Saigon (Yarphese: Sâêı Gòn, Vietnamese: Sàıgòng) is the third-largest city in the Grand Yarphese Republic. It was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1975 after the communist takeover of South Vietnam, until it was invaded by the Vietnamese Liberation Army in 1994. Until 2007, it was the capital of the Grand Yarphese Republic. It was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. In 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding province of Gia Định and was officially renamed Hồ Chí Minh City.