.3.3. Interior design

Guests who come to transact at, or visit, the building can enter from the enormous main gate, constructed of iron with decorative art motifs. The bank's logo is on the main entrance with the letters I and B interlocked, representing “Indochina Bank“. Inside, the building is designed with a large space in the middle as the employees' workplace (Fig. 9). This area is illuminated with a large skylight with a dome made of modern steel and glass system. These glass windows are white and yellow, and the glass panels are also beautifully decorated. The building has ceramic floor tiles and glass in the windows with curved balustrades with steel motifs on the second floor. Those combinations of modern materials and stylish design of the interior and facade influenced by the Art Deco design movement, another example of eclecticism is used in the design of the building. All the exterior design details with a majestic appearance and luxurious interior space help this building symbolize French power and economy in Saigon. And to better understand the unique position of this bank, we shall look at the construction location of the building.

1.4. References

[1] Corfield, J. (2013b). Historical Dictionary of Ho Chi Minh City (Anthem Historical Dictionaries of Cities). Anthem Press. 

[2] Corfield, J. (2013b). Historical Dictionary of Ho Chi Minh City (Anthem Historical Dictionaries of Cities). Anthem Press. 

[3] Hiếu Y. (2019, July 18). A common mistake in explaining the palmette ornaments. Architecture Excursions. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from Tan man kien truc Facebook

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French people built the bank strategically favorable for economic and commercial development. It locates right next to the Chinese Arroyo; Ben Nghe canal nowadays và Saigon harbor; Bach Dang Wharf nowadays. The following clues shall show the importance of those places in Saigon:

2.1. Clues

• Chinese Arroyo
  • Images and introduction to Chinese Arroyo and old pictures from saigon-vietnam.fr 
  • The gallery includes 214 photos of Chinese Arroyo, Mạnh Hải Flickr
  • Cholon: A “little China” In The Heart Of Saigon by Laurent Gédéon
  • The role of rice in economic and political life in Saigon-Cho Lon in the early 20th century by Nguyen Duc Hiep (2011), part 1, part 2, part 3.

• Saigon harbor
  • The gallery includes 33 photos of Sai Gon harbor from Mạnh Hải Flick 
  • Overview of Sai Gon harbor from saigon-vietnam.fr 
  • A Short History of Saigon Port from Tim Doling's heritage portal
  • Wars and Peace Treaties: 1816 to 1991 - Dr. Erik Goldstein, First Franco-Indochinese War 1858-62 from Google Books
  • Saigon in 1955 through 20 photos taken from an airplane - Redsvn.net
  • Old pictures of the Saigon River from trithucvn.org

• The financial district
  • Location of old banks in Saigon from reicvn.blogspot.com

2.2. Guiding questions

2.3. My interpretation

2.3.1. The Chinese Arroyo and rice production

The bank is located strategically on the riverbank of the Chinese Arroyo and 400 meters from Saigon port. The Chinese Arroyo is the waterway that connects Cholon to Saigon (Fig. 10). The Hoa People (Chinese-Vietnamese people) came to this area in 1779 when they had to refuge from Biên Hòa (located in the north of Saigon city) after the attacks of Tây Sơn rebels on Nguyễn Lords. They took refuge on the edge of the watercourse (the Chinese Arroyo) and built the village that became Chợ Lớn (the "big market" in Vietnamese) [4]. Later, they extended to become the center of the economic power in Cochinchina (the region south of the Gianh River). They controlled the entire rice production line (except for the crop production, which the Vietnamese farmers produce). The Hoa people purchased the rice in Cholon, then processed and stored it before being shipped via the Arroyo to Saigon harbor, and eventually exported overseas. We can see this intense activity by the company of many boats and warehouses, rice mills, and various industrial buildings on both sides of the Arroyo in figure 11. A note from the internal documents of the Banque de l'Indochine (1875–1945) shows the importance of trading with rice for the Saigon economy [5].

Saigon is the most important commercial center of an essentially agricultural country with its main product rice. The export of this cereal has risen on average, during the last ten years, to about 800,000 tons per year, sent for the most part to France, China, Java, the Philippines, and Japan [5].

2.3.2. Saigon Harbor and international trade

The Saigon Banque de l'Indochine is located near the Saigon Harbor, the place for international trade with a custom-house, wharf, and hotels (Fig. 12).  Figure 13 shows the dense presence of small boats to carry goods from the river system and loaded onto large ships for commercial traffic. From the historical photo, we can imagine this is an economic model for the trade and export of rice in the region. The Chinese managed the economy in Saigon, and the French managed the rice exports. Figure 13 shows the strategic location of the Banque de l'Indochine Saigon near Chines Arroyo – the waterway to trade rice, and Saigon harbor – the place to export rice. Figure 14 shows one of the cargo ships that export rice from Saigon. 

2.3.3. The financial district

When the French government colonized South Vietnam, they built and managed Saigon as a colonial city for economic exploitation. With the fertile rice fields of the Mekong Delta, Saigon became the central place to trade and export rice. Figure 15 shows the bustling everyday scene at the trade center. Many financial institutions moved to Saigon to participate in the local economy via investment, trade, and export. Many banks came to Vietnam and located their headquarters in the Saigon port area to create the financial district. The Hongkong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC) established a branch in Saigon and build even a headquater in 1870, followed by other banks: The Société financière française et coloniale (1926) which later became Banque Franco-Chinoise in 1930 and the Banque Extérieure d'Algérie (The Overseas Bank of Algeria). The Banque de l'Indochine was founded in 1875. In Saigon, the bank's headquarters building was built and inaugurated in 1930. The headquarters of the Banque de l'Indochine Sai Gon was the largest bank in the financial district of Saigon at that time (Fig. 16). The bank's activities may be directly related to business lending and economic control in the region.

