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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
[Photos] A Day at the Saigon Zoo: 1967
For generations of Saigoneers, a visit to the city’s Zoological and Botanical Garden is an important milestone of their childhood. However, in the following collection of photos, we get a glimpse of t...
[Photos] The Transformation of Le Lai Street, 1950-1975
The best way to measure Saigon’s 20th-century evolution is by honing in on the changes of a single street.
Street Cred: Princess Huyen Tran's Historic Hanky Panky
Arguably Vietnam’s most famous princess, Huyen Tran was born in 1287 to King Tran Nhan Tong and Queen Thien Cam, rulers of the Dai Viet kingdom. Throughout her childhood, Huyen Tran was your standard,...
[Video] Take a Tour of 1930s Angkor Wat
During the 1970s, Cambodia suffered greatly at the hands of Pol Pot, whose Khmer Rouge erased not only the lives of as many as two million people but also scores of the country’s cultural and historic...
After Demolition Begins, City Officials Order Renovation of Century-Old Villa
After its owner caught the public's attention by demolishing portions of the building, one of Saigon’s few remaining century-old villas might finally get the renovation it deserves.
[Photos] Life on the River in Early 1900s Saigon
For centuries, life in southern Vietnam has revolved around water.
The Story Behind Saigon's Hanoi Highway
Today’s Hanoi Highway, formerly known as the Bien Hoa Highway, was a modern road when it was built during the peak of war in the 1960s. Stretching 30 kilometers, the sweeping highway connects Saigon w...
Khoi Pham in Saigon
Street Cred: The Badass Tale of Co Giang
If there’s one thing you need to know about Vietnamese women in history, it’s that they were badasses. From waging wars to avenge their husbands to throwing a grenade at enemy lines, countless Vi...
[Photos] Inside a 1949 Saigon Opium Detox Clinic
In 1949, LIFE ran a photo essay depicting life in Saigon. The images featured candid, picturesque snapshots of life during the city's bygone cosmopolitan era. But among the lively slice-of-life p...
[Video] Meet Saigon's 'Man of Love Letters'
In the latest installment of Sai Gon Vi Vu’s documentary series Saigon’s Gentlemen, we follow the life story of Duong Van Ngo, the last remaining public letter-writer at Saigon's Central Post Office.
[Photos] Then & Now: Images From Old and New Saigon
The southern hub has seen its fair share of transformations over the years. From French colonialism to the swinging 60s, the early days of Doi Moi to 21st-century Vietnam, Saigon’s urban landscape has...
The Legend of Vietnam’s Red Baron
Since the dawn of military aviation, pilots who racked up victory after victory have gone on to become national heroes, or in some cases, national folklore. Such is the case of Colonel Nguyen Tomb who...
One of Saigon’s Oldest Buildings Demolished to Make Way for Hilton Hotel
Another day, another historic Saigon building wiped off the map. This time, we said goodbye to one of the city’s oldest structures, the first Chambre de Commerce de Saïgon.
Khoi Pham in Vietnam
Street Cred: Han Mac Tu
Vietnam’s literary scene is filled with colorful characters and mystifying urban legends, but no other poet has received as much fanfare – or as much scrutiny – as Han Mac Tu, one of the country's mos...
[Photos] Saigon Loses Another Centenarian Villa
Yesterday morning, another turn-of-the-century colonial villa met its demise.
[Photos] Wander the Streets of 1989 Saigon
For those Saigoneers born in the era of Vin-products and high-rises, the old Saigon is an enigma. It seems like everyday we uncover a new album of old photos documenting Saigon xưa, fished out from so...
Gateway to Nowhere: The Yellow 'Gia Dinh Gate,' 1913
It’s claimed by several tourism websites that a gateway from one of the ancient Gia Dinh citadels has survived and may be viewed on the Dinh Tien Hoang-Phan Dang Luu intersection in Binh Thanh Distric...
Street Cred: Hung Vuong
In the very beginning of Vietnamese history, dragon king Lac Long Quan and fairy Au Co got together and gave birth to 100 children. Their cohort became the first citizens of northern Vietnam, the...
Saigon's State Bank Building to Be Named a National Relic
In a rare win for the heritage buildings of Saigon, officials have announced their intention to add the city's State Bank Building to the list of national relics.
Saigon's Earliest Museums
One of the last museums to be set up in French Indochina, the Vietnam History Museum in Ho Chi Minh City was over 60 years in the making.
