Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City came in second out of the 11 most beautiful post offices in the world

The American architectural magazine Architectural Digest voted 11 most beautiful post offices in the world, and the Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City came in second out of those 11.

The beauty of the post office is often in its function: It allows people to stay connected, no matter where they are around the world. Even so, post office design is not often given the same consideration as other public works, like palaces or parliament buildings. Anyone who’s shipped a package or letter knows that, in many cases, a mailing station is little more than a place to drop off letters and boxes with a few employees behind a desk. But that doesn’t mean beautiful post offices don’t exist. The American architectural magazine Architectural Digest voted 11 most beautiful post offices in the world, and the Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City came in second out of those 11.

The yellow façade and green shutters of the Saigon Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City have turned the building into not only just a post office, but a popular tourist attraction. The structure was designed by Alfred Foulhoux in the late 1880s when Vietnam was part of French Indochina and hence features many elements of renaissance, gothic, and other French architectural styles.

The building comprises two 2-storey outside blocks, a 3-storey centre block, and a tiled roof. Its traditional European architectural style is blended with Asian ornamentation. There are numerous elaborately decorated arched doors on the façade. A huge arch with an iron roof serves as the entryway. There is a large clock and a sign with the building year, 1886–1891, on the roof of the lobby.

The transaction space of the structure is remarkable, with steel domes and columns that have been ornately ornamented. Light windows are created by this dome system from the roof and the top of the wall.

In particular, two historical maps, Lignes temégraphiques du Sud Vietnam et du Cambodge, 1936 (map), and Saigon et ses environs, 1892 (Saigon and its area, 1892), are also kept here.