It's (Almost) Always Sunny in Saigon: A Glimpse Into Street Fashion in the Early 1970s
You can deduce a lot from a photo.
Once Home to Hanoi's Greatest Tailors, Làng Cựu Is Fading Into History
Làng Cựu, a village about 40 kilometers south of Hanoi, houses nearly 50 mansions that showcase the best of French and S...
From North to South, Glimpses of Street Life in Vietnam in the Early 1990s
If there’s a thing this writer remembers distinctly about the early 1990s, it would be nothing, because I was barely a person that could eat and survive by myself.
Portrait of a Jubilant Saigon on the Precipice of Tết in 1992
Tết in 1992 was an especially fortuitous time to be a foreign arrival to Saigon.
Hidden in the Heart of D5, an Architectural Vestige of 1970s Vietnam-Korea History
For years now, the verdant pine green pavilion in the heart of Hòa Bình Park in District 5 has been a familiar landmark for denizens of Chợ Lớn.
On the Tourist Trail Across Vietnam in 1996
In 1996, it had been one year since Vietnam officially joined ASEAN, the first legitimate volume of Doraemon was released, and some of us at Saigoneer were actually alive.
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.
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?
[Photos] On Hanoi’s Streets in 1979: Trams, Bicycles, Buffaloes and Peace
Postwar-era Vietnam was a time of moving forward, regeneration and establishing a new normalcy.
[Photos] Hiding From the Heat at Cong Hoa Swimming Pool in 1965
Saigon’s most famous swimming pool is perhaps that of the Cercle Sportif Saigonnais, a huge sporting facility on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai that was built in the 1900s for the city’s rich to frolic in every...
Author Michael Vann on Hanoi's Infamous Colonial Rat Hunt
When facing a bubonic plague epidemic, is it wiser to delve into sewers and cull infected rats yourself or offer payment to Vietnamese for deliveries of severed tails instead? For Hanoi’s French colon...
[Photos] The Life Semi-Aquatic With 1968 Can Tho
When it comes to old photos of Vietnam, Saigon - as one of the country’s leading tourist destinations in the 1960s - always dominates in terms of volume and variety. That makes this set of photos of C...
[Photos] Take a Ride on Da Lat's Lost Railway
In the early 20th century, although Da Lat was little more than a fledgling hill station, a Swiss-built railway connected the town to the coast. With Thap Cham as its final destination, this 84-kilome...
Plan to Rebuild 134-Year-Old Nam Dinh Cathedral Sparks Public Outcry
One of the oldest, most impressive cathedrals in Nam Dinh Province is about to be rebuilt due to disrepair.
[Photos] On the Cusp of a Tourism Boom, a Pristine Sapa of the 1920s
During the last decade of the 19th century, French colonists occupying northern Vietnam (then Tonkin) decided to conduct a census survey on the region’s ethnic minorities. The first convoys reached La...
[Photos] A Child Wedding of Tay Ethnic Minority in Lao Cai in 1920s
The rare set of photos depict a wedding ceremony in the 1920s between young members of the ethnic minority Tay people in Bac Ha District of Lao Cai Province.
[Photos] Vintage Tourism Posters Showcase Past Vietnam's Natural Landscapes
If you’ve never been to Vietnam before, would these colorful vintage poster entice you to book a ticket?
[Photos] Striking Black-and-White Images of Hue's Imperial City in 1896
Just two weeks ago, we published some monochrome photos of Hue taken earlier this year. Yet in this series, we can browse another black-and-white selection of images from the city, this time from ...
[Video] Rare Newsreels From 1930 Show Harsh Realities of Life in Colonial Saigon
In an extremely rare collection of disjointed clips, Saigon in 1930 appears like the setting of a haunting fever dream.
[Photos] The Small-Town Placidity of Hue in 1966
Neat perpendicular lines of trees that make up the Imperial Palace grounds, the meandering Perfume River hugging central Hue, clusters of red-roofed houses like tiny Lego pieces scattered across a bed...
Brian Letwin in Saigon
From Botany Institute to Amusement Park: The Evolution of Thao Cam Vien Sai Gon
Local parks such as the Jardin d’Espagne and Jardin de la Ville, now Tao Dan Park, were a focal point of Saigon’s early urban development. But no green space carried such significance as the Jardin Bo...
[Photos] 16 Rare Images of 1900s Vietnam as Part of French Indochina
In a mishmash of sketches and grainy photographs, Vietnam’s landscapes in the 1900s feels almost surreal.
[Photos] Old Da Lat's Majestic Charm, Captured in a Series of Timeworn Postcards
In these postcards of early twentieth-century Da Lat, we see a town that’s a far cry from its modern, tourist-packed self: colonial houses line its hills, and barely a soul walks down the narrow footp...
[Photos] 13 Black-and-White Shots of Saigon in 1962
Badass girl power, young love and vintage cars: the streets of Saigon in 1962 seemed much cooler than they are today, when pavements weren't riddled with debris and construction sites.
[Photos] The Ceremonial Tradition of a 1920s Hanoi Funeral
In Vietnam, there is a powerful sense of importance carried within the belief of life after death. This can be seen in the way family members create shrines and pray for those who have passed away, in...
[Photos] 17 Photos of 2002 Saigon as Seen From Above
2002 might not seem like a long time ago, but Saigon’s urbanscapes have grown so much in the last ten years that these scenes offer some surprising insights into our city 17 years in the past.
[Photos] Out and About on Nguyen Hue Boulevard in the Late 1960s
Horse-drawn carriages, flower shops with white-tiled basins and a multitude of parked bikes: these were what used to occupy the length of Nguyen Hue Boulevard in the 1960s before it became the walking...
[Photos] 10 Remarkable Black-and-White Shots of Saigon in 1967
Lush bunches of fresh bananas at a market, a street-side merchant selling embroidered artworks to tourists, and Buddhist worshipers praying at a local temple — these Saigon scenes are rather mundane b...
