in Vietnam

French Illustrated Encyclopedia Paints the Slices of Vietnam Life in the 1900s

"To effectively govern colonial peoples, the foremost requirement is a thorough understanding of the very people one rules over," so believed Paul Doumer, the second Governor-General of French Indochina, who spent his career imposing the imperial French government's agenda on studying the culture of their colonized subjects.

in Saigon

Portrait of a Jubilant Saigon on the Precipice of Tết in 1992

Tết in 1992 was an especially fortuitous time to be a foreign arrival to Saigon. 

in Vietnam

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.

in Vietnam

Vintage French Book Illustrations Depict a Quaint Indochina in 1903

In this rare collection of images from 1903 Indochina, life in the peninsula appears as if in a dream, with rows of colonial-style houses in between heritage trees and natural landscapes that weren’t interrupted by concrete.

Paul Christiansen

in Saigon

Did You Know That There's a Mummy on Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm Boulevard?

Why is there a mummy on display in Saigon?

Brian Letwin

in Heritage

Tàu Cánh Ngầm: The Curious Case of Saigon’s Lost Soviet Hydrofoils

Not long ago, hulking “creatures” glided atop the waters between Saigon and Vũng Tàu. Like the dinosaurs that came before them, they slowly disappeared, until all that was left were their skeletons.

in Saigon

Relive Your Memories of Saigon Water Park via These Photos by One of Its Makers

Although water parks involve a combination of two of the most tedious human experiences, standing in lines and prolonged direct sun exposure, the now-demolished Saigon Water Park was an icon of 2000s Saigon that remains a crucial cornerstone of many city dwellers' memories.

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.

Back Heritage

in Vietnam

[Photos] Take a Trip Back in Time to 1969 Can Tho

For decades, Can Tho has been the capital of the Mekong Delta, drawing people from across southwestern Vietnam to its sleepy, riverside town. But while the city is developing a more modern edge these ...

in Vietnam

What Phu Quoc Was Like in 1907

A translation of Pierre Rev’s description of Phú Quốc island from his 1907 book, Dans le Golfe de Siam.

in Saigon

[Video] This Is What Saigon Looked Like in 1945

There's something wholly captivating about old footage of Saigon. In a city that seems to transform in the blink of an eye, it's rare to find evidence of the southern hub from long ago.

in Saigon

Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Customs Directorate Building

The Customs Directorate, one of the city’s best-loved colonial landmarks, is the latest in a series of government buildings to face the threat of redevelopment.

in Vietnam

[Photos] One Photographer's Journey Through 1990 Vietnam

Life moves pretty fast in Vietnam. What's here today may be gone tomorrow and, two years from now, replaced with a skyscraper or a hotel or a high-end shopping complex. Everywhere you turn, it seems, ...

in Saigon

Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Thái Văn Lung Street

One of the city's oldest thoroughfares, the street we know today as Thái Văn Lung bore the name Pasteur Street for over half a century.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Here's What Hanoi Looked Like In 1905

During the French colonial period, Tonkin, or Đàng Ngoài, was the name given to northern Vietnam. Situated in and around the Red River Delta, the word 'Tonkin' is a corruption of Đông Kinh, the name o...

in Vietnam

17 Photos That Capture the Lives of Indochina's Ethnic Minorities in 1944

While the vast majority of Vietnamese hail from one ethnic group – the Kinh – the country is home to 54 different ethnicities, each with their own culture, traditions, language and style of dress.

in Saigon

Saigon’s Famous Streets And Squares: Trần Hưng Đạo Boulevard

One of Saigon’s youngest major boulevards, Trần Hưng Đạo was built in 1911-1913 over former swamp land to provide a more direct route between the cities of Saigon and Chợ Lớn.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Old Photos Of Dalat’s Lost Railway

In the early 20th century, when Dalat was still a nascent town, the Swiss-built LangBian cog railway was its connection the coast. Joining the Central Highlands town with Ninh Thuan province's Thap Ch...

in Saigon

Saigon’s Famous Streets And Squares: Hai Bà Trưng Street

One of Saigon’s longest and busiest streets, Hai Bà Trưng is a thoroughfare of great antiquity which dates back more than 200 years.

in Saigon

20 Photos Of 1960s Phu Nhuan

Everyone in Saigon knows the drill: what's a shoe store today might be a phở stall tomorrow. Hairdressers become restaurateurs, office buildings turn into hotels and your favourite bánh mì cart could ...

in Saigon

Icons Of Old Saigon: The Maison Centrale de Saigon

One of the most hated government buildings in colonial Saigon, the Maison Centrale de Saigon (Khám Lớn Sài Gòn), or Saigon Central Prison, was a truly grim institution where thousands of unfortunates ...

in Saigon

30 Old Pictures Of Thu Duc District: Former Weekend Getaway

Thu Duc isn't exactly a place you'd consider going on holiday. Today, the suburban district is home to industrial centers, dusty roads, busy residential neighborhoods and rumbling transport trucks, un...

in Vietnam

Vintage Photos Capture Hanoi On The Brink Of A New Era

In 1986, Hanoi – much like the rest of Vietnam – was at the start of a new era. Thanks to the government's Doi Moi economic reforms, the country had moved from a centrally planned command economy...

in Saigon

Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Pasteur Street

Known for most of the colonial period as Rue Pellerin, Pasteur Street has grown from ancient inner-city waterway to one of the city’s most desirable streets.

in Vietnam

[Photos] 20 Photos Of Southern Vietnam In 1974

These images offer a rare glimpse of Saigon and southern Vietnam in the months before the region was “liberated” by the North Vietnamese Army.

in Saigon

Old Saigon Building Of The Week: 86 Võ Văn Tần

The ornate mansion on the corner of the Bà Huyện Thanh Quan and Võ Văn Tần junction was once the private residence of celebrated photographer Fernand Nadal, whose old sepia postcard images of the city...

in Heritage

[Photos] This Is What Life In Saigon Looked Like In The Late 60s

While many of the old photos we post show sharp contrasts between past and present, those in this set depict scenes that could be found on Saigon’s streets today, with a few glaring exceptions. 

in Saigon

Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Lê Duẩn Street

When it was first laid out in 1870, the broad avenue we know today as Lê Duản was christened boulevard Norodom, after the Cambodian monarch who in 1863 had entrusted his kingdom to the protection of t...