Ho Chi Minh City, originally a small fishing village, became the main port of Cambodia before the arrival of the Vietnamese in the 16th century. It was conquered by the French in 1856 and was the capital of French Indochina (Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos) until 1954, when it became the capital of South Vietnam. In 1975, at the end of the American War, the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City and is now a thriving metropolis of over 7 million people and a major tourist destination in Southeast Asia.