Sixteen photographs capturing everyday life in Hanoi during the 1990s have become part of Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi’s permanent art collection. Acquired from British photographer Andy Soloman, the works are being exhibited as the historic hotel marks its 125th anniversary.
Hanoi has undergone considerable changes over the past three decades, but traces of its earlier life remain in photographs taken by those who witnessed the city at a different point in its history. Among them is British photographer Andy Soloman, whose images of street vendors, cyclo drivers, markets and ordinary residents offer a glimpse into the capital during the 1990s.
Sixteen of Soloman’s photographs are now on display at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi in an exhibition titled Hanoi: Traces of Time, running from October 9 to December 9, 2026.
The exhibition forms part of the hotel's 125th anniversary celebrations. The property has acquired the 16 signed, limited-edition prints, collectively named The Soloman Metropole Collection, for its permanent art holdings.
Beyond commemorating a milestone in the hotel's history, the exhibition offers an opportunity to revisit a period when Hanoi was experiencing the social and economic changes that followed Vietnam's introduction of the Doi Moi reforms.
Everyday Scenes, Lasting Memories
Soloman first arrived in Hanoi in October 1992, aged 30, as a London-based photojournalist. He subsequently traveled extensively throughout Vietnam, documenting everyday life and the people he encountered.
Although his assignments took him across the country, Hanoi made a particularly strong impression on him.
Rather than concentrating on famous monuments or conventional tourist attractions, Soloman turned his camera toward the ordinary scenes unfolding around him. Streets, markets, schools and factories became subjects through which he documented the city's daily rhythms.
The Metropole collection includes Early Morning Exercise (1992), Cyclo Drivers in Hanoi's Old Quarter (1992), Dong Xuan Market (1992), Mid-Autumn Festival Vendor (1997), Vietnamese Heroic Mothers (1997) and Bia Hoi Delivery by Cyclo (1997).
Viewed today, these photographs carry significance beyond their original subjects.
An image of beer being transported by cyclo, for example, recalls a time when human-powered vehicles played a more visible role in Hanoi's commercial life. Photographs of market activities and Mid-Autumn Festival vendors preserve details of street commerce and seasonal traditions that continue to evolve alongside the city.
What may have appeared unremarkable when the photographs were taken has gradually acquired historical value.
This is one of the enduring qualities of documentary photography: ordinary moments can become records of social change as buildings, transport systems, occupations and daily habits are transformed.
Soloman's photographs also offer a perspective on Hanoi's urban identity. Rather than presenting the city through its architectural landmarks alone, they draw attention to the people whose routines and livelihoods give those places their character.
After living and working in Hanoi, Soloman joined Reuters in 1997. He now divides his time between the United Kingdom and Vietnam, focusing on travel and fine-art photography.
His continuing connection with the country is reflected in another project, Continuum: Vietnam, through which he seeks to reconnect with people he photographed in 1992 and 1993.
The project adds another dimension to his earlier work. While the original photographs captured particular moments, revisiting their subjects decades later offers an opportunity to explore how individual lives have unfolded against the backdrop of Vietnam's transformation.
A Historic Hotel and the City's Cultural Memory
The acquisition comes during a significant year for Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, which first opened in 1901 and has since become one of the capital's best-known historic hotels.
Over its 125-year history, the property has welcomed diplomats, writers, performers and other prominent visitors. Among the names associated with the hotel are Graham Greene, Charlie Chaplin and Somerset Maugham, each commemorated through one of its signature suites.
Today, the hotel has 358 rooms across two sections: the historic Heritage Wing, dating to 1901, and the neoclassical Opera Wing.
Its decision to acquire Soloman's photographs, however, brings a different aspect of Hanoi's history into focus.
While the hotel itself represents an architectural and hospitality legacy, the images document life beyond its walls. They provide a record of the streets and communities that have shaped the surrounding city over time.
In this respect, the collection connects the Metropole's own history with the broader cultural memory of Hanoi.
George Koumendakos, general manager of Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, said the acquisition reflects the hotel's continuing commitment to art and the preservation of the capital's cultural heritage.
He noted that Soloman's photographs capture the character and rhythms of Hanoi with sensitivity, while adding another dimension to the hotel's art collection and the experience offered to guests.
For Soloman, the acquisition also marks a new chapter in his longstanding relationship with Vietnam.
The photographer said the country has remained central to his work for many years and that the images originated from encounters and experiences that have stayed with him. He welcomed the opportunity for the photographs to have a permanent home at the Metropole while remaining accessible to visitors.
Each photograph in the collection has been produced on Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Pearl archival paper, mounted and framed, and individually signed and editioned. These specifications reflect the hotel's intention to preserve the works as part of its permanent collection rather than simply display them as temporary decorative pieces.
The exhibition program also included a complimentary artist talk scheduled for October 10, during which Soloman was to share recollections of his travels in Vietnam in 1992–1993 and his subsequent efforts to reconnect with people he had photographed.
As Hanoi continues to modernize, the exhibition offers a reminder that a city's history is preserved not only through its monuments and major events, but also through seemingly ordinary moments.
A cyclo passing through the Old Quarter, a market vendor preparing for the day or a group exercising in the early morning can reveal as much about a city's past as its most recognizable buildings.
More than three decades after they were taken, Soloman's photographs invite viewers to consider what has changed in Hanoi—and what remains familiar.
Hanoi: Traces of Time is on display at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, 15 Ngo Quyen Street, Hanoi, until December 9, 2026.
