Paul Christiansen

in Music & Arts

The Unquenchable Spirit of Artist Lê Triều Điển

“Điển is like a flower; there is no question of growing or not growing.”

in Music & Arts

Cổ Động's Live Session Series 'Động Tag' Returns for Season 2 With 9 Vietnamese Artists

Động Tag Live Session, Cổ Động’s series of live recordings aiming to highlight Vietnam’s up-and-coming musicians, is returning with a second season.

in Culture

The Artist Preserving Saigon's Cultural Tapestry Through Hand-Painted Signs

"In the early 2000s, the market experienced an exodus of painters due to the shift to digital; it was difficult to retain customers otherwise. I didn't want my craft to be forgotten, so I started everything all over,” Nguyễn Hoài Bảo told me in Vietnamese when I visited his studio.

in Travel

Vietnam Welcomes 21m Tourists in 2025, Highest-Ever Figure in History

Last year marked an impressive year for tourism in Vietnam. A record number of 21.17 million international tourists visite...

in Loạt Soạt

Viet Thanh Nguyen's New Essay Collection Is Both Theoretically Sharp and Intimately Tender

Last year, acclaimed Vietnamese American writer Viet Thanh Nguyen published To Save and to Destroy: Writing as an Other, a collection of six essays adapted from the prestigious Norton Lectures that he delivered at Harvard in 2023–2024.

in Travel

Hanoi's Proposal to Stop Train Service Might Spell the End of 'Train Street'

Hanoi’s infamous train street might be going away if a new municipal plan becomes a reality.

in Fashion

In Sa Pa, Learning How to Indigo Dye, One Plant, Vat, and Beeswax Pen at a Time

My first meal in Sa Pa was accidentally earned. After a few hours of uneven rest in a sleeper bus and a short ride from Sa Pa city center to the village, I finally arrived, along with two other indigo enthusiasts, at a small hill in bản Cát Cát. A few modest houses framed a quiet courtyard where indigo vats rested, and long strips of dyed fabric hung on bamboo poles, drying in the morning air.

Khôi Phạm

in Quãng 8

Hanoi Indie Duo Limebócx Brings Tried-and-Trù Traditions to Young Ears

A grazing buffalo, frolicking water puppets, mystifying tam cúc cards, an insolent maiden in áo tứ thân, a rustic meal around cái mâm. These are just a few standout visuals that will haunt your brain upon feasting your eyes on Limebócx’ debut music video ‘Yêu Nhau (Qua Cầu Gió Bay).’

Back Arts & Culture

in Culture

For Vietnam's Busy Buddhists, Spiritual Teaching Is Just a Click Away With Online Temples

Boon or bane: spiritual service delivered to your nearest digital device.

in Arts & Culture

Vietnamese Artist Phan Thao Nguyen Wins Top Singapore Art Prize

Nguyen is the first female artist to win the art prize since its establishment.

in Culture

[Photos] Skaters Descend on Ly Thai To Park for Annual ‘Go Skateboarding Day’

Go Skateboarding Day is an official annual holiday for skaters around the globe. The occasion is all about celebrating skateboarding communities and, at Ly Thai To Park last Thursday, more than 100 sk...

in Arts & Culture

[Illustrations] Local Artist Transforms Classic Vietnamese Instruments Into Postage Stamps

A new art project depicts a đàn tỳ bà and a đàn nguyệt — two of Vietnam’s most iconic instruments — on fictional stamps.

in Culture

[Video] Powerful, Atmospheric Short Film Explores the Lives of Hanoi’s Street Kids

Filmmaker Dan Sadgrove is known for making atmospheric short films about travel, culture and wildlife. In his latest, he explores the lives of street kids in Hanoi, and the support they receive from l...

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: Forgotten Traditions, Making Vietnamese Food Even Healthier and Renaissance Woman Mai Nguyen

Another week, another episode of the Saigoneer Podcast! We're almost to our big 2-0!

in Arts & Culture

[Video] A Look Into the Splendidly Detailed Art of Making Hmong Flax Fabrics

Scrunching, beating, straightening, twisting, spinning, drying, washing, softening, spinning, weaving, waxing and coloring: an incredible amount of work goes into handmaking Hmong flax fabrics.

in Arts & Culture

[Photos] The Meticulous Miniature World of Taiwanese Artist Hank Cheng

The amount of detail in these works is remarkable. 

in Fashion

Classic Italian Suits Adapted for Contemporary Businessmen in Vietnam’s Tropical Climate

With each skin Vietnam sheds as it moves towards development and prosperity, it undergoes fundamental shifts, and no more so than in the country’s culture and aesthetics.

Khoi Pham

in Music & Arts

These Intimate Rainy Season Moments Are Why We Love Saigon's Summer Rain

Saigon’s pluviophiles, unite!

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: Queer Representation in Vietnamese Pop Culture, Street Food Update and Marou Chocolate

We're back with episode 18 after taking a week off!

Paul Christiansen

in Postcards

Saigon Postcard No. 7: The Penguin Puzzle

Where are all the turtles in Saigon's turtle lake, why does Bitexco have a helipad it never uses, how come so many streets misspell their namesakes (looking at you Hàng Sanh) - Saigon is fil...

in Arts & Culture

[Video] In This Saitama Museum, Rocks With Human Faces Are the Star of the Show

The merit of letting nature be its own artist.

Khoi Pham

in Culture

The Tale of the Coconut Skull Is a Perfect Balance of Weird, Heart and Family-Friendly Moral Lessons

Vietnamese folklore takes the old adage “beauty is only skin-deep” very seriously.

in Arts & Culture

Weaving a Realm: Documenting Vietnam's Royal Costumes From the 15th Century

In their latest crowdfunding project, Vietnam Centre is combining the fashion design and history in a comprehensive art book detailing the ancient Vietnamese costumes worn during the late Le dynasty.

in Music & Arts

World Press Photo Exhibition in Hanoi this Weekend for First Time in 15 Years

The event will run for 4 weeks, giving Hanoians the chance to peruse works by some of the world’s most celebrated press photographers.

in Arts & Culture

[Photos] Vietnamese Teens Are Putting High School Textbook Covers on Their Shirts

What can you not put on a T-shirt?

in Arts & Culture

[Photos] Local Designer Modernizes Vietnam's Traditional Wines With Classy Branding Project

If you love rice wine, you might enjoy this classy makeover of Vietnam’s most sought-after traditional alcohols.

Kit Humphrey

in Postcards

Hanoi Postcard No. 2: Coming up Roses

Hanoi Postcards is our series of love notes to the city we call home. This second offering is of a flower seller cycling along with her florets. With sunlight shining through an audience of trees, her...

in Podcast

Saigoneer Podcast: Writing in a Second Language, Saigon's Japan Town and Artist Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen

It's Monday and even the absence of our editor-in-chief can't stop the release of another podcast.