How Did Vietnam Start Celebrating International Women's Day on March 8?
In the hyper-commercialized world we now live in, it might be impossible to associate anything but overpriced flower bouquets and corporate sponsorships with International Women’s Day (IWD), but the widely celebrated occasion actually has a rich history of over 100 years of the women’s rights movement.
Life on the Streets of 1978 Hanoi, as Seen via Black-and-White Film Photos
In August 1978, I visited Hanoi as part of an educational tour organized by a professor from La Trobe University in Melbourne. I was a high school history teacher at the time and an avid photographer. I walked the streets of Hanoi and took many photographs of everyday life in the city, and until now, these photographs have remained unpublished.
A Rare Album by Photographer Bruno Barbey Brings Us Back to Tết in 1994 Hanoi
What do you remember most about the 1990s? Do you remember the fashion, the old-timey technology, or the lack of traffic? And if you were just a wee child, do these memories stay with you?
Khôi Phạm in Vietnam
The First Asian in Space Was Vietnamese. He’s Still Alive Today.
Most Vietnamese schoolkids grew up learning about Phạm Tuân as the first Vietnamese in space, but few know that he was also the first Asian person to clinch the honor.
The Year of the Horse Gallops into The Grand Ho Tram
Inspired by the spirit of the horse, The Grand Ho Tram encourages you to have a year of success, confidence, and new horizons. Traditional Tết performances and activities alongside special feasts and opportunities for revelry will usher in a year of remarkable achievements and memorable moments.
My Great-Great-Grandfathers Were in Indochina in the 1880s to Build the Railway
We often see archival images of old Hanoi, but these photos are different — they are personal. The following shots, which come from a collection of five photo albums, are the only surviving record of my two great-great-grandfathers’ presence in what was then Indochina.
Paul Christiansen in Vietnam
An Indie Archival Project Dreams of Time Travel. How? Lots and Lots of Vietnam Maps.
Its entrances flanked by ATMs and adverts for international airlines, the Sun Wah Tower on Nguyễn Huệ today appears to be another nondescript testament to the global economy and Vietnam’s enthusiastic place within it. However, on those same grounds only 150 years ago, a guillotine was set up to decapitate people on order of the colonial authorities at the Justice de paix.
Marc Dinh in Vietnam
A Brake Failure and 200 Victims: Remembering Vietnam's Deadliest Rail Accident
About 55 kilometers from Saigon, in the small commune of Tây Hoà rests the 17/03/1982 Railway Cemetery. It currently houses 85 unidentified graves of victims of the Train 183 Disaster, the deadliest railway accident in Vietnamese history.
How Did Vietnam Start Celebrating International Women's Day on March 8?
In the hyper-commercialized world we now live in, it might be impossible to associate anything but overpriced flower bouquets and corporate sponsorships with International Women’s Day (IWD), but the w...
Life on the Streets of 1978 Hanoi, as Seen via Black-and-White Film Photos
In August 1978, I visited Hanoi as part of an educational tour organized by a professor from La Trobe University in Melbourne. I was a high school history teacher at the time and an avid photographer....
A Rare Album by Photographer Bruno Barbey Brings Us Back to Tết in 1994 Hanoi
What do you remember most about the 1990s? Do you remember the fashion, the old-timey technology, or the lack of traffic? And if you were just a wee child, do these memories stay with you?
Khôi Phạm in Vietnam
The First Asian in Space Was Vietnamese. He’s Still Alive Today.
Most Vietnamese schoolkids grew up learning about Phạm Tuân as the first Vietnamese in space, but few know that he was also the first Asian person to clinch the honor.
My Great-Great-Grandfathers Were in Indochina in the 1880s to Build the Railway
We often see archival images of old Hanoi, but these photos are different — they are personal. The following shots, which come from a collection of five photo albums, are the only surviving record of ...
Paul Christiansen in Vietnam
An Indie Archival Project Dreams of Time Travel. How? Lots and Lots of Vietnam Maps.
Its entrances flanked by ATMs and adverts for international airlines, the Sun Wah Tower on Nguyễn Huệ today appears to be another nondescript testament to the global economy and Vietnam’s enthusiast...
Marc Dinh in Vietnam
A Brake Failure and 200 Victims: Remembering Vietnam's Deadliest Rail Accident
About 55 kilometers from Saigon, in the small commune of Tây Hoà rests the 17/03/1982 Railway Cemetery. It currently houses 85 unidentified graves of victims of the Train 183 Disaster, the deadli...
Xuân Phương in Vietnam
A British Photographer's 30 Years of Forming a Kindred Connection With Vietnam
When he boarded a flight from Bangkok to Hanoi in 1992, Andy Soloman thought he would stay in Vietnam for just one month. Little did he know that what seemed like a brief trip would stretch into seven...
Rare Film Photos by Andrew Holbrooke Showcase an Industrious Vietnam in 1991
Money cannot buy happiness, but it makes happiness easier to attain.
Tim Doling in Saigon
How Nhà Thờ Tân Định, Saigon's Iconic Pink Church, Came to Be
You just have to mention the “pink church” and everyone knows which one you mean. But few are aware that the building in question — Tân Định Church — is one of Saigon’s oldest and most important Roman...
Slices of Life in Saigon, Huế, Hanoi in 1989 on Film
What is it about coming across old photos that tugs on our heartstrings so much, even when they depict a time when some of us weren’t alive yet?
Saigon Demolishes 3 Heritage Villas to Make Room for Covid-19 Memorial Park
As part of a plan to build a dedicated space to commemorate victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saigon authorities recently demolished several heritage buildings from the 1950s, sparking concerns about ...
What a Set of Art Homework From Long Xuyên Teaches Us About 1930s Vietnam
Much like their descendants today, schoolchildren of 1930s Vietnam also took art classes as part of their syllabus. In this rare collection of what was essentially our grandparents’ homework, we can s...
Khôi Phạm in Saigon
1997 Vietnam Through the Lens of Saigon's Former Canadian Consul General
Digging into one’s collection of old mementos can be a thrilling experience. From antique watches to tattered letters, these trinkets serve as a remembrance of a period of time in our past. For Kyle N...
On the Sidewalks of 1979 Saigon: Books, Knick-Knacks and a Multitude of Bicycles
Before the motorbikes invaded all aspects of modern Vietnam, Saigon streets were all bicycles, vintage cars and xích lô.
These Rare Photos From 1997 Are a Time Capsule of Vietnam's Transformations
The 1990s were a time of significant change in Vietnam.
Tâm Lê in Saigon
Street Cred: Phan Đình Phùng, My Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
An unassuming street named Phan Đình Phùng runs through Saigon’s Phú Nhuận District. It is named after a Vietnamese revolutionary who led rebel armies against French colonial forces in the 1880s ...
Lycée Marie Curie: The High School That Has Stood the Test of Time
Marie Curie High School, also called Lycée Marie Curie in French or Trường Trung Học Phổ Thông Marie Curie in Vietnamese, is a public high school located in Saigon’s District 3.
Khôi Phạm in Saigon
Old Saigon Building of the Week: The Glitz and Glam of Tự Do Nightclub
While today’s Đồng Khởi Street is peppered with tourist-centric shops and restaurants, just half a century ago, the downtown street was the nightlife hotspot for Saigon’s cool kids to congregate.
Revisit the Colorful, Diverse Universe of Multinational Xe Đò in 1990s Saigon
Saigoneers who spent their formative years in the 1990s will remember an era of secondhand products of mixed origins. This unique feature of daily life also extended into the transportation realm.
