in Vietnam

French Illustrated Encyclopedia Paints the Slices of Vietnam Life in the 1900s

"To effectively govern colonial peoples, the foremost requirement is a thorough understanding of the very people one rules over," so believed Paul Doumer, the second Governor-General of French Indochina, who spent his career imposing the imperial French government's agenda on studying the culture of their colonized subjects.

in Saigon

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. 

in Vietnam

In 1992 Vietnam, the Streets Were Brimming With Love and Life

How has your life been transformed in the past 30 years? Changes might materialize overnight, but some tend to creep up on you at a glacial pace. Through this collection of images from 1992, mull over how Vietnam as a country has grown with every 12-month cycle.

in Vietnam

Vintage French Book Illustrations Depict a Quaint Indochina in 1903

In this rare collection of images from 1903 Indochina, life in the peninsula appears as if in a dream, with rows of colonial-style houses in between heritage trees and natural landscapes that weren’t interrupted by concrete.

Paul Christiansen

in Saigon

Did You Know That There's a Mummy on Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm Boulevard?

Why is there a mummy on display in Saigon?

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.

in Saigon

Relive Your Memories of Saigon Water Park via These Photos by One of Its Makers

Although water parks involve a combination of two of the most tedious human experiences, standing in lines and prolonged direct sun exposure, the now-demolished Saigon Water Park was an icon of 2000s Saigon that remains a crucial cornerstone of many city dwellers' memories.

in Vietnam

The Vintage Charm of 1995 Vietnam on Kodachrome Film Slides

While editing a retrospective of my recent work from Vietnam in the summer of 2019, I discovered 50 yellow boxes of Kodachrome slides in my basement that were shot in 1995. The images were from my first trip to Vietnam.

Back Heritage

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...

in Saigon

From Swampland to Heartland: The History of Bến Thành Market

From the very first discussions in 1868 regarding a new marketplace for Saigon, it was not until 1914, that Bến Thành Market became a reality. The birth of the market was like a dream come true, one t...

in Saigon

A Brief History of District 1's Collège d’Adran, Saigon's Oldest School

Driving past the Saigon Zoological and Botanical Garden toward Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh Street, many of us might not notice the presence of Võ Trường Toản Secondary School and Trưng Vương High School. The two ...

in Saigon

The Story of Quách Đàm, the Man Who Shaped Modern Chợ Lớn — Part 2

By the 1920s, the old Bình Tây Market and much of the surrounding land had belonged to Quách Đàm, so he proposed to the colonial authorities the demolition of the existing building and the constructio...

in Saigon

The Story of Quách Đàm, the Man Who Shaped Modern Chợ Lớn — Part 1

Hải Thượng Lãn Ông Boulevard (the former quai Gaudot) in central Chợ Lớn preserves several elegant old colonial shophouse buildings, but perhaps the most interesting of all is the one at No. 45, once ...

in Saigon

It's (Almost) Always Sunny in Saigon: A Glimpse Into Street Fashion in the Early 1970s

You can deduce a lot from a photo.

in Hanoi

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 Sino-Vietnamese architecture from the turn of the century. It was built with the ...

in Vietnam

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.

in 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.

in Vietnam

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.

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 prosper...

in Vietnam

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?

in Saigon

Exploring Chợ Quán Asylum, Saigon’s Oldest Prisoner-of-War Camp

In a secluded corner of Saigon’s Bệnh viện Nhiệt đới, or Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a prison continues its century-long existence hidden from public memory and discourse.

in Vietnam

Mang Thít, Vĩnh Long's 'Kingdom of Brick Kilns,' Is on Its Last Legs

Along the rivers and canals of Mang Thít, clouds of smoke from the Mekong Delta’s last brick kilns languidly stream into the air.

in Saigon

[Photos] Amble in Downtown Saigon via These Street Photography Shots in 1962

In this collection of old film photos from 1962 taken by an unknown photographer, perhaps the most eye-catching feature is the fashion. Saigon men appear in simple attire of white shirts and pants, bu...

in Vietnam

[Video] Vintage VHS Travelogue Takes You to Đà Lạt in 1992

Get ready for a road trip with nostalgia riding shotgun.

in Vietnam

The Splendor of Hát Bội, as Depicted in Vintage Posters for the 1889 Paris World's Fair

From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, hát bội left a major mark on the hearts and minds of many viewers, including French colonizers. The French brought this form of f...

in Hanoi

[Photos] Look Back at Hanoi's Nội Bài Airport in 1995

In February, 1995, Yuichi Kobayashi, a Japanese businessman, came to Vietnam with a mission to set up a factory here.

in Vietnam

What a Set of Art Homework From 1930 Long Xuyên Teaches Us About Past 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...

in Saigon

Saigon Designates 6 Areas With Architectural Heritage to Be Conserved

Is six enough?