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 Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam Waits 7 years To Address Toxic Oil Outside Ha Long Bay

Vietnam waits 7 years to address toxic oil outside Ha Long Bay [Thanh Nien] HCMC to host boat festival on Saigon River [SGGP] Royal Brunei Airlines restarts HCMC service [TTG Asia]

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: WHO To Assist Vietnam In Testing For Deadly Ebola Virus

Vietnam tops the world for low-cost travel in 2014 [Vietnam Net] Vietnam has too few culture and arts colleges, universities [Vietnam Net] WHO to assist Vietnam in testing for deadly Ebola virus&nbs...

in Vietnam

Vietnam Set to Lift Casino Ban for Locals

After years of debate, it looks like Vietnam is on the path to removing casino restrictions for locals, pending approval from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. 

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Primates Face Extinction In Vietnam

Viettel tries 42-Mbps high-speed 3G [Totaltele] Air quality control plan still largely up in the air [Vietnam Net] HCM City goes on building new-style rural areas [Vietnam Plus]

in Vietnam

Bus Literally Cut In Half By Overpass In Bạc Liêu

At 10pm on August 8, a bus traveling through Bạc Liêu City was ripped open when it passed under a flyover half its height, critically injuring 6 passengers, according to VN Express.

in Vietnam

Sabeco Becomes First Vietnamese Brewery To Offer Non-Alcoholic Beer

As foreign brewers arrive in Vietnam, adding some diversity to the country's beer scene, Vietnamese mega-brewery, Sabeco, has announced a new addition to its large portfolio of beverages - non-al...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Foreign Players Dominate Vietnam’s Thriving Ad Market

Foreign players dominate Vietnam’s thriving ad market [Tuoi Tre] World Bank approves $500mn loan to improve Vietnam’s power transmission [Tuoi Tre] Trinh Cong Son copyright controversy [DT...

in Vietnam

Vietnamese Designer To Present Áo Dài Collection At New York Couture Fashion Week

Vietnamese designer, Võ Việt Chung, will present his modern áo dài collection at Couture Fashion Week New York on September 6.

in Vietnam

Free WIFI Could Soon Be Coming To Vietnam’s Trains

Vietnam’s railway industry is officially entering the digital age. After announcing that it was working with FPT on a VND170 billion e-ticketing system, free WIFI may soon be coming to the countr...

in Vietnam

Weekend News Roundup: Foreign Breweries Tap Vietnam’s Draft Beer Market

HCMC to offer online diagnosis service [Bizjournals] New code-share flights link Vietnam and India [Thanh Nien] Foreign breweries tap Vietnam’s draft beer market [Vietnam Net]

in Vietnam

Supermoon Will Be Visible In Vietnam Next Week

In the early morning of August 11, observers in Vietnam will be able to see a supermoon, an astrological phenomenon wherein the moon will be 14% closer to earth and 30% brighter, reports Vietnam Net.

in Vietnam

HCMC Authorities Issue Ebola Guidelines

After the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has ordered preventative health centers in the city to take precautionary measures to combat an outbreak of th...

in Saigon

HCMC To Install Surveillance Cameras On All Downtown Streets

City authorities have announced that a $12.7 million network of security cameras will be installed around District 1 to improve security and to crack down on traffic violations, reports Thanh Nien.

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Foreigners Visiting Vietnam For Medical Treatment

Ho Chi Minh City Opens First Comics Institute [Bernama] Saigon Co.op among top 500 Asia-Pacific retailers in 2014 [SGGP] Vietnam cuts gasoline prices further amid global drops [Thanh Nien]...

in Saigon

Taxi Driver Fatally Stabs Xe Ôm Over Parking Space In Front Of Saigon Zoo

Yesterday morning, a Vinasun taxi driver fatally stabbed a xe ôm driver in front of the Saigon Zoo, reports Zing.

in Saigon

Public Phones Set To Return To Saigon

Two years after being removed, public phone booths are about reappear on Saigon, mainly for tourist use, reports Vietnam Net.

in Vietnam

Like Saigon, Hanoi Will Cut Down Old Trees to Make Room for New Metro Line

Following in Saigon’s footsteps, Hanoi will soon cut down swaths of old trees to make room for its new metro line.

in Vietnam

U.S. Senate Considers Lifting Vietnam Weapons Embargo

In a recent visit to Hanoi, U.S. Senator Bob Corker said that the U.S. Senate is considering overturning the 40-year-old lethal weapons ban embargo on Vietnam, reports Tuoi Tre.

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam Takes Preventive Measures Against Ebola

City unveils list of top polluting firms [Vietnam News] High-speed Railways between China and Thailand Through HCMC Approved [CRIEnglish] Childhood obesity in HCM City on sharp rise [Vietnam Ne...

in Saigon

HCMC Needs $122 Billion For Infrastructure Development Over The Next 6 Years

At a meeting last Friday, Bui Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the city Transport Department, said that HCMC needs $122 billion for traffic infrastructure development by 2020. That’s about VND2,562,000,...