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

Airplanes Blamed for Damaged Roofs in Go Vap

There are many quality of life issues for residents living next to airports – pollution, noise and even increased blood pressure to name a few. But some residents in Go Vap District are encountering a...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: EVN Power Monopoly to be Short-Circuited

Kerry to tour typhoon-hit Philippines, Vietnam [Bangkok Post] Local authorities recall deadly spurious liquor [SGGP] Vietnam, UK share atomic energy experience [VoV]

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Banner Slamming Beer Looters Hung at Scene

No students, no money, many universities to be closed [Vietnam Net] Vietnam Tightens Land Seizure Law After Farmers Protest [Bloomberg] Vietnam's trade deficit to China surges to near $20 ...

in Vietnam

Vietnam Will Soon be Home to Asia’s Biggest Brewery

Czech firm, BTG Holdings, has announced plans to build Asia’s biggest brewery in Vietnam’s Hoa Binh Province. The brewery, with a total investment of US$116 million, should be completed by 2017 and p...

in Vietnam

What the Phở Happened Last Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed

Hundreds loot capsized beer truck [Tuoi Tre]  High global test scores don’t mean Vietnam’s schooling is OK [Thanh Nien] Per capita income in Vietnam reaches almost USD2,000 [Viet...

Brian Letwin

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Flood-Tide to Reach Peak in 61 Years, Saigon to be Submerged Again

Flood-tide to reach peak in 61 years, Saigon to be submerged again [Vietnam Net] HCMC shows impressive economic growth [SGGP] Vietnam’s aging rate among fastest in the world [Tuoi Tre...

in Stories

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam Reviews Human Rights Laws

Vietnam reviews human rights laws [Vietnam Net] Should sexy performances be banned? [VNS] Bag snatchers caught red-handed, recorded by car camera [Tuoi Tre]

in Vietnam

Vietnamese Parents Up in Arms About Finger-Chopping Math Problem

Mystery still surrounds claims of a math problem, purportedly asking first grade students how many fingers remain on their hand after chopping some off, as it goes viral on the internet and the educat...

in Saigon

Harley-Davidson's First Vietnam Dealership is Open for Business

World famous motorcycle maker, Harley-Davidson, opened its first showroom in Vietnam last weekend in District 7. The showroom, located in Phu My Hung, opened its doors a day before the government lif...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Condom Fashion Collection Earns Vietnam Guinness Record

Vietnam makes remarkable progress in HIV/AIDS control [SGGP] Customs did not check the shipment containing 230kg of heroin [Vietnam Net] Digital ad market booming in Vietnam [Thanh Ni...

in Stories

Morning News Roundup: Air Pollution Cause of Chronic Diseases in Big Cities in Vietnam

Vietnam ministry seeks gov’t approval to limit personal vehicles [Thanh Nien] Vagina massage services freely advertised in Vietnam [Tuoi Tre] New Hemiphyllodactylus gecko species discovere...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Vietnam’s Public Debt May Reach 95% of GDP

Diabetes goes boom in Vietnam [Thanh Nien] Poor transport holds Delta back [VNS] Vietnam Airplane lands on fuselage [Vietnam Net]

in Asia

Morning News Roundup: Bill Gates Foundation Brings Free Internet to Rural Vietnam

Gold prices hit record low [VoV] Vietnam probes 229 kg heroin case busted by Taiwan [Tuoi Tre] Racehorse owners scrambling since closure of Vietnam’s lone track [Thanh Nien]

in Vietnam

What the Phở Happened This Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed

US$36 billion funded for nationwide poverty reduction [Nhan Dan] Giant sinkhole found in Vietnam street [Thanh Nien] Sleeping with call girls earns $24-$237 fines: decree [Tuoi Tre]

in Vietnam

Number of Vietnamese Women Marrying Foreigners per Year? 100,000 and Rising.

At a recent conference in Hanoi, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs and the Vietnam Women’s Union released figures showing that 100,000 Vietnamese women marry foreigners annually.

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Thai Tourist Motorcycles Seized in Vietnam

New penalties on inappropriate public cultural behavior [SGGP] Thai tourist motorcycles seized in Vietnam [Vietnam Net] Hanoi approves massive transport project [Nhan Dan] 

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Strange Skin Disease, the First Ever in World, Found in Vietnam

Crunch time as Vietnam set for education shakeup, again [Thanh Nien] Vietnam steps into an era of mobile data explosion [PC Advisor] Strange skin disease, the first ever in world, found in...

in Vietnam

Morning News Roundup: Tourism Sector to Hit Goal Two Years Ahead of Plan

Death toll in Vietnam flooding raised to 41, with 80,000 people displaced [Edmonton Journal] Vietnam’s 5 tons of relief goods reach Philippines [Tuoi Tre] Fire kills 6 in Vietnam capital&n...

in Stories

31 Dead; Hoi An Deep Underwater After Massive Flooding Hits Central Vietnam

At least 31 people have died and 3 are missing after massive flooding on Vietnam’s central coast last weekend. According to the Central Highlands Center for Floods Control and Prevention, 13 were fou...

in Stories

What the Phở Happened Last Weekend? 10 Stories You May Have Missed

Chinese woman receives life sentence for drug trafficking [Vietnam Net] Singer fined $165 for flaunting breast onstage [Tuoi Tre] Low-pressure system moving toward southern Vietnam [T...