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 Heritage

[Video] Travel Back In Time To 1940 Saigon

In 1940, Saigon was at its colonial height. While in May of that year, the Nazis began their invasion of France, the Vichy regime in Saigon retained the status quo in the city, one which would only be...

in Saigon

Icons Of Old Saigon: Établissements Bainier Auto Hall

While foreign visitors still flock to the famous Rex Hotel, few have heard of the Établissements Bainier Auto Hall which preceded it, a building once feted as the greatest automobile dealership in Asi...

in Vietnam

Drone Video Reveals The True Epicness Of Hanoi’s Long Biên Bridge

The Long Biên Bridge is one of Vietnam’s most iconic structures for a reason. Not only is it an amazing feat of engineering, but it’s huge, categorically huge.

in Vietnam

24 Aerial Photos Of Old Đà Lạt

Blessed with a cool climate and rolling hills flanked with pine trees, Đà Lạt, the brainchild of Alexandre Yersin, was founded as a sleepy French vacation town where development and nature struck a de...

in Vietnam

21 Rare Images Of Hanoi’s Street Markets Taken Between 1991 and 1993

From 1990 to 1993, German photographer Hans-Peter Grumpe traveled across Vietnam, taking about 1,600 photos in 20 provinces around the country. One of his stops was in a developing Hanoi whe...

in Vietnam

[Video] Take A Road Trip Across 1945 Vietnam

While road trips have become an extremely popular activity for foreigners living in or visiting Vietnam in recent years, it was also a common activity for these demographics in the period preceding th...

in Saigon

Old Saigon Building Of The Week: The “Y” Bridge

Built by the French during the latter years of the colonial era, Chợ Lớn’s “Y” Bridge became the focus of several important battles during the two Indochina Wars.

in Saigon

2014: A Turning Point For Conserving Saigon's Historical Buildings?

In the future, 2014 may be remembered as a watershed year in which a popular urban conservation movement emerged to champion the cause of Hồ Chí Minh City’s fast-disappearing built heritage.

in Saigon

40 Nostalgic Photos Of 1961 Saigon From Life Magazine

When Life Magazine photographer, John Dominis, traveled to Saigon in 1961, he spent most of his trip photographing daily life in the city. With his camera, he captured downtown Saigon’s busy streets, ...

in Saigon

12 Old Pictures of Christmas in Saigon

The brightly lit Christmas decorations of downtown Saigon seem to getting more elaborate each year. In the 1960s, though still a popular holiday in the South, Christmas was decidedly analog. The diffe...

in Saigon

Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Vietnam Railways Building

Featured earlier this year as a Saigoneer "Building of the Week," the 100-year-old Vietnam Railways Building at 136 Hàm Nghi is the latest of Hồ Chí Minh City's historic buildings to be threatened wit...

in Saigon

Travel Back In Time With These 15 Photos Of 1929 Saigon

1929 could be referred to as the beginning of Saigon’s Golden Age. Built on the backs of exploited Vietnamese laborers, the French had carved out what was then called the Pearl of the Orient, a Europe...

in Saigon

17 Sky-High Photos Of 2002 Saigon

These images, taken in 2002, provide not only a wonderful bird's eye view of Saigon, but also capture its transition into a modern city.

in Saigon

Date With The Wrecking Ball: The Nguyen Van Cua Imprimerie de l'Union Building

Located close to the Saigon Post Office, the unassuming two-storey white shophouse building at 49-57 Nguyễn Du was once the headquarters of one of the most successful colonial-era printing companies.

in Saigon

[Photos] Saigon Then & Now: Part 2

We’re back with another set of our “Then and Now” photos which contrast old images of Saigon with their present day counterparts. For a much larger collection, head over to the Saïgon-Chợ Lớn Then & N...

in Vietnam

50 Old Photos of Cần Thơ

Now the 4th largest city in Vietnam with 1.2 million people, Cần Thơ is the “capital of the West” and the central of hub of commerce in the Mekong Delta.

in Saigon

Icons of Old Saigon: André Pancrazi's Café de la Musique and Grand Hôtel des Nations

One of many French settlers of Corsican descent who made names for themselves in colonial Saigon, André Pancrazi is remembered as the proprietor of two old Saigon icons – the Café de la Musique and th...

in Vietnam

[Photos] The Vietnamese Soldiers Of WWI

Whereas the story of World War I traditionally filters through the lens of the major European powers, colonial ties produced a transcontinental story with the militaries of France and Britain comprise...

in Saigon

Old Saigon Building Of The Week: 93-95 Đồng Khởi

One of the most elegant old colonial buildings in the centre of the city, 93-95 Đồng Khởi – originally 93-95 rue Catinat – is believed to have been constructed in the period 1900-1910.

in Vietnam

24 Late 19th Century Photos Of Vietnam

These 24 photos taken between 1880 and 1898 show Vietnam just as France was settling into their role as colonial occupier.