Saigon under the South Vietnam government is the most prosperous period?
While the Vietnam government is still trying to deny all the success of the South Vietnam government, the fact is that people still admire what they did.
The Vietnam government had to come back with the Green Evolution of South Vietnam
During the South Vietnam period, the government collected all the farms from the landlords in the French colonialism to equally divided among all people. The government of South Vietnam also encouraged people to cultivate freely, especially rice, to improve the food storage for their own life. It was called the Green Evolution. As a result, in five years, the Mekong Delta has become the biggest farm of wet rice in Vietnam. It led to a great result that in 1960, they could export rice to other countries. That was one of the greatest achievements of the South Vietnam government while the war was in the most fierce time.
Nonetheless, when Vietnam united in 1975, the situation changed totally. The government had to face the fact that the famine was omnipresent. There was a huge lack of rice when the country was united under the management of the Vietnam government. People at that time had to mix rice with potato and cassava to decrease the famine because they had not enough rice to feed all people in a family. Until 1986, the Vietnam government had to come back with the policy of the South Vietnam government, the Green Evolution, that was to divide farm to people and let them grow freely. Until then, people were step by step to push the famine away.
The Vietnam government had to implement their “enemy’s” policy in the Green Evolution to fight against the famine after territory union.
Nowadays, Mekong Delta is still the biggest wet rice farm in Vietnam which provides half of the rice productivity for the whole country. Besides, it also still takes a very important role in exporting Vietnamese rice to other countries. We cannot deny that it is a part of the prosperous economy of South Vietnam.
Citizens of South Vietnam drove cars while people lived in the north had to walk
Walking nowadays is a normal thing. However, in the past, the Vietnamese people who lived in the north even did not have any vehicles that they had to walk no matter how far the distance was. They walked from province to province, and even from the north to the south to support the war. However, at the same time, the citizens in South Vietnam had cars to drive on the streets. It means, they were not only rich enough to buy cars but the government also had enough financial power to build strong and modern infrastructure. Until now, some old people in Saigon when thinking about the old days, still fell miss and regret a prosperous period when their lives were so comfortable.
In total 9,000 miles of road, there were 2,000 miles of asphalt concrete, 3,000 miles of gravel road, and 4,000 miles of highway. While the north had to face the famine and even did not have enough financial power to think about improving infrastructure.
=> Danang City in the old days.
Additionally, the railway was destroyed after the French war that it seems not to be used anymore. However, in 5 years from 1955 to 1959, South Vietnam completed 870 miles of railway to connect all the provinces along the south after 12 years of separation.
Furthermore, South Vietnam also established a national airline which was named Air Vietnam. Besides the main airport, Tan Son Nhat, the government also prepared other airports in the south of Vietnam from Hue to Phu Quoc. There were totally 12 airports at that time. Moreover, there were also international flights to Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, America, France, Dutch, British, and so on.
The South Vietnam banks and currency
Besides the infrastructure and high standard living, South Vietnam also had its own national bank and a system of commercial banks. Before South Vietnam established, there were also banks but they are controlled by the French colonist. However, since South Vietnam started to develop its own country, the banks which they established helped to push the economy strong.
In 1955, the South Vietnam national bank launched the first Vietnam currency. Besides, they also carried the professional and modern financial transactions.
In conclusion, even though South Vietnam has disappeared due to the union of the territory, its achievements and admired growth still are at a higher level compare to the current growth of Vietnam today.
