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] Take a Tour of 1966 Saigon
In 1966, Flickr user Mikey Walters' father, a US serviceman, sent a series of photos to his wife documenting downtown Saigon for the folks at home.
How Lăng Cha Cả Went From Mausoleum to Roundabout
If you’re just off the plane and heading west into the city, it’s hard to avoid the busy six-way Lăng Cha Cả intersection south of Ho Chi Minh City’s Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport. But it’s even ...
Check out These Vintage Stamps From French Indochina
In the first half of the 20th century, Indochina's stamps served as a miniature window into the people and places of the former French colony.
Take a Ride on the Langbian Cog Railway, Circa 1927
The Langbian Cog Railway was opened in stages between 1919 and 1932. The first 40 kilometers of the line from Tourcham (Tháp Chàm) to Krông Pha travelled through relatively flat terrain and required o...
The Story of Hanoi’s Statue of Liberty
Though New York City claims the most famous rendition of Lady Liberty, in the late 19th century, numerous cities around the globe built or received their own versions of the Statue of Liberty, includi...
Street Cred: Ngo Quyen
Northern Vietnam's Bach Dang River may be overshadowed by the buzzing tourist attractions of Ha Long Bay, however this historic river has played an instrumental role in Vietnamese history for centurie...
Truong Van Ben and the Story of Co Ba Soap
Once one of Saigon-Chợ Lớn’s most recognizable local brand names, Cô Ba soap was the crowning achievement of Trương Văn Bền’s long and successful business career.
[Video] Travel Back to 1902 Hanoi With This Rare Footage
Today, Hanoi's traffic is a force with which to be reckoned. But while the motorbikes, SUVs and public buses of the present create pandemonium in the capital's Old Quarter, the area around Dong Xuan M...
The Lost Railway That Once Connected Da Nang and Hoi An
One hundred years ago, visitors to Tourane (Đa Nẵng) could alight from their train right outside the Hàn Market and, after crossing the Hàn River by ferry, take a steam train all the way to Hội An.
[Photos] 28 Advertisements From Old Saigon
For as much advertising as Saigon has today, the city's billboards and storefronts have made the switch from hand-painted lettering and retro designs to a more modern – and sometimes more generic – fo...
Reunification Palace Opens 2 New Rooms to Visitors
One of the city's most famous landmarks has opened two new rooms for visitors.
Date With the Wrecking Ball: Ernst Thälmann Secondary School
In the wake of last week’s announcement in Thanh Nien newspaper that Korean construction company Jimiro will build three 55-story office buildings, a 30-story five-star hotel and a 10-story commercial...
[Photos] 30 Images of 1975 Saigon
Over the weekend, Vietnam marked 41 years since the end of the American War. While Saigon has changed dramatically in those four decades, transforming into the economic heart of the country as well as...
Saigon on the Silver Screen: The Quiet American, 1958 and 2002
Graham Greene’s acclaimed anti-war novel The Quiet American has been filmed twice, on both occasions using Saigon locations. While Phillip Noyce’s 2002 remake is a far more faithful adaptation of the ...
[Photos] An Ode to Nguyen Hue's Demolished Fountain
While Saigon's collective memory seems to be pretty short, it wasn't that long ago that the wide, low fountain intersecting Le Loi and Nguyen Hue streets still existed.
Saigon’s Old French Planter Villas
Despite the ongoing destruction of colonial buildings in Saigon, there’s still a small quarter of District 3 where it’s possible to identify villas which were once occupied by rich French rubber plant...
[Photos] Check out Northern Vietnam's Stunning French Colonial High School
In northern Nam Dinh province, Nguyen Khuyen High School isn't your average teaching facility.
Saigon’s Favorite Churches: Huyen Sy Church
Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful churches in the city, the Église Huyện Sỹ in District 1 was constructed in 1902-1905 on the corner of Rue Frère Louis (now Nguyễn Trãi Street) and Rue Frèr...
[Video] 1960s Phnom Penh: Pearl of Asia
While we spend a great deal of time at Saigoneer posting photos and writing stories about old Saigon, formerly known as the “Pearl of the Orient”, Cambodia’s capital once shared a similar moniker...
The Saigon-My Tho Line: Indochina’s First Railway
Inaugurated on July 20, 1885, the Saigon–Mỹ Tho line was the first railway line in French Indochina.
