Xuân Phương

in Hanoi

In Suburban Hanoi, With Summer Comes the Red-Purple Cascade of Mulberries

In suburban Hanoi, this is the season when mulberry branches heavy with bright red fruits dangle in the summer wind.

in Saigon

After Saigon Police Bust Major Pet Theft Ring, the City Rallies to Help Care for 400 Cats

After an extended investigation, the Hồ Chí Minh City Police Department has busted a major cat theft and distribution ring that operated across multiple southern provinces.

in Saigon

A Visit to Lê Minh Xuân, a Rare Craft Village Making Incense Sticks Amid Saigon

From inside the workshop, artisans carry bundle after bundle of freshly made incense sticks into the courtyard amid the morning mist. A gentle scent of spices linger in the air.

in Saigon

As Thanh Đa Faces Redevelopment, Writer Dạ Ngân Reflects on What Will Be Lost

To me, my trip to Cư xá Thanh Đa in summer 1982 was a serendipitous encounter. It was Saigon’s largest-scale residential complex in the first half of the 1970s, with nearly 4,000 separate units housing about 50,000 inhabitants. Cư xá refers to a residential quarter reserved for gainfully employed citizens, with a vision to establish a model community with a high quality of life. Here, in their three-bedroom apartments, civil servants, professors, doctors, and military leaders ranked major or higher lived in pride of being a part of a cư xá like that.

Uyên Đỗ

in Saigon

How Saigon's Free Water Coolers Quench Thirst and Spread Kindness

In recent years, stories about climate change's impacts on the lives of Vietnamese people have been increasingly making the news.

in Saigon

Inside the Covid Memorial Park at 1 Lý Thái Tổ, Saigon's Brand-New Green Space

As part of Saigon’s latest initiative to increase green space coverage in the city, a number of abandoned land plots were converted into public parks, including a Covid Memorial Park that’s become a beloved destination for Saigoneers seeking a space to jog, reflect, or just simply touch grass.

Uyên Đỗ

in Saigon

All Aboard Bus 146, Home of Plushies, Rubber Chickens and a Side of Humanity

“Cute” doesn’t seem like a fitting descriptor for any mode of public transport, but a bus in Saigon is driving straight into the heart of Saigoneers for being the quintessence of “smotheringly adorable.”

in Saigon

Saigon Set to Make Bus Service Free for All to Cut Congestion, Air Pollution

Saigoneers without private vehicles might be happy to hear that the city is planning to make the municipal bus system free to ride in the near future.

Back Stories

in Saigon

The Saigon Post Office May Soon Get Its Own Coffee Shop

After a few false starts and several coats of paint earlier this year, the 130-year-old Saigon Post Office may soon receive a brand-new addition to its surroundings.

in Saigon

[Photos] Saigon Choked by Poisonous Smog

For the past three days, a blanket of smog has engulfed Saigon, resulting in not only poor visibility, but also potential health risks.

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: HCMC Considers Massive Economic Zone To Attract FDI

Unauthorised fees plague Viet Nam's bus terminals [Vietnam News] Quang Nam to open bird’s-eye-view of My Son Sanctuary for tourists [DTI] Hanoi’s polluted craft villages to get environmental clean-u...

in Vietnam

Johnny Tri Nguyen Fined For Illegal Martial Arts Competition

Local film star and Hollywood stuntman Johnny Tri Nguyen is in hot water after hosting an illegal martial arts competition last month in Nha Be District.

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Saigon Sail Awaits Approval For Nhieu Loc Canal Tour Resumption

Domestic GDP likely to grow 6.5% in 2015 [DTI] Forest protection law falls short [Vietnam News] Ministry defends tax reforms [Vietnam News]

in Vietnam

Mobile Users Can Retain Phone Number When Switching Networks In 2017

Mobile users will soon be able to switch carriers without losing their phone number.

in Vietnam

Weekend News Roundup: Recalculation Shows Vietnam’s Public Debt At 66.4% Of GDP

Recalculation shows Vietnam’s public debt at 66.4% of GDP [Vietnam Net] TV ads most trusted in Viet Nam [Vietnam News] Hanoi proposes emergency water pipeline [DTI]

in Asia

Japan Invented a RoboCab Because of Course They Did

Fasten your seatbelts: unmanned taxis are coming to Japan.

in Vietnam

Bird Flies Directly Into Nose of VietJet Plane, Damages Aircraft

The pilot of a VietJet flight was in for a surprise on Wednesday when his plane was struck by a bird – or several birds – damaging the nose of the aircraft.

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam To Stop Collecting Road Fees From Motorbike Owners In Early 2016

Reservoir anti-flooding plan still on hold in HCM City [Vietnam Net] Survey finds most Vietnamese respondents want to legally gamble at home [Tuoi Tre] Hanoi building near Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum tall...

in Vietnam

Vietnam's GDP Growth Hits Highest In 5 Years

Last Tuesday, the General Statistics Office announced that gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Vietnam is up to 6.81% for the first nine months of this year, reports Bloomberg.

in Vietnam

Attack Of The Monsoons: Part 1

In the first of a two-part series, cultural and environmental anthropologist Jacob Weger explains why it won't stop raining.

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Fast-Growing Ho Chi Minh City Misses Most Environmental Targets

Vietnam's economic growth accelerates as exports beat peers [Bloomberg] Urban dilemma: Fast-growing Ho Chi Minh City misses most environmental targets [Thanh Nien] Foreign experts offer su...

in Saigon

Plan To Plant 100,000 Coconut Trees In Saigon Comes Under Fire

In an effort to spruce up the city's dazzling canals, Saigon may soon receive a brand new grove of coconut trees.

in Asia

Indonesia Is Destroying Its Forests (and Choking Its Neighbors) in the Name of Palm Oil

If you were in Singapore last week, you might have noticed an unusual haze hanging over the city. Normally Southeast Asia's bastion of environmental cleanliness, the Lion City closed schools and shutt...

in Vietnam

Vietnam To Phase Out Its Print Media

In case you haven't heard the news, print is dying.

in Vietnam

Jetstar Passenger Opens Emergency Exit, Delays Plane...Again

Remember that time a VietJet passenger mistook the emergency exit for the bathroom door? How about the one when a first time flier opened the exit on the tarmac to get some fresh air? Or that incident...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam Tops Lists Of Ideal Investment Destinations: Cushman & Wakefield

Vietnam recalculates public debt, and it now exceeds safety limit: report [Thanh Nien] 25 bridges to be built with JICA loans [DTI] Vietnam tops lists of ideal investment destinations: Cushman & Wak...

in Vietnam

A Look At The Vietnamese Province Obsessed With Sai Gon Beer

If there's one thing Ha Tinh loves, it's beer.

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: High Tide, Rainstorm Likely To Inundate Ho Chi Minh City This Week

Tourists say visa waiver too short [Vietnam News] Ministries declare new vision standards for motorbike drivers [Vietnam Plus] Vietnam lowers dollar deposit interest rates [DTI]