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.
Xuân Phương in Vietnam
A British Photographer's 30 Years of Forming a Kindred Connection With Vietnam
When he boarded a flight from Bangkok to Hanoi in 1992, Andy Soloman thought he would stay in Vietnam for just one month. Little did he know that what seemed like a brief trip would stretch into seven years — the beginning of a bond that has tied him to Vietnam for three decades and beyond.
Rare Film Photos by Andrew Holbrooke Showcase an Industrious Vietnam in 1991
Money cannot buy happiness, but it makes happiness easier to attain.
Tim Doling in Saigon
How Nhà Thờ Tân Định, Saigon's Iconic Pink Church, Came to Be
You just have to mention the “pink church” and everyone knows which one you mean. But few are aware that the building in question — Tân Định Church — is one of Saigon’s oldest and most important Roman Catholic institutions.
Slices of Life in Saigon, Huế, Hanoi in 1989 on Film
What is it about coming across old photos that tugs on our heartstrings so much, even when they depict a time when some of us weren’t alive yet?
Saigon Demolishes 3 Heritage Villas to Make Room for Covid-19 Memorial Park
As part of a plan to build a dedicated space to commemorate victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saigon authorities recently demolished several heritage buildings from the 1950s, sparking concerns about the city’s loss of architectural heritage.
What a Set of Art Homework From Long Xuyên Teaches Us About 1930s Vietnam
Much like their descendants today, schoolchildren of 1930s Vietnam also took art classes as part of their syllabus. In this rare collection of what was essentially our grandparents’ homework, we can surprisingly learn a lot about the daily life of Mekong Delta residents from nearly 100 years ago.
40 Nostalgic Photos Of 1961 Saigon From Life Magazine
When Life Magazine photographer, John Dominis, traveled to Saigon in 1961, he spent most of his trip photographing daily life in the city. With his camera, he captured downtown Saigon’s busy streets, ...
12 Old Pictures of Christmas in Saigon
The brightly lit Christmas decorations of downtown Saigon seem to getting more elaborate each year. In the 1960s, though still a popular holiday in the South, Christmas was decidedly analog. The diffe...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Vietnam Railways Building
Featured earlier this year as a Saigoneer "Building of the Week," the 100-year-old Vietnam Railways Building at 136 Hàm Nghi is the latest of Hồ Chí Minh City's historic buildings to be threatened wit...
Travel Back In Time With These 15 Photos Of 1929 Saigon
1929 could be referred to as the beginning of Saigon’s Golden Age. Built on the backs of exploited Vietnamese laborers, the French had carved out what was then called the Pearl of the Orient, a Europe...
17 Sky-High Photos Of 2002 Saigon
These images, taken in 2002, provide not only a wonderful bird's eye view of Saigon, but also capture its transition into a modern city.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Nguyen Van Cua Imprimerie de l'Union Building
Located close to the Saigon Post Office, the unassuming two-storey white shophouse building at 49-57 Nguyễn Du was once the headquarters of one of the most successful colonial-era printing companies.
[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: Part 2
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 Then & N...
50 Old Photos of Cần Thơ
Now the 4th largest city in Vietnam with 1.2 million people, Cần Thơ is the “capital of the West” and the central of hub of commerce in the Mekong Delta.
Icons of Old Saigon: André Pancrazi's Café de la Musique and Grand Hôtel des Nations
One of many French settlers of Corsican descent who made names for themselves in colonial Saigon, André Pancrazi is remembered as the proprietor of two old Saigon icons – the Café de la Musique and th...
Lee Starnes in Vietnam
[Photos] The Vietnamese Soldiers Of WWI
Whereas the story of World War I traditionally filters through the lens of the major European powers, colonial ties produced a transcontinental story with the militaries of France and Britain comprise...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building Of The Week: 93-95 Đồng Khởi
One of the most elegant old colonial buildings in the centre of the city, 93-95 Đồng Khởi – originally 93-95 rue Catinat – is believed to have been constructed in the period 1900-1910.
24 Late 19th Century Photos Of Vietnam
These 24 photos taken between 1880 and 1898 show Vietnam just as France was settling into their role as colonial occupier.
20 Beautiful Old Maps of Hanoi
Unlike Saigon, Hanoi has been a major urban center for over a millennia, so while the oldest maps of Saigon date back to around 1790, those of the capital go back far further.
40 Striking Photos of War Seen From the Perspective of the North
Photos of U.S. troops in rice paddies, anti-war protests and skies full of Iroquois helicopters have become ubiquitous images of the American War, incubated by countless blockbuster films, documentari...
Tim Doling in Saigon
Date With The Wrecking Ball: Cercle des Officiers
Last week it was announced that yet another old French civic building, featured earlier this year in Saigoneer as an “Old Saigon Building of the Week,” will soon be demolished.
20 Photos of Saigon From the Early 1990s
By the early 1990s, Saigon had yet to emerge from its post-war cocoon. Having lost its colonial sheen and cosmopolitan character, it would be another few yeas before the effects of the Doi Moi reforms...
The Mysterious Tunnels That Lie Beneath Saigon
While the tunnels under Independence Palace and the Ho Chi Minh City Museum are open to tourists, new research shows that they are part of a more extensive tunnel network that lies under the streets o...
[Photos] Abandoned Nam Dinh Church Being Swallowed by the Sea
Nam Định Province is full of beautiful churches, but while many remain in good condition, the Heart Church, located on Xương Điền beach, has seen better times. With each passing day, the now aban...
30 Color Photos Of Peaceful 1956 Saigon
1956 was the calm before the storm of violent conflict that would characterize the next 2 decades and transform Saigon into a militarized city, plagued by bombings and overcrowded by war refugees.
Tim Doling in Saigon
Old Saigon Building Of The Week: 128 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai
In the early 20th century, the colonial villa at 128 Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai (the former rue Chasseloup-Laubat) was home to one of Saigon’s best-known Corsican families, the Canavaggios.
