in Parks & Rec

How a Dance Project Is Reframing Deaf Identity in Saigon via Movement Art

Lắng Nghe Điểm Chạm is a project aiming to expand exposure opportunities and application potentials of performing arts into the life of marginalized and minority communities of Vietnam.

in Environment

I Saw the World's Most Handsome Bird Right in Vietnam's Hidden Backyard

Everywhere I go in Vietnam, I keep my eyes peeled for the incredible birds that call this country home. Sometimes I don’t even realize that I’m doing it. I scan the horizon above low hills for migratory hawks. I stare into breaks in the foliage for passing buttonquail. I peer into rice paddies, fingers crossed for a cryptic snipe. And, of course, there’s Facebook. I refresh Facebook over and over again, waiting for the arrival of the mandarin duck. Its scientific name is Aix galericulata, which one assumes means “prettiest goddamn duck in the world.”

Khôi Phạm

in Natural Selection

The Rise and Fall of Phượng Vĩ, the Summer Icon of Our Teenage Dreams

I was a teenage cliché. No matter how much I try to rack my brain to find any other personal connection to the incandescently red tree that is phượng vĩ, I keep going back to my middle school crush and that one tree in the front yard of our school.

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...

Back Society

in Development

Launching Event: “Hà Nội: CAPITAL City” & TP. Hồ Chí Minh: MEGA City" Photo Books

Following the successful release of their photo book which chronicled urban development in Ho Chi Minh City last year, Michael Waibel and Henning Hilbert are back with a similar en...

in Development

Lotte, Japanese Firms Partner up on $2bn Eco Smart City in D2

Perhaps the development of Thu Thiem is finally underway with the announcement that South Korean multinational Lotte will team up with two Japanese developers on a US$2 billion mega project in the pen...

in Tech

Fake Fanpages Of Vietnamese Politicians Flood Facebook

As some Vietnamese politicians embrace Facebook, others have been a bit slower to adopt it. However, many in the latter group are already represented on the social network with fake Fanpages.

in Development

World’s Tallest Broadcasting Tower To Be Built In Hanoi

Plans are in the works for what will be by far the tallest structure in Vietnam.

in Tech

Microsoft To Move 2 Nokia Factories From China To Vietnam For Lower Labor Costs

It looks like Vietnam’s master plan to lure global tech companies is panning out with the announcement last week that Microsoft is closing two of its handset plants in China and moving operations to V...

in Development

15 Projects That Will Change Saigon Forever: Part 1

The area between Bến Thành Market and the Saigon Opera House is undeniably the epicenter of changes to the city’s urban fabric with the construction of pedestrian promenades, subway stations, a n...

in Development

Inside Nhà Bè District's "B House"

This small but impressive home in Saigon's Nhà Bè District was built on a premise of “open but introverted space.” The structure, designed by i.House Architecture and Construction, feat...

in Development

US$100 Million Budgeted To Return A Saigon Canal To Its Former Glory

Hàng Bàng Canal, formerly known as Canal Bonard, will soon receive a massive US$100 million renovation in a bid to return the narrow brackish creek into a clean, manicured waterway.

in Health

Medical Musings: Dengue Fever

Dengue fever is the most common mosquito-transmitted viral illness in the world. It is seen in Vietnam and over 120 other sub-tropical and tropical countries, wherever the Aedes aegypti mosquito is fo...

in Tech

Google.vn Hacked By "Lizard Squad"

This afternoon, users attempting to connect to the Google.vn homepage were greeted by text, a photo and video courtesy of what appears to be a small collective of American hackers.

in Architecture

[Photos] Da Nang House Inspired by Termite Mounds and Champa Architecture

The Termitary House, recently completed by Tropical Space Architects in Da Nang's Thanh Khe District, gets its inspiration from both intricate termite mounds and the baked-brick towers of the Cha...

in Tech

New Website Uses Travelers To Deliver Items To Those Aboard

A new website, Bringers.co, offers to make deliverymen (and women) out of people traveling abroad.

in Development

Future Saigon: Saigon Green Energy Tower

Another ambitious project for Saigon’s Võ Văn Kiệt Street is in the works with plans for a 53-story (for reference, the Bitexco Tower is 68 stories) mega project.

in Environment

2 Bicyclists Set To Ride From Saigon To Paris To Raise Awareness Of Climate Change

On Thursday February 12, Simon Nelson and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will set off on a bicycle ride from Saigon to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21) in order t...

in Architecture

Vietnamese School Wins Top Award At International Architecture Competition

Vo Trong Nghia had added to its list of international accolades, taking home top honors for its Farming Kindergarten in the recent Archdaily “Building of the Year” awards.

in Tech

[Video] Alibaba Tests Drone Delivery Service In China

Chinese online retail giant, Alibaba, has taken a page out of Amazon’s playbook, launching a three-day drone delivery pilot program.

in Tech

Vietnam Hopes To Launch 4G LTE This Year

As public WIFI spreads across Vietnam’s streets, cities and transportation networks, plans are in the works to upgrade the country’s mobile internet to 4G LTE status.

in Environment

22 Photos That Reveal How Bad Pollution Has Become In China

While pollution is becoming a serious problem in Vietnam with reports of cancer villages and toxic canals popping up the press recently, we live in a natural utopia compared with the residents of Chin...

in Tech

Vietnam’s First Nuclear Power Plant Faces Another Setback

Due to slowing economic growth and safety concerns, the construction of Vietnam’s first nuclear reactor has been delayed yet again. 

in Development

Saigon Ranked 6th Most Dynamic City In Recent Report

Saigon ranked 6th in a report released last month that graded 120 cities across the world based on real estate and socioeconomic factors.