The former presidential palace for the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese government has been preserved much as it was on April 30, 1975 when North Vietnamese tanks smashed through its gates and brought 30 years of war to an end. The new authorities promptly renamed it the Reunification Palace, and Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, but many residents still refer to the latter by its old name. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. June 30, 2011.