History
Th e Legacy of H ui B o n H oa
by Saigoneer . Photo by Alexander McMillan .
It ’ s fairly common knowledge that the city ’ s Fine Arts Museum was once home to old Saigon ’ s wealthiest family , however few people know that much of the sprawling Hui Bon Hoa complex was not actually built until after the great patriarch ’ s death .
Hui Bon Hoa , widely known as the richest man in old Saigon , was born in 1845 in China , according to the blog Saigon Cho Lon . Chen Bichun , the author of a 2014 piece on the history of Hui Boa Hoa ' s family , spoke directly with Fernand Hui Bon Hoa , a fourth-generation member of the storied clan to learn about Hui Bon Hoa and his descendants .
As a 20-year-old man , Hui Bon Hoa left Fujian province for Saigon , taking a job at a local pawn shop owned by Frenchman Antoine Ogliastro . By 1887 , he had become a naturalized French citizen and began expanding his business holdings to several pawn shops and real estate ventures . The original patriarch had three sons , Thang Hung , Thang Chanh and Thang Phien , all of whom were born in China but joined their father ’ s business in Saigon after they grew up , helping to grow the family ’ s empire .
However , while Hui Bon Hoa himself is remembered as the founder of the family business , it was his sons who actually developed Chu Hoa ’ s firm into such a successful company . After decades in Vietnam , Hui Bon Hoa returned to China and passed away in 1901 .
His business , however , remained . The Societe Immobiliere Hui-Bon-Hoa ( SIHBH ) was registered at 97 Rue d ’ Alsace-Lorraine – now 97 Pho Duc Chinh – in the heart of downtown Saigon . You ’ ll recognize this as the address of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum , which was built decades after Hui Bon Hoa ’ s death but is still known as Nhà Chú Hoả , or Uncle Hoa ’ s Mansion . When it was first constructed , this building functioned as an office on the ground floor with living quarters upstairs and was considered among the city ’ s most luxurious and innovative buildings thanks to its combination of eastern- and western-style architecture .
8 The MAG Vung Tau