in Environment

A Botanical Illustrator Captures Vietnam's Flora on Paper, One Species at a Time

When science and art commingle in a botanical illustration, it’s as if a magical world appears, where colors, brushstrokes, and lighting work together to not only replicate but also breathe life into nature’s best creations.

in Environment

Lúa Ma, the Mekong's Ancient Wild Rice Varieties Holding Secrets to Climate Resilience

“It’s been so long I can barely remember. It’s delicious, fragrant, soft but not sticky,” says Trần Văn Lựa, 53, a farmer from Đồng Tháp Province, south-west Vietnam, recalling the taste of wild rice. As a child, he would harvest the grain during flood season, when wild rice flowers. Today, however, it is a rare sight.

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Cầy Mực, the Fluffy Bearcat Whose Pee Really Smells Like Popcorn

Vietnam is home to a diverse range of species, from the elusive sao la to Hanoi's pungently fragrant hoa sữa. As an ode to the wondrous nature of the country, we're introducing a new article series, Natural Selection. Each article will feature a species of plant or animal native to Vietnam — starting with the laidback cầy mực (binturong).

in Environment

As Saltwater Intrudes More of Mekong Delta, Durian Farmers Struggle to Stay Afloat

Nguyễn Văn Quại, 63, walked slowly on the muddy dirt path in his yard, his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped beside a tree split in half, its branches dipping into the stagnant water of a narrow moat, and gestured towards the rest of his leafless crop — their trunks yellow, their bark cracked and brittle.

Khôi Phạm

in Tech

On Vietnam's Internet, You're a Mom, I'm a Mom, Everyone Is a Mom

I am a mom. Well, not in the most conventional meaning of the word — I am childless, and it’s still biologically impossible for men to give birth the last time I checked, but for most of my existence on the Vietnamese cybersphere, I have been using the designation “mẹ” amongst my closest friends.

Khôi Phạm

in Architecture

On Phú Quý Island, a Curious Collection of Modernist Houses From Central Vietnam

From the 1960s towards the end of the 1970s, urban centers in southern Vietnam saw robust and widespread growth of modernist influences in architecture. Still, outside the usual foci of the movement like Saigon, Cần Thơ or Mỹ Tho, how has this unique form of vernacular architectural expression been transformed?

Văn Tân

in Architecture

An Homage to Courtyards, the Heart of Traditional Vietnamese Homes

This time of the year, the giáng hương tree in my grandma’s courtyard is probably blooming with clusters of golden blossoms, enticing the kids in the neighborhood to gather around it and carefully pick off the prettiest petals to create makeshift jewelry.

Mầm

in Parks & Rec

The Young Vietnamese Artisans Breathing New Life Into Animals Carcasses

Skeletons and carcasses are often reminiscent of eerie, spine-chilling scenes in horror movies. But in the taxidermy community, animal corpses are of great value for artisans to create unique works that blur the line between life and death.

Back Society

in Architecture

A Delta Nest in Cao Lãnh Fit for a Solitary Poet

Who says a single person can't nest?

in Environment

Learning to Coexist in Peace Is the First Step to Protect Vietnam's Last Remaining Elephants

A trail of enormous footprints, criss-crossing slabs of cracked concrete, lead to a battered ranger station in Vietnam’s Pù Mát National Park. Park staff say the wild Asian elephant that left the trac...

in Parks & Rec

In Hanoi, Waacking Is Not Just a Dance, but a Home for Creativity and 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 ...

in Ẽplain

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 ...

in Health

For Trans Vietnamese, Healthcare Providers Are Respectful, but Red Tape Still Hurts

Vietnam has been increasingly progressive in protecting and promoting LGBT rights. In November 2015, Vietnam made a big milestone when it granted individuals who have changed their gender the right to...

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 an...

in Environment

Another Hoàn Kiếm Turtle Dies in Hanoi, Setting Back Conservation Efforts

It’s reported that a “Hoàn Kiếm turtle” living in Hanoi has died, further impeding efforts by conservationists to keep the species from extinction.

Chris Humphrey

in Society

The Rustic Beauty of Hanoi's Red River Brick Factories

Living in a city as culturally rich and absorbing as Hanoi, it’s not unusual to discover new secrets in a place you thought you knew completely. The depth of the capital really is astounding. And yet,...

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

The Ugly Truth of the Life and Impending Demise of the Hoàn Kiếm Turtle

Everyone knows the mythological story of the Hoàn Kiếm turtle.

in Parks & Rec

I Went Cloud-Hunting and Found Peace Atop Đà Lạt's Tea Hill

Northern California is blessed with serene nature. Growing up there, pathless trails and cloudy mountain peaks were my safe havens, and when returning home on break from college, it was a tradition to...

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 migrato...

in Architecture

Amid Bảo Lộc Hills, a Wooden Cafe Floats Amongst the Clouds

In the middle of nowhere Bảo Lộc, perched on the side of an alternative national road is the wooden carapace of Nguyen Coffee, a veritable “Noah’s ark” welcoming travelers in for a short break to enjo...

in Architecture

Amid a Resort, This Thatched Hut Houses a Zero-Waste Water-Bottling Plant

A humble production hut built with recycled bottles, local timber, thatched roof and simple granito concrete floors is used as a bottling facility for drinking water.

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Thanh Long: How Dragon Fruit Proves Beauty Is Only Skin-Deep

Of all my accomplishments in life, my greatest may be the creation of The Banana Line. This is a ranking tool, based on the belief that if all fruits were lined up from worst to best, taking into acco...

in Architecture

[Photos] Katinat Cafe's Gò Vấp Location Is an Industrial Glass Fortress

Cement, air, water, sand, and gravel: concrete is a simple material. Same for glass, that spread of super-heated quartz sand. 

in Environment

The Nocturnal Thrill of Capturing Vietnam's Elegant Fauna in Wildlife Photography

For most people, walking in the jungle at night would sound like a bad idea. A lack of knowledge and many misbeliefs, unfortunately, create bad assumptions about the wilderness after dark. And snakes,...

in Environment

The Mekong Delta Loses Sand Too Fast Due to Extraction, It's Time for a Sand Budget.

Many people will be familiar with the dread when your income no longer covers your expenses; when you’ve exhausted your savings and are sinking ever deeper into debt. In the Mekong Delta, a similar do...

Michael Tatarski

in Tech

How Going Digital Could Help Vietnam's Farmers Take Their Produce to the Next Level

In this digital age, farming, especially in developing countries like Vietnam, has maintained a general perception of being an analog, hands-on practice. 

in Architecture

On a Hill in Huế, a Glass-Filled Home Welcomes Natural Light With Open Arms

Are hills simply mountains that lack ambition?

in Environment

Đắk Lắk Receives $2.2m in Financial Support to End Elephant Rides by 2026

To be distributed between now and the end of 2026, the VND55 billion (US$2.2 million) provided by the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) will be used to help tourism centers in Đắk Lắk Province b...