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.

in Vietnam

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.

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 years — the beginning of a bond that has tied him to Vietnam for three decades and beyond.

in Vietnam

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 Catholic institutions.

Back Heritage

in Asia

[Photos] An Idyllic Slice of 1957 Cambodian Life

Vietnam isn't the only country in the region to change dramatically over the last several decades.

in Vietnam

[Photos] The Small-Town Charm of Vung Tau in the 1960s

From remembering fond memories with loved ones to selling products and even gaining clues to a grisly crime, photos have many uses.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Views of 1993 Vietnam From Behind the Lens of a Past War Orphan

I have been carrying this film around for over a quarter-century from Hanoi to Saigon to Boston and to New York.

in Hanoi

[Photos] Black-and-White Shots of Hanoi Street Scenes From 1940

For thousands of years, streets have served a multitude of purposes.

in Saigon

[Photos] 10 Incredible Shots of 1960s Saigon by William Ruzin

It takes seven to ten years for a human body to replace every cell to the point it consists of entirely different atoms.

in Saigon

[Photos] Exploring Downtown Saigon Via These 10 Snapshots From the 1970s

What are the people in these photos doing today?

in Vietnam

[Photos] 13 Film Snapshots of a Sleepy Vung Tau in 1967

Vung Tau is a fitting name for the coastal town that invites people to pause and stay a while.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Wander Along the Beach in 1967 Nha Trang

We often yearn to visit tourist destinations before they became heavily developed, but what would that actually be like?

in Vietnam

[Photos] From the National Geographic Archive, Slices of Life in 1952 Vietnam

Mostly taken by National Geographic photojournalist Joseph Baylor Roberts, these excellent shots are among the best images of 1952 Vietnam that one can encounter.

in Vietnam

[Photos] The Coastal Life in Nha Trang in a Timewarp

You can practically taste the salty sea breeze and hear the occasional wafting of rock music in these photos of Nha Trang from the late 60s, early 70s.

in Saigon

The Mystical Origins of Saigon's Notorious Octagonal Prison, Khám Chí Hòa

Chi Hoa Prison (Khám Chí Hòa) is a seven-hectare facility located in Saigon's District 10.

in Saigon

[Photos] 12 Snapshots of Downtown Saigon From Over 30 Years Ago

What can travel photos tell us about the places depicted, especially when it’s been decades since the shots were captured?

in Hanoi

[Photos] What Life in Hanoi Was Like in the 1890s

Can you imagine daily life before electricity, light bulbs, plastics, refrigerators, antibiotics, automobiles and telephones?

in Saigon

[Photos] Amble Along the Familiar Streets of District 1 in 1969

Was Saigon more colorful in the past?

in Vietnam

[Photos] Making Sugar at an Early 20th-Century Boiling House in Quang Ngai

Unlike cash crops such as rubber or coffee that were brought in from other parts of the world, sugarcane was among Vietnam’s original native trees, and locals have been growing the sweet plant for cen...

in Hanoi

[Photos] Memories of 1973 Hanoi in 22 Film Photos

Taken by an unknown photographer working for the American Department of Defense, these crisp color images capture Hanoi’s 1973 street life on film. Have a look below.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Rare Photos of Hue From a Vintage French Publication in 1919

Hue is a city of empires, dynasties, armies, conquest and rule.

in Vietnam

[Photos] On the Road in Quang Ngai in 1967

Is nostalgia always a positive emotion? 

in Hanoi

[Photos] A Hanoi in Transition, Over a Century Ago

Today, Hoan Kiem Lake has no lantern-lifting Statue of Liberty that people fish beside, Russian naval ships don't moor in the Red River, and nón lá hardly cover every head in the capital.

in Hanoi

[Photos] 1994 Hanoi in the Eyes of a Former Japan Ambassador to Vietnam

On a day like any other in November 1994, some Hanoians might have been curious about the fact that their shop front and daily routine were being photographed by a wandering Japanese man.