How Did Vietnam Start Celebrating International Women's Day on March 8?
In the hyper-commercialized world we now live in, it might be impossible to associate anything but overpriced flower bouquets and corporate sponsorships with International Women’s Day (IWD), but the widely celebrated occasion actually has a rich history of over 100 years of the women’s rights movement.
Life on the Streets of 1978 Hanoi in Black and White
In August 1978, I visited Hanoi as part of an educational tour organized by a professor from La Trobe University in Melbourne. I was a high school history teacher at the time and an avid photographer. I walked the streets of Hanoi and took many photographs of everyday life in the city, and until now, these photographs have remained unpublished.
A Rare Album by Photographer Bruno Barbey Brings Us Back to Tết in 1994 Hanoi
What do you remember most about the 1990s? Do you remember the fashion, the old-timey technology, or the lack of traffic? And if you were just a wee child, do these memories stay with you?
Khôi Phạm in Vietnam
The First Asian in Space Was Vietnamese. He’s Still Alive Today.
Most Vietnamese schoolkids grew up learning about Phạm Tuân as the first Vietnamese in space, but few know that he was also the first Asian person to clinch the honor.
The Year of the Horse Gallops into The Grand Ho Tram
Inspired by the spirit of the horse, The Grand Ho Tram encourages you to have a year of success, confidence, and new horizons. Traditional Tết performances and activities alongside special feasts and opportunities for revelry will usher in a year of remarkable achievements and memorable moments.
My Great-Great-Grandfathers Were in Indochina in the 1880s to Build the Railway
We often see archival images of old Hanoi, but these photos are different — they are personal. The following shots, which come from a collection of five photo albums, are the only surviving record of my two great-great-grandfathers’ presence in what was then Indochina.
Paul Christiansen in Vietnam
An Indie Archival Project Dreams of Time Travel. How? Lots and Lots of Vietnam Maps.
Its entrances flanked by ATMs and adverts for international airlines, the Sun Wah Tower on Nguyễn Huệ today appears to be another nondescript testament to the global economy and Vietnam’s enthusiastic place within it. However, on those same grounds only 150 years ago, a guillotine was set up to decapitate people on order of the colonial authorities at the Justice de paix.
Marc Dinh in Vietnam
A Brake Failure and 200 Victims: Remembering Vietnam's Deadliest Rail Accident
About 55 kilometers from Saigon, in the small commune of Tây Hoà rests the 17/03/1982 Railway Cemetery. It currently houses 85 unidentified graves of victims of the Train 183 Disaster, the deadliest railway accident in Vietnamese history.
[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.
Tim Doling 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...
[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.
Tim Doling 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...
30 Retro Images Of 1967 Vung Tau
While we spend most of our time waxing poetic over old photos of Saigon, there are plenty of other places worthy of our nostalgic attention.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets And Squares: Tôn Thất Thiệp Street
One of the oldest streets in Saigon, Tôn Thất Thiệp street was known in the early French colonial period firstly as rue No 9 and then from 1863 as rue de l'Église, after Saigon's ill-fated first Roman...
[Photos] Xe Vélo Solex: A Forgotten Saigon Classic
Both bicycles and motorbikes have long played an important role in the lives of Vietnamese (and at times, its occupiers). Starting in the 1950s, French-made motorized bicycles known as Solex became in...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon’s Famous Streets and Squares: Quách Thị Trang Square
In this, the first of a new series about the history of the famous streets and squares of Saigon and Chợ Lớn, Tim Doling looks at the history of Quách Thị Trang square.
21 Beautiful Photos Of 1961 Cho Lon
Cho Lon has long been a center of commerce and culture, tracing its history back to 1778 when the Chinese population of Bien Hoa was forced to relocate after being targeted by Tay Son forces in retali...
The Saigon Tax Trade Center Mosaic Staircase: A Forgotten Moroccan Masterpiece
When the Hồ Chí Minh City authorities announced in 2014 that the Saigon Tax Trade Centre was to be demolished and replaced with a 43-storey tower block, many voices were raised in opposition to the de...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saving Saigon Tax Trade Center’s Mosaic Staircase, 'A Priceless Work Of Art'
Six months after the Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Committee’s promise that both internal and architectural and design features of the old Saigon Tax Trade Centre would be preserved and incorporated into ...
[Photos] The Japanese Prostitutes of Colonial Vietnam
Over at her Saigon - Cho Lon blog, Chen Bichun recently explored one of the many rarely discussed layers of history – the thousands of Japanese women who were forced into prostitution across Asia...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With The Wrecking Ball: Maison du Combattant
Yet another piece of old Saigon heritage faces the wrecking ball following the recent public auction and sale of the former Maison du Combattant “gold land” site at 23 Lê Duẩn.
20 Captivating Photos Take You Back To 1960s Saigon
Despite Saigon’s rapid modernization over the past two decades, old photos of the city from the 1960s reveal a number of persisting characteristics – from sleeping xe om drivers and seas of motorbikes...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Former Collège de Can-Tho
Over the past week, Facebook has been awash with articles about the planned demolition of a much-loved Cần Thơ institution, the Châu Văn Liêm High School (Trường Trung Học Phổ Thông Châu Văn Liêm).
Tim Doling in Saigon
Saigon's Endangered Heritage Buildings: The Top 10
We’re now over half way through 2015, and what better time to update that depressing list of Saigon built heritage in imminent danger of destruction.
This Saigon Art Deco Gem Will Shine Once Again
The area around Ben Thanh Market is quickly becoming an epicenter for development. As new buildings rise, such as The One Ho Chi Minh City and the Eximbank Tower, old colonial structures are seemingly...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building Of The Week: The Hùng King Temple
The Hùng King Temple at 2 Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm was originally built in 1927-1929 under the name Temple du Souvenir Annamite (“Annamite Temple of remembrance”), primarily to honour the memory of Vietnames...
[Photos] Take A Walk Through The Streets Of Old Hanoi
At the turn of the 20th century, people often referred to the Vietnamese capital as “the 36 streets of Hanoi.” Most of these 36 streets lie in today’s Old Quarter and still retain names that reflect t...
Brian Letwin in Heritage
[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: Part 4
We’re back with another set of our “Then and Now” photos which contrast old images of Saigon with their present day counterparts. For a much larger collection, head over to the Saïgon-Chợ Lớn The...
