As Infrastructure Lags Behind, Saigon's Poorest Hardest Hit by Worsening Flooding
In April 2023, in the first downpour of southern Vietnam’s rainy season, the narrow rented room where Mã Thị Diệp and her children were staying in Hồ Chí Minh City was inundated by knee-high water.
Khôi Phạm in Environment
What I Talk About When I Talk About Vietnam's Penguin Trashcans
Compared to the average Vietnamese, I might be thinking about trashcans a smidgen too much — not just any trashcan, but the infamous penguin-shaped trashcans that are ubiquitous at every corner of our public spaces.
Linh Phạm in Parks & Rec
House Dance Hanoi Teaches You How to Free the Body
I stood on the top floor of a building on Khâm Thiên Street, feeling grateful for the cold air. I came out here to take a break from the other side of the floor, which was divided into three rooms — three dance studios.
Inside Saigon's Grassroots Carton and Aluminum Recycling Plants
With plastics claiming many of the headlines worldwide and constituting a major issue in Vietnam, scant attention is being paid to other recyclable materials, namely cardboard and aluminum.
How Táo Xanh Forum Created a Safe Space for Gay Vietnamese Before Social Media
Before Vietnamese could hop on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share our hot takes of the week, there was an era of past cybersphere when online forums were the crucial online space to connect local netizens.
Paul Christiansen in Environment
As Climate Change Threatens, Flood Waters Usher In Sustainable Opportunities for Communities in the Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is developing faster than Google Maps can keep up with. A stretch of road that was too narrow to accommodate cars and required a transition to motorbikes just six months ago was under construction during our August visit. Gargantuan machines for laying pulverized gravel inched aside to let our 7-seater pass so we could reach the home of Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy to check in on her small fish drying home business.
Khôi Phạm in Natural Selection
10 Species of Lesser-Known Fruits to Get to Know Vietnam's Biodiversity
In the Vietnamese language, the word “cỏ” — meaning “grass” in the literal sense — is often used to signify that something is locally grown, no frills, and charmingly rustic; grassroots, if you will. Chó cỏ is the general term for the adorable mutts, usually mixes between Vietnam’s native dog species, born without the prestige of named breeds, while gym cỏ and net cỏ denote the casual gyms and internet cafes in one’s neighborhood. In the same vein of logic, may I put forth a new name for a special genre of Vietnamese fruits: trái cỏ?
How Vietnamese Architecture Adopted Modernism and Made It Our Own
Ask a person on the street what Vietnam’s distinctive style of architecture is, and the answer you get might be traditional architecture, like the historic curves of northern Vietnam’s village temples or the ornate regality of Nguyễn-Dynasty palaces. This time-honored style is widely accepted as the hallmark of Vietnam’s cultural wealth. What’s more fascinating but lesser-known is how this cultural vestige — which distinguished our architecture from that of China and Japan — has also managed to evolve in the new age, finding ways to exist right in the middle of our modern lifetime.
[Photos] A 'Tropical Chalet' in Da Nang for Post-Pandemic Travel Dreams
What comes to mind when you see the word "chalet"?
Saigon Releases Update of Map Portal With Local Covid-19 Cases, Vaccination Points
If you still find it difficult to fully grasp the scale and spread of Saigon’s current COVID-19 outbreak, look no further than this new map portal.
HCMC Proposes Rail Link Between Tan Son Nhat, Long Thanh Airports
This is part of the city's suggestions for the Vietnam Railway Authority's railway development plan for 2021-2030.
Mel Schenck in Architecture
Vietnamese Architects Are Leaders in the Architecture of the Information Age
Over the past few years, Vietnamese architects have been developing a new architecture beyond modernism for small projects such as houses and schools. Architects around the world are taking notice and...
Paul Christiansen in Natural Selection
Mèo: A Complicated Love Affair
Of all the Asian and Southeast Asian countries that use the animal zodiac, only Vietnam has a cat in place of the rabbit. One theory for why is that while Chinese has a word for rabbit, it also has a ...
Nguyễn Văn Thái Becomes Vietnam's 2nd Goldman Environmental Prize Winner
He has dedicated his life to fighting wildlife poaching in Vietnam.
In the Pandemic, Hanoi's Newfound Cycling Love Sends Bike Sales Zooming
Thanks to COVID-19, gyms, yoga studios, and parks have closed, but the need for physical exercise remains.
Hanoi Engineers Create Air-Conditioned Booth to Help Doctors Combat Summer Heat
As the weather becomes hotter in Vietnam, the jobs of pandemic medical staff have also become more difficult.
Vietnam's Childhood Obesity Rate Doubles Over 10 Years, Data Shows
Are Vietnamese children spending less time on active recreations and more at home?
Learning From Stories of Made-in-Vietnam Social Innovation, as Told by 4 Experts
In Vietnam, the term “innovation” is mostly associated with technological and economic development, but what about “social innovation”?
[Photos] A Phu Tho Home Embraces Traditions and Contemporary Design
Oh, to live amongst exposed brick and polished wood.
[Photos] Hanoi Architects Grow Creative Ecosystem Inside Slender Tube House
Completed last year, the VUUV building takes the tube house structure and turns it into a multi-purpose complex filled with dynamic hangouts and creative platforms.
Saigon's Only Bonsai School Grooms Budding Artisans on a Century-Old Craft
Bonsai has often been regarded as an activity for the elderly, but the local bonsai community is experiencing an unprecedented renewal thanks to the participation of an unexpected demographic: young p...
Students Explore Hospitality Careers at EHL’s Junior Academy
“I wasn’t much of a people person...but by being able to meet so many people from so many places and work during my internship…EHL made me grow up out of my little bubble and I became more comfortable...
Paul Christiansen in Natural Selection
Cây Đa: A Tree That Contains Multitudes
A book, a beer and some shade, what else does one need?
Two Illustrated Books by Vietnamese Conservationist to Have Global Release
They tell the story of a Vietnamese woman working to rescue a bear and an elephant.
Elise Luong in Environment
Living From the Earth at Ninh Binh's Lá Library
A stone's throw away from Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh Province sits La Library, an education center promoting sustainable living through sustainable agriculture farming, earthen building tec...
Vietnam Proposes Using GPS Trackers to Monitor Incoming Arrivals in Quarantine
The Vietnam-made GPS bracelets would allow authorities to better manage those required to be in isolation at home or in central facilities.
Linh Pham in Environment
How China's Upstream Dams Affect Communities Along the Red River
Flooding and biodiversity among concerns for people in Vietnam below the cascade of Red river dams.
[Photos] Hanoian Kindergarten Adds a Funky, Sunny Twist to Its Asymmetrical Design
Faced with the restrictions of rigid urban planning rules, school building projects in central areas of cities often have limited control of their land usage and surroundings.
