Cholon is Ho Chi Minh City's "Chinatown" district. In Vietnamese, "cho" means market and "lon" is large. Cholon is the largest market in Saigon. It started as a Chinese market and expanded until it became a Saigon suburb. In 1931, French colonial authorities changed the name of Saigon to Saigon-Cholon. In 1956, the "Cholon" was dropped and the city was once again just Saigon.