Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh;  listen), formerly named and also referred to by some Vietnamese as Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn;  listen, French: Saïgon), is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known as Prey Nokor, an important Khmer sea port prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the independent republic of South Vietnam 1955–75. On 2 July 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after Hồ Chí Minh (although the name Sài Gòn is still unofficially widely used).