Sác-Lô in Hanoi: How a Pre-Industrial Vietnam Captivated Charlie Chaplin in 1936
About 90 years ago, Modern Times was released. Its title carried a warning. The film railed against the new industrial age and the misery it inflicted on workers amid the Great Depression. Yet a film about the dangers of modernity was being told through an almost-silent medium, nearly a decade into the era of sound. Charlie Chaplin, who wrote, directed, produced, and scored the film, in addition to starring in it, was deliberately resisting Hollywood's shift into the future.
The Story of Cà Mên, Vietnam’s Living Fossil From the Wartime and Subsidy Eras
During lunchtime at work, I spot a few aluminum cà mên that my coworkers bring from home to keep their lunch warm. Cà mên was once an indispensable item in my family too, but now it’s rarely used; it's limited to the few occasions when my grandparents or parents pack lunch for the kids.
In 1992 Vietnam, the Streets Were Brimming With Love and Life
How has your life been transformed in the past 30 years? Changes might materialize overnight, but some tend to creep up on you at a glacial pace. Through this collection of images from 1992, mull over how Vietnam as a country has grown with every 12-month cycle.
Tim Doling in Saigon
A Brief History of Saigon's Art Deco Eye Hospital, Formerly the Clinique Saint-Paul
For those condemned to a long daily commute along that busiest of city arteries, Điện Biên Phủ Street, the clean, elegant lines of the Hồ Chí Minh City Eye Hospital offer a refreshing contrast to the surrounding urban clutter. The compound was formerly known as Clinique Saint-Paul, so many older Saigoneers still refer to it by the name Bệnh viện Xanh-Pôn.
Tuyết Nhi in Saigon
Exploring Chợ Quán Asylum, Saigon’s Oldest Prisoner-of-War Camp
In a secluded corner of Saigon’s Bệnh viện Nhiệt đới, or Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a prison continues its century-long existence hidden from public memory and discourse.
An Early View of a Barely Developed Saigon in the 1860s
Dropping a modern Saigoneer into the 1860s version of the city would be a wildly disorienting experience.
Vietnam's 1969 Street Fashion Story as Told Through Honda Cubs
The very definition of cool was established decades ago in Vietnam, and it was badass women in áo dài dashing on the street in slick sunglasses.
From D4's Village Past to Now, History Keeps Wanting to Widen Nguyễn Tất Thành Street
A century before today's bulldozers, colonial planners were already wrestling with the same congested waterfront corridor — and the same promises of transformation.
Ancient Tombs of Saigon: The Mass Grave Under Dan Chu Roundabout
Saigoneers living in the vicinity of District 10’s Dan Chu Square may be aghast to discover that their homes could be sitting on the city’s largest mass burial site.
Khoi Pham in Saigon
Street Cred: Bui Vien, the First Vietnamese in America...or Was He?
In today’s Saigon, Bui Vien Street is commonly known as the city’s backpacker paradise, not to mention one of its many nightlife hotspots. It’s unclear whether urban planners in the southern hub had o...
[Map] The Stories Behind Saigon’s French Colonial Street Names
In its relatively young history, Saigon has undergone several makeovers: from quaint colonial town to grand capital of Cochinchina, major metropolis of southern Vietnam and now the buzzing economic hu...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With the Wrecking Ball: The Cercle Sportif Saigonnais
Local conservation groups have expressed concern about a plan approved by the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Culture Palace to demolish the much-loved 1925 Cercle Sportif Saigonnais and replace it with a stat...
[Photos] A Sepia-Toned Glimpse Into China's Last Dynasty
In this rare, 19th-century black-and-white photo collection, China appears surprisingly spartan and somber.
Khoi Pham in Vietnam
Street Cred: Thoai Ngoc Hau, Dedicated but Misunderstood
For someone whose entire life was dedicated to national progress, Thoai Ngoc Hau really didn’t receive the treatment he deserved for his achievements. Marred by a wrongful conviction, even after his d...
The Story Behind Cho Ba Chieu
Ba Chieu is an old, bustling local market with nostalgic charm. Built in 1942 in what is today’s Binh Thanh District, Ba Chieu Market has remained largely the same despite Saigon's rapid urbanization ...
HCMC Begins $2m Restoration of 200-Year-Old Pagoda
A 200-year-old pagoda in District 11 is getting a long-overdue makeover after Ho Chi Minh City authorities recently greenlit a renovation project.
[Photos] 1960s An Loc: The Calm Before the Storm
A rare collection of photos shows how residents in the countryside of southern Vietnam lived in the late 1960s.
[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: The Diem Coup (1963)
In September 1963, reporters and journalists began to hear rumblings about a coup that would ultimately topple the increasingly unpopular Ngo Dinh Diem regime.
[Photos] 1971 Vung Tau Through the Lens of an Australian Serviceman
Today, Vung Tau is well-known throughout southern Vietnam as a quaint coastal town that offers tourists from nearby provinces an affordable, convenient location for a short trip that’s just enough to ...
Tim Doling in Vietnam
80 Years of Vietnam’s North-South Railway Line
September 2, 2016 is an auspicious day in the history of Vietnam's railways, marking the 80th anniversary of the completion of the “Transindochinois” or North-South railway line.
Dana Filek-Gibson in Saigon
Street Cred: Hai Thuong Lan Ong, the Father of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine
Hai Thuong Lan Ong is one of the most influential figures in the history of traditional Vietnamese medicine.
[Photos] Take a Tour of 1990 Saigon
Coming across photo collections of old Saigon is always fascinating. The city seems to take on a new life in each era, but still somehow manages to retain its distinctive core characteristics: a vibra...
Tim Doling in Vietnam
How a French Adventurer Became King of the Central Highlands
Many will have heard of Englishman James Brooke, the so-called “White Rajah” who in the 1840s established the Kingdom of Sarawak, or indeed of French lawyer Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, who in 1860 foun...
Historic Nam Dinh Textile Factory, Once Indochina’s Oldest, Meets the Wrecking Ball
One of the largest remnants of France’s colonial legacy in Vietnam will soon meet its end.
[Photos] Saigon’s 81-Year-Old Downtown Mosque, 1958-1979
As high-rises go up and Saigon’s historical buildings come down, more than a few of District 1’s landmarks have disappeared. The Jamia Al-Musulman Mosque, however, remains in the heart of the city, ru...
Khoi Pham in Saigon
Street Cred: Ho Xuan Huong, a Woman Ahead of Her Time
Despite being one of Vietnam’s most prominent classical poets, Ho Xuan Huong’s existence remains an enigma to this day.
[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: Ben Thanh Market
The southern hub has seen its fair share of transformations over the years. From French colonialism to the swinging 60s, the early days of Đổi Mới to 21st-century Vietnam, Saigon’s urban lan...
[Photos] A Day at the Saigon Zoo: 1967
For generations of Saigoneers, a visit to the city’s Zoological and Botanical Garden is an important milestone of their childhood. However, in the following collection of photos, we get a glimpse of t...
