From the Ground up Into the Air: The Evolution of Bitexco in 25 Photos
Between Thủ Thiêm's ambitious new skyscrapers, the planned transformation of Thanh Đa Peninsula and a LEED-standard apart...
The Global Waste Trade Fuels the Rise of Waste Colonialism in Southeast Asia
In August 2025, Malaysian campaigner Wong Pui Yi stood outside the UN headquarters in Geneva and made an appeal to Global North nations: “Stop treating the Global South as the rubbish bin for plastic waste you cannot handle.”
Pedaling for a Purpose: The Coastal Cycling Challenge Bringing Homes to Quảng Ngãi
During February and March, a group of volunteers from Saigon spent five days cycling up the coast, starting in Thảo Điền and ending up in the mountainous district of Trà Bông, nestled deep in Quảng Ngãi Province.
Michael Tatarski in Natural Selection
Voọc Cát Bà: The Endangered Primate of Karst Land
Imagine being born one color, and growing up into a very differently hued adult.
Vietnamese Indie Studio Skrollcat Announces 'Hoa 2,' Sequel of 2021 Award-Winning Game
In 2021, the first Hoa title came out just in time to soothe our pandemic anxiety. Five years later, will Hoa 2 be up for the job in this new era of fuel crisis and global instability?
The Aesthetic Yet Functional Role of Shade in the Genome of Modernist Architecture
Since the mid-20th century, Vietnamese architecture has started to be made from industrial materials such as concrete, steel, glass, etc. This resulted in Vietnamese modernism, a branch of global modernism.
Vietnam's Woolly Bat Is Being Hunted to Extinction to Be Halloween Decorations
With hues of orange and black on its wings and a furry, fluffy face, the painted woolly bat is a stunner. But its beauty has become a deadly liability. People want to hang the bats — dead and stuffed — on their walls, display them as collectibles and even set them in jewelry.
In Search of Ba Khía, the Mangrove Crab That Captures the Soul of Cà Mau
The tide is low tonight. The mud flats, enveloped in the mangrove forest’s darkness, are dotted with the sporadic flares of headlamps. On bundles of exposed mangrove roots, shadows cast by black crabs crowd out one another. In my hometown, we call them “ba khía.”
Paul Christiansen in Environment
The Role of Sand Batteries in Responding to the Climate Change Crisis
How does a sand battery work?
Khôi Phạm in Development
With the HCMC Metro Here, It's Time to Cultivate Saigon's Very Own Metro Culture
One of my least favorite genres of comments on Saigoneer’s social media posts is jokes involving the laggard opening of the HCMC Metro and some random, outrageous year far into the next decades, or ev...
Thi Nguyễn in Tech
Typing Vietnamese, Part 2: The Vietnamese Diaspora, Unicode and the Ubiquity of Unikey
This is part 2 of our two-part series on the history of Vietnamese-centric typing technologies. Part 1 can be accessed here.
How a Startup's Drive to Expand Charging Stations May Shape the Future of EV's in Vietnam
A thick haze often hangs above Saigon, obscuring the skyline. Some people can feel a heaviness in their lungs while their eyes and throats throb. After a day spent atop a motorbike idling in traffic, ...
Thi Nguyễn in Tech
Typing Vietnamese, Part 1: Language, Identity and Technology at a Crossroad
My first exposure to the computer traces back to my primary school years when computer classes were conducted once a week. In order to study computers, students had to migrate from their usual classro...
Hoa Sữa, Poetic Icon of Autumn in Hanoi or Nasal Health Enemy No. 1?
It was early in the day. I opened my window to let in the very first rays of the morning sun, just to catch a waft of that distinctive floral aroma lingering in the cold air. This year, autumn came ea...
Plastic Waste Is Choking the Mekong River and Every Nation on Its Path
On Son Island in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, Le Trung Tin scatters fish feed into his ponds, where dozens of snakehead fish leap through the surface in synchronised bursts. “I taught them how to do that,”...
Viet Nam Tinh Hoa Emerges: A New Identity, The Same Excellence
“Our new branding is a more authentic reflection of who we are: rooted in Vietnam, yet drawing strength from NLCS (North London Collegiate School). While it may have been easier to remain as NLCS, our...
The Childhood of Côn Đảo's Baby Turtles Caught on Film
In July, I visited Côn Đảo National Park as part of a group of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) sea turtle volunteers to see first-hand conservation efforts aimed at the loca...
WWF-Viet Nam’s “Elements of the Mekong Delta” Networking Dinner Shines a Light on Climate-Resilient Products
As part of a project aimed at empowering communities in the Mekong Delta that are facing serious threats from climate change, WWF-Viet Nam assists local households in raising plants that are more resi...
Ward off Your Monday Blues by Joining Me on Beginners' Skateboard Night
Usually in life, niche topics are commonly associated with unpleasant stigmas and misunderstandings — skateboarding in Vietnam is no exception. Once, I admittedly was influenced by such one-sided assu...
Pure Passion Turns Dark: The Unexpected Dangers of the Wild Turtle Trade
Seeking a companion during quarantine, Khánh*, a 25-year-old Hanoian, bought a baby turtle through a Facebook group.
Khôi Phạm in Natural Selection
A Case for the Sweet-and-Sour Tamarind as Saigon's Official Municipal Tree
What is the municipal tree of Saigon? In popular culture, Hanoi is perhaps intricately linked with the paralyzing but often romanticized aroma of hoa sữa, while just over a hundred kilometers to the e...
Uyên Đỗ in Environment
Requiem for a Bàng Tree That Was Cut Down in Front of My Home
Curiosity drove me downstairs into the downpour. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the municipal workers — clad in orange-and-green uniforms, their clothes soaked — gathering around a crane. Thei...
How the Ghosts of iPhones Past Haunt Vietnam's Low-Income Communities
The current e-waste crisis in Vietnam is one example of global environmental apartheid.
Exploring the Power of an International Community at International School Ho Chi Minh City
Success at the International School Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC) can be measured according to many metrics. From IB DP test scores well above the world average to impressive academic careers post-graduat...
Keeping Cool in Thủ Đức With This Humble Abode’s Well-Ventilated Design
Thick multi-layer brick walls, shaded areas, water features, and natural ventilation allow this private home to stay cool amidst the city's stifling heat.
Saigon's VOH Radio Building, a Marvel of Architect Lê Văn Lắm's Modernist Intuition
In the middle of the 20th century, Vietnam grew to become one of the world’s prominent centers of modernist architecture. Saigon at the time was an economic and cultural heart of the region, with many...
Waste-to-Energy Plants Might Be the Remedy for Vietnam's Struggling Landfills
Lam Van Quyet lives three kilometers from the Tây Bắc waste facility in Ho Chi Minh City, but he knows exactly what time the garbage trucks arrive there.
New Proposal Plans Metro Line Linking Long Thành Airport, Thủ Thiêm
Let the paperwork begin!
