in Saigon

The Forgotten History Behind Saigon's CEE Colonial Substations

Woven into the fabric of modern-day streets, the aging electrical substations of Saigon stand as quiet witnesses to a historical era shaped by the complex legacy of French colonialism.

in Hanoi

Hanoi's Soviet-Style Khu Gia Binh and Life Amid Vietnam's Growing Pains

Hanoi is often known in Vietnam as the land of a millennium-old civilization, a living archive of past Vietnam life. Each tiny alley within the capital can evoke a strong sense of nostalgia in visitors, as those locations encapsulate both wartime memories and charming quotidien moments. There’s one special place in Hanoi that has contributed to the city’s languid pace of life amid the nation’s rapid developments — khu gia binh.

in Vietnam

A Flight Over Đà Lạt in 1968–1971 Before the Tourism Boom

If you’ve taken a trip to Lâm Đồng within the last few years, these scenes seem like a distant dream of a sparsely populated and verdant Đà Lạt that’s engulfed by nature.

in Saigon

The City That Never Sits Still: Traffic in 1994 Saigon via Photos by Ed Kashi

In Saigon on Wheels, American photojournalist Ed Kashi managed to capture the pulse of a simpler Saigon.

in Saigon

With Unchecked Destruction, Saigon's Heritage Shophouse Architecture Is in Danger

The colonial shophouse, one of Saigon’s most iconic forms of architecture, is in imminent danger of extinction.

in Hanoi

Rare Black-and-White Album Depicts a Historic Flooding in 1952 Hanoi

The extreme weather patterns in recent years might make you worry that Vietnam’s drainage network is buckling under the pressure of rapid urbanization, but looking at these rare photos taken of a flood in Hanoi over half a century ago provides strange comfort that our soggy reality today might not be all that bizarre.

in Vietnam

Back in Time to the 1990s, When Vintage Renault Goélette Roamed Vietnam

A sturdy, stately vehicle roamed Vietnam's city streets and rural roads not too long ago.

in Hanoi

How Hanoi's Infectious Rats and Impish Locals Bamboozled the French in 1902

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 colonial rulers, the answer to this question was never in doubt, yet the consequences led to one of most humiliating periods of their rule.

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in Hanoi

[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.

in Saigon

[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...

in Vietnam

[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...

in Vietnam

[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...

in Vietnam

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.

in Vietnam

[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...

in Vietnam

[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.

in Vietnam

[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?

in Vietnam

[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 ...

in Saigon

[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.

in Vietnam

[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...

in Vietnam

[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.

in Vietnam

[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...

in Saigon

[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.

in Hanoi

[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...

in Saigon

[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.

in Saigon

[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...

in Saigon

[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...

in Saigon

[Photos] From Bach Dang to An Dong: 25 Photos of 1965 Saigon

A stroll along Ham Nghi, basking in the breeze of the Bach Dang Wharf and unwinding at the Saigon Zoo: George P. Morgan, Jr. followed the typical tourist trail in the city for a day during his time in...