Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

The Reason to Cry for Cu Li, Vietnam's Deeply Misunderstood Primate

A drop of the animal’s blood renders the soil barren; entire mountains can crumble and collapse where it landed. Be wary of this slow wayfarer of the forest, for if you catch sight of its glowing eyes in the distant darkness, your trip is doomed and should be abandoned immediately. And if someone brings one back to the village, make all efforts to return it to the jungle, lest you invite sorrow and ruin into your home. Don’t let its meagre stature, a mere 500 grams, and slow, cuddly demeanor confuse you; the cu li guards the gates to hell.

in Environment

The Hunt for Vietnam's Dinosaurs Has Found Nothing Yet, but There Is Hope

Why aren’t there any Vietnamese dinosaurs?

in Parks & Rec

In Hanoi, Waacking Is Not Just a Dance, but a Home for Creativity, Gender Fluidity Too

“I get to express my madness.” That is what Trần Khánh Linh, also known as Lyna, says when asked why she has been waacking for the last 10 years. By day, Lyna is a jewelry and gemstone seller, but by night, she joins her friends at the Soul Waackers, a waacking group based in Hanoi, and practices a dance style that allows her a vibrant way to self-express.

Uyên Đỗ

in Tech

There's a Cordial Vietnamese Greeting That Has Been Floating in Space Since 1977

At this very moment, while you're reading these lines, a silver “bird” of human design is hurtling away from the Sun at roughly 60,000 kilometers per hour, slipping past the boundaries of our solar cradle and into the endless quiet of the cosmos.

Paul Christiansen

in Environment

How a Self-Taught Documentarian Spreads His Boundless Enthusiasm for Vietnam's Nature

Why “Sticky Discovery”? This was the first question I asked during my interview with the man behind the YouTube series of...

in Architecture

In a D7 Residence, Natural Wood Textures Hark Back to Vietnam's Traditional Homes

During a new decade when architecture projects in Vietnam are increasingly looking towards the future and influences outside the national boundaries for inspirations, Memories House decided to do the opposite by integrating old heirloom furniture and elements from the past into the living space.

in Environment

Searching for the World's Largest Woodpecker Species in Yok Đôn National Park

You first know she’s approaching by the sound of her wings; her broad shadow flashing across the forest floor. Even from far below, her body looks enormous. At half a meter long, she is roughly five times the size of the woodpeckers seen in the gardens of Europe or North America. She is the largest woodpecker left in the world, and the jewel of Yok Đôn National Park.

Paul Christiansen

in Sports

Thống Nhất Stadium Offers Unexpected Opportunities to Reflect Upon the Soul

Where do you find revelation?

Back Society

in Environment

Hanoi Starts Cleaning Hoan Kiem Lake 2 Years After Beloved Turtle Died From Pollution

Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake will be cleaned up two years after its famous reptile resident died in its polluted waters.

in Tech

Vietnamese From Rural Regions Are Using Smartphones and Facebook More Than Ever

Thanks to reductions in smartphone prices, these devices are now increasingly popular among Vietnamese all over the country.

in Tech

Sharks, Anchors & Red Tape: Why It Takes Forever to Fix Vietnam's Broken Internet Cables

Are the sharks all to blame, or should other aquatic creatures also be held responsible for Vietnam’s sluggish internet?

in Education

SSIS: A School Where the Students Get All the Profits

Graduates-to-be take one of their final tours of the SSIS campus in cap and gown. Wherever you're standing on Saigon South International School’s (SSIS) spacious campus, you’ll overhear learning in p...

in Sports

Vingroup Hires Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes for Football Academy in Hung Yen

Two well-known former soccer players from Great Britain have been hired by a new soccer academy in northern Vietnam in an attempt to create the country's first batch of World Cup-caliber footballers.

in Architecture

[Photos] This Abode in D3 Is a Green Oasis Amid Saigon's Concrete Jungle

A building in District 3 designed by architectural firm KIENTRUC O is using space and openness in a daring new way. The result is a structure that connects the lives of its occupants with the surround...

in Society

Most Foreign Brides in South Korea in 2016 Were Vietnamese Women

A new study by South Korea's national statistics organization has shown that Vietnamese women are now the largest group of foreign brides in the East Asian nation.

in Society

[Photos] Conquering Saigon's Concrete Jungle

The concept of urban exploration certainly isn’t in its infancy anymore: across Instagram and other social media feeds, photographs of masked lunatics dangling from skyscrapers abound. While many peop...

in Sports

The Reunification Game: How a 1976 Football Match Brought North & South Together

In early 1976, shortly after the dust had started to settle in a now-unified Vietnam, Le Buu, general director of the country’s Sports Administration Department, was tasked with heading to Saigon to a...

Khoi Pham

in Tech

A Brief History of the Internet in Vietnam on Its 20th Birthday

My first memory of the internet in Vietnam occurred in an internet café on Tran Hung Dao Street. It was the early 2000s: Walkman players were still a thing, MTV actually played music, and Britney Spea...

Khoi Pham

in Society

Meet Le Duy Loan, the First and Only Female Senior Fellow at Texas Instruments in 87 Years

When Le Duy Loan fled to the US in 1975, she was still a shy and demure girl from Nha Trang who barely knew any English. Today, Loan belongs to the top rung in her field of engineering and remains the...

in Development

Singaporean Real Estate Company Pours $177m Into Residential Project in D4

Singaporean property developer CapitaLand has announced that it is planning to build its latest residential development in Saigon's District 4.

in Tech

Foreign Websites Should Process Payments Locally for Ease of Tax Collection: Ministry

The Ministry of Finance has stated its desire to have foreign digital service providers such as Facebook and Google process payments through a Vietnam-based corporation.

in Tech

Did Bkav Actually Crack Apple iPhone X's Face ID a Week After Its Release?

A group of enterprising Vietnamese "hackers" recently claimed that they had managed to crack Apple's Face ID, the iPhone X's latest form of authentication.

in Architecture

German Architect Unveils Dramatic 'Sky Forest' Tower for Thu Thiem Peninsula

A prominent international architect has unveiled plans for a spectacular skyscraper on Saigon's Thu Thiem Peninsula.

in Health

After Typhoon Damrey, 150,000 Children in Vietnam Are at Risk of Malnutrition: UNICEF

Typhoon Damrey, which struck south-central Vietnam over a week ago, has left tens of thousands of children at risk of health issues, UNICEF reports.

in Architecture

[Photos] Phu Nhuan's Piet Mondrian-Inspired Tube House

With a touch of bright colors as accents, a local architecture firm managed to make this Saigon tube house stand out from its dull and rigid neighbors in the vicinity.

in Tech

Mai Linh to Launch Xe Ôm App Next Monday to Compete With Uber, Grab

Vietnam's on-demand ride-hailing market is about to gain a new competitor as Mai Linh has announced it will launch an app-based xe ôm service next week.

in Society

Meet Vietnam's First-Ever Female UN Peacekeeper in South Sudan

In just a few days, Vietnam’s first-ever female United Nations (UN) peacekeeper will depart from Hanoi for her mission in South Sudan.

in Society

Vietnam Drops 4 Places to 69th in Global Gender Gap Ranking

Despite having the most gender-diverse work environment in Asia, Vietnam is faring poorly when it comes to the gender gap, according to a new report.