in Hanoi

The Rickety Last Days of Hanoi's Tramway System in the 1990s

Vietnam residents are rightfully celebrating recent advances in public transit.

in Vietnam

How the National Lottery Reflects Vietnam's Socio-Economic Realities Through Time

For nearly a century, lottery tickets and their strings of lucky numbers have occupied a special role in Vietnamese society: both as a lifeline for dreams of better fortune and as a mirror reflecting the socio-economic realities of the times.

in Vietnam

The Vintage Charm of 1995 Vietnam on Kodachrome Film Slides

While editing a retrospective of my recent work from Vietnam in the summer of 2019, I discovered 50 yellow boxes of Kodachrome slides in my basement that were shot in 1995. The images were from my first trip to Vietnam.

in Saigon

The Forgotten History Behind Saigon's CEE Colonial Substations

Woven into the fabric of modern-day streets, the aging electrical substations of Saigon stand as quiet witnesses to a historical era shaped by the complex legacy of French colonialism.

in Hanoi

Hanoi's Soviet-Style Khu Gia Binh and Life Amid Vietnam's Growing Pains

Hanoi is often known in Vietnam as the land of a millennium-old civilization, a living archive of past Vietnam life. Each tiny alley within the capital can evoke a strong sense of nostalgia in visitors, as those locations encapsulate both wartime memories and charming quotidien moments. There’s one special place in Hanoi that has contributed to the city’s languid pace of life amid the nation’s rapid developments — khu gia binh.

in Vietnam

A Flight Over Đà Lạt in 1968–1971 Before the Tourism Boom

If you’ve taken a trip to Lâm Đồng within the last few years, these scenes seem like a distant dream of a sparsely populated and verdant Đà Lạt that’s engulfed by nature.

in Saigon

The City That Never Sits Still: Traffic in 1994 Saigon via Photos by Ed Kashi

In Saigon on Wheels, American photojournalist Ed Kashi managed to capture the pulse of a simpler Saigon.

in Saigon

With Unchecked Destruction, Saigon's Heritage Shophouse Architecture Is in Danger

The colonial shophouse, one of Saigon’s most iconic forms of architecture, is in imminent danger of extinction.

Back Heritage

in Vietnam

[Photos] Black-and-White Shots Depict Quotidian Details of 19th-Century Vietnam

These black-and-white shots are among the highest-quality documentation attempts of Vietnam at the end of the 19th century.

in Saigon

[Photos] The Saigon Zoo's Enduring Serenity in the 1970s

Over the years, Saigon has changed as drastically as a flounder undergoing a metamorphosis that transfers its eyes from one side of its face to the other. 

in Vietnam

[Photos] The Maritime Idyll of 1965 Phan Thiet

Before it became a weekend destination for workweek-weary Saigoneers, Phan Thiet was an austere fishing town.

in Asia

[Photos] An Idyllic Slice of 1957 Cambodian Life

Vietnam isn't the only country in the region to change dramatically over the last several decades.

in Vietnam

[Photos] The Small-Town Charm of Vung Tau in the 1960s

From remembering fond memories with loved ones to selling products and even gaining clues to a grisly crime, photos have many uses.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Views of 1993 Vietnam From Behind the Lens of a Past War Orphan

I have been carrying this film around for over a quarter-century from Hanoi to Saigon to Boston and to New York.

in Hanoi

[Photos] Black-and-White Shots of Hanoi Street Scenes From 1940

For thousands of years, streets have served a multitude of purposes.

in Saigon

[Photos] A Collection of Illusory Saigon Nightscapes From 1938

A rare glimpse into colonial Saigon after sunset.

in Saigon

[Photos] 10 Incredible Shots of 1960s Saigon by William Ruzin

It takes seven to ten years for a human body to replace every cell to the point it consists of entirely different atoms.

Linh Pham

in Hanoi

Street Cred: Pháo Đài Láng, Home of Ông Voi and Where the War Began

More often than not, a country’s independence is won with guns. The location where the first shots were fired for Vietnam is memorialized to this day.

in Saigon

[Photos] Exploring Downtown Saigon Via These 10 Snapshots From the 1970s

What are the people in these photos doing today?

in Vietnam

[Photos] 13 Film Snapshots of a Sleepy Vung Tau in 1967

Vung Tau is a fitting name for the coastal town that invites people to pause and stay a while.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Wander Along the Beach in 1967 Nha Trang

We often yearn to visit tourist destinations before they became heavily developed, but what would that actually be like?

in Vietnam

[Photos] From the National Geographic Archive, Slices of Life in 1952 Vietnam

Mostly taken by National Geographic photojournalist Joseph Baylor Roberts, these excellent shots are among the best images of 1952 Vietnam that one can encounter.

in Vietnam

[Photos] The Coastal Life in Nha Trang in a Timewarp

You can practically taste the salty sea breeze and hear the occasional wafting of rock music in these photos of Nha Trang from the late 60s, early 70s.

in Saigon

The Mystical Origins of Saigon's Notorious Octagonal Prison, Khám Chí Hòa

Chi Hoa Prison (Khám Chí Hòa) is a seven-hectare facility located in Saigon's District 10.

in Saigon

[Photos] 12 Snapshots of Downtown Saigon From Over 30 Years Ago

What can travel photos tell us about the places depicted, especially when it’s been decades since the shots were captured?

in Hanoi

[Photos] What Life in Hanoi Was Like in the 1890s

Can you imagine daily life before electricity, light bulbs, plastics, refrigerators, antibiotics, automobiles and telephones?

in Saigon

[Photos] Amble Along the Familiar Streets of District 1 in 1969

Was Saigon more colorful in the past?

in Vietnam

[Photos] Making Sugar at an Early 20th-Century Boiling House in Quang Ngai

Unlike cash crops such as rubber or coffee that were brought in from other parts of the world, sugarcane was among Vietnam’s original native trees, and locals have been growing the sweet plant for cen...