2.4. References

[4] Gédéon, L. (2022, April). Cholon: a “little China” in the heart of Saigon. Gis Reseau Asie. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from http://www.gis-reseau-asie.org/en/cholon-little-china-heart-saigon

[5]  Banque De L’indochine, succursale de saïgon. (2017, October 19). Entreprises-Coloniales.Fr. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from https://www.entreprises-coloniales.fr/inde-indochine/Bq_Indoch.-Saigon.pdf

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During the French colonial period, the monetary system was established to stabilize the economy and expand trade across Indochina. The Banque de l'Indochine Saigon was a private bank, and it had a special status for issuing currencies, including coins and banknotes.

3.1. Clue and guiding questions

3.2. My interpretation

3.2.1.  The French Indo-China piastre of 1887

Looking closely at the French Indo-China piastre of 1887 (Fig. 17), we can identify the following details: (1) Overall, this is a silver coin used for commercial purposes, with the design resembling the Great Seal of France (2) the words “Republique Francaise“ (English translation: French Republic) form the circular legend (2) the word “Barre“ and the number “1887“ are in the bottom corner, (3) the rice plant on the left side of the female figure, (4) the female figure holds fasces in her right hand and a ship's rudder in her left hand, (5) the anchor at the right side of the female figure. The female figure, to be identified with Marianne Liberty, has a confident seating posture, and her eyes look frontal to the viewer. At the same time, she holds the fasces as a symbol of justice and power in her right hand. She shows herself as the one in charge of direction and rule with her left-hand holding the ship's rudder. The rice as a symbol suggests focusing on local goods for colonial exploitation since rice has always been a major export product of the Mekong Delta. Along with that, the symbol of the anchor indicates maritime and international trade (Fig. 17). These symbols are directly connected to the trading and exporting of rice.

3.2.2. The 100 piastres banknote (1911–1920)

When looking at the 100 Piastres banknote, we can see the details of Naga, a snake god, and Lion guards from Cambodian culture (Fig. 18). This is an indication of the association policy of the French colonialists in the Indochina region. They brought details of other cultures into their design products, similar to how the French designed the Vietnam History Museum by including the elements of the Chinese style into the French building, as is shown in Fig. 19. On the right of the banknote is another image of Marianne, the icon of the French Republic, standing upright, with her arms resting comfortably on the capital of the column, her hand grasping the shoulder of an Asian-looking man. This Asian man wears traditional Vietnamese clothes. The posture of Marianne and this man shows the power relation and hierarchy between the French and the Vietnamese, and the hand on the shoulder represents the position of an older person teaching an inexperienced one, a paternal gesture. This expansion and demonstration of power are also reflected in the fact that the bank itself issued these coins and banknotes to govern the colonial economy. And this is obvious through the opening of branches throughout Indochina, especially in Vietnam (Saigon, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Tourane - Da Nang nowadays) and Cambodia (Pnompeng & Battambang).

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4. Connecting the dots

4.1. What does the visual evidence tell us about the history of Banque de l'Indochine Saigon?

Regarding the first clue, the exterior and interior design of the building shows us a design intending and emphasizing the expression of power. The building exudes solidity and longevity because it has an extensive design and solid stone material. Along with the Art Deco and eclecticism interior design, it offers the feeling of distant luxury and high class. All these design impressions are related to the second clue, emphasizing the importance of this building in French colonial economic management and administration in Indochina, such as issuing currency, ensuring regional financial stability, and fostering the economy. The building is located at the very heart of the economic and commercial development area, near the Chinese Arroyo and Saigon Harbor. The canal plays a vital role in commodity trading, especially rice, and is not far from the Saigon harbor, where transactions are carried out and international export occurs. The design of the building itself also conveys the impression of French power over the colonists. Similar to the third clue, the design of coins and banknotes show the classical French symbols of power which root in ancient Roman iconography, as Marianne Liberty holds fasces and rudder on the French Indo-China piastre coin of 1887 (Fig. 17) or with Marianne's hand on the Vietnamese man’s shoulder on 100 piastres banknote from 1911 to 1920 (Fig. 19).

4.2. Banque de l'Indochine Saigon nowadays

However, any object of history changes meaning with the historical context in which it exists. The architecture of the Banque de l'Indochine Saigon building is still intact, but the name of the building has been changed to "State Bank of Vietnam". The Chinese Arroyo Canal has turned into Ben Nghe Canal and mainly serves as drainage. Saigon Harbor has become the Bach Dang Wharf primarily for touristic purposes. In front of the building, the ventilation building for the Thu Thiem tunnel was erected to cover the loss of the landscape beauty of the building (Fig. 20), now hiding large parts of the riverside facade of the bank. A similar fate befell the French Indo-China piastre coin when it was reused for a new purpose: curing colds in a Vietnamese folk remedy. They will place it in egg white and use it to rub the back of the patient (Fig. 21). The coin is made of silver, so the Vietnamese believe it can extract colds out of sick people. These examples show us an interesting perspective of how historical objects interact with contemporary life in Vietnam.

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