Uyên Đỗ

in Hanoi

A Slice of Life in Coupon-Era Hanoi via Colorful Vintage Lottery Tickets

What can tiny sheets of paper reveal about a whole time period?

Brian Letwin

in Heritage

Tàu Cánh Ngầm: The Curious Case of Saigon’s Lost Soviet Hydrofoils

Not long ago, hulking “creatures” glided atop the waters between Saigon and Vũng Tàu. Like the dinosaurs that came before them, they slowly disappeared, until all that was left were their skeletons.

Tim Doling

in Saigon

The Surprisingly Recent History Behind Bình Thạnh's Lonely 'Gia-Đinh' Gate

It’s claimed by several tourism websites that a gateway from one of the ancient Gia Định citadels has survived and may be viewed on the Lê Văn Duyệt-Phan Đăng Lưu intersection in Bình Thạnh District, close to the Lê Văn Duyệt Mausoleum. However, a little research into the history of that area reveals that the gateway in question has more recent origins.

in Hanoi

The Legends of Thăng Long Tứ Trấn, the 4 Guardian Temples Protecting Hanoi

In the edict to move Vietnam’s capital to Hanoi, Emperor Lý Thái Tổ described this land as the middle of heaven and earth, the center of the four directions. Such a place would bring peace and prosperity, he believed, and deserved sacred protection.

in Vietnam

Feel the Pulse of a Fast-Changing Vietnam in the 1990s via This Lively Photo Album

By the mid-1990's, Vietnam's astounding economic transformation was well underway.

in Vietnam

Street Cred: Dauntless Antiwar Icon Nguyễn Thái Bình and His Tragic Death

If one were to see the streets of Vietnam as a tangled network of people whose names they took, every city would resemble a messy collection of historical fragments.

Linh Phạm

in Hanoi

Street Cred: Pháo Đài Láng, Home of Ông Voi and Where the War Began

More often than not, a country’s independence is won with guns. The location where the first shots were fired for Vietnam is memorialized to this day.

Back Heritage

in Saigon

[Photos] Building the City: Snapshots of Saigon in the Late 1960s

Buildings play a significant role in shaping how we see and navigate Saigon — the Notre-Dame de Paris gives us a sense of belonging to history while modern high-rises can feed our dreams of grandeur a...

in Saigon

[Photos] Into the Wilderness of Saigon in 1867

Before “southern Vietnam,” there was Cochinchina; before Saigon, there wasn’t much of anything but vast stretches of tropical jungle and mosquito-infested swamps.

in Saigon

[Photos] Cho Lon's First-Ever Post Office, as Seen in the 1920s

Located at the junction of Hai Thuong Lan Ong, Chau Van Liem and Cha Va Bridge in today’s Saigon, the post office of District 5 is a well-known landmark in the mind of denizens living in the area. Not...

in Asia

[Photos] Remarkable Color Photos Document Life in Japan Over 100 Years Ago

Even a century ago, Japan was a little weird.

in Saigon

[Photos] Views of 1954 Saigon-Cho Lon From a USS Rochester Sailor

The USS Rochester CA-124 was a heavy cruiser that was first launched after World War II.

in Hanoi

Part of Historic Building, Meant to Be Preserved, Destroyed After Miscommunication

Part of a historic building, meant to be saved from demolition and recognized as a heritage site, has been bulldozed thanks to a miscommunication. 

in Vietnam

[Illustrations] Everyday Life in 1923 Northern Vietnam Through 10 Rare Sketches

It was a simpler time in Vietnam 100 years ago — just people going about their life without a single phone in sight.

in Saigon

Saigon to Preserve Part of Old Binh Loi Railway Bridge

The new Binh Loi railway bridge, built 12 meters away from the old one, has been open for public use since September last year.

in Saigon

[Photos] A French Photographer's Portrait of Saigon in 1866

It took millions of years for dinosaurs' ferocious claws to evolve into the soft wings of a hummingbird and even longer for simple algae to transform into towering pine trees; change has been much mor...

in Vietnam

[Photos] A Record of the Past in Pre-1975 Nhạc Vàng Album Art

Modern album art doesn't hold a candle to the hand-drawn song sheets of pre-1975 Vietnam.

in Saigon

[Photos] A Stroll Along Saigon's Tet Flower Streets in the 1960s

Flowers never go out of fashion.

in Hanoi

[Photos] An Artist's Sketches Capture the Charm of Indochina's Street Vendors

These illustrations of vendors working on Hanoi streets during French colonial rule are half-sketched, half-painted, which adds to the air of memories fading. 

in Saigon

[Photos] A Brief Tribute to Saigon’s Old Electricity Substations and Their Iconic Logo

Have you ever spotted these substations peppered across downtown Saigon and wondered what the initials CEE stands for?

in Vietnam

[Photos] An Aerial Perspective of Pleiku and Kon Tum in 1970

In today’s Vietnam, Pleiku in Gia Lai Province is the Central Highlands’ third-biggest city, after Da Lat and Buon Ma Thuot.

in Saigon

Thu Thiem Church, Convent Classified as City-Level Heritage Sites by Saigon

After years of precarious existence in the face of constant development in the Thu Thiem Peninsula, the two Roman Catholic institutions have finally achieved protected status.

in Saigon

[Photos] A Walk Down Memory Lane: 1990 Saigon Caught on Camera

Once among the 1990s’ most recognizable icons, xích lô is now a rare species on Saigon streets that’s reserved only for tourists.

in Vietnam

A Meandering Photographic History of the Red River and Long Bien Bridge

Upon its completion in 1902, Hanoi’s Long Bien Bridge was the second-longest of its kind in the world — it was only a few hundred meters shorter than Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. 

in Saigon

[Photos] The Wilderness of Suburban Saigon in 1904

In 1904, the entirety of Saigon was confined to the area we know as District 1 today. Apart from the neatly planned city center and Cho Lon’s bustling trade town, the city’s peripheral regions were ov...

in Vietnam

[Photos] Daily Life in Northern Vietnam in the Early 1900s

Daily life in northern Vietnam was a little different over 100 years ago.

in Saigon

[Photos] Aerial Shots of a Past Saigon Without Towering High-Rises

Saigon represents constant transition.