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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 Vietnam

There's a Dark Context Behind These Seemingly Random 1930 French Sketches

Can visual representations of colonial activities produced with immoral intent become works of art?

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 ...

in Literature

English-Language Edition of 'Chinatown' by Thuận Wins US Translation Award

The 2023 National Translation Award for fiction was given by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) to Nguyễn An Lý’s translation of Chinatown by Thuận.

in Environment

As Infrastructure Lags Behind, Saigon's Poorest Hardest Hit by Worsening Flooding

In April this year, in the first downpour of southern Vietnam’s rainy season, the narrow rented room where Mã Thị Diệp and her children were staying in Hồ Chí Minh City was inundated by knee-high wate...

in Hanoi

The Rich History Behind One of Hanoi's 2 Remaining Chinese Guild Halls

With the changing gears of history, at times even the oldest layers of a thousand-year-old town must evolve to house new meanings.

in Saigon

The Story of Quách Đàm, the Man Who Shaped Modern Chợ Lớn — Part 2

By the 1920s, the old Bình Tây Market and much of the surrounding land had belonged to Quách Đàm, so he proposed to the colonial authorities the demolition of the existing building and the constructio...

in Ănthology

A Singaporean-Vietnamese Couple Refreshes Hakka Offal Soup With Trứng Cuộn

When my mother, a native of Singapore’s oft-visited Chinatown, described a pork offal soup stall with meatballs that “tasted suspiciously like that vermicelli dish we had in Huế back in 2013,” I knew ...

Michael Tatarski

in Loạt Soạt

A Study of the Mekong Through Stories Told on the River

Much like humanity, great systems of the natural world rely on connectivity to thrive.

Paul Christiansen

in Loạt Soạt

Thuận’s Novel 'Chinatown' Targets the Tedium of Migration

Vĩnh, born in Hanoi to a Vietnamese mother who studied in the Soviet Union and teaches English in France, and an ethnically Chinese father raised in Hanoi but now working in Chợ Lớn, dreams of the day...

in Loạt Soạt

Once Derided, 'Lục Xì' Is a Trail-Blazing Lesson in Nuanced Sympathy

Lục Xì is a reportage written by Vũ Trọng Phụng in the first volume of Tương Lai newspaper in 1937. In the series, Phụng describes his experiences visiting the dispensary (nhà lục xì) where prostitute...

in Vietnam

What a Set of Art Homework From 1930 Long Xuyên Teaches Us About Past Vietnam

Much like their descendants today, schoolchildren of 1930s Vietnam also took art classes as part of their syllabus. In this rare collection of what was essentially our grandparents’ homework, we can s...

in Development

FLC Group to Help Build $5bn Railway From Vientiane to Hà Tĩnh

All aboard!

in Saigon

An Early View of a Barely Developed Saigon in the 1860s

Dropping a modern Saigoneer into the 1860s version of the city would be a wildly disorienting experience.

in Music & Arts

The Timeless Beauty of Vietnamese Women in Mai Trung Thứ’s Legacy

Mai Trung Thứ, who lived from 1906 to 1980, was a remarkable Vietnamese artist who graduated from the Indochina Fine Arts College.

Paul Christiansen

in Natural Selection

Trái Vải: The Intoxicating Harbinger of Summer

Is scarcity a source of beauty?

Khoi Pham

in Music & Arts

A Halcyon Hanoi in the Art of Joseph Inguimberty, the Professor Who Taught Lê Phổ

In 1925, Joseph Inguimberty stepped into the tropical humidity of Hanoi for the first time. Despite having been to Italy, Greece and even Egypt, the 29-year-old art professor probably couldn’t imagine...

Linh Pham

in Environment

How China's Upstream Dams Affect Communities Along the Red River

Flooding and biodiversity among concerns for people in Vietnam below the cascade of Red river dams.

in Music & Arts

Sold for $3.1m, Mai Trung Thứ Portrait Becomes Highest-Valued Vietnamese Artwork

Artworks by Vietnamese artists have been sold at record-breaking amounts in recent years.

in Vietnam

Vietnamese Netizens Call for H&M Boycott Over 'Problematic Map' of China

A fervent wave of boycott calls directed at Swedish fast-fashion brand Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has swept social media circles in Vietnam in recent days.

in Travel

[Photos] A Stroll Through Eclectic Chợ Lớn

Until fairly recently, Chợ Lớn was its own city, long inhabited by người Hoa who carved out an economic hub along the banks of the Saigon River over 200 years ago.

in Saigon

Cột Cờ Thủ Ngữ: Overlooked Saigon Landmark Gets a Makeover

Flanked by a busy road and overshadowed by an unfinished skyscraper, you'd be forgiven if you rarely noticed the Signal Mast (Cột cờ Thủ Ngữ) where Ton Duc Thang and Vo Van Kiet streets intermingle.&n...

in Asia

[Photos] An Idyllic Slice of 1957 Cambodian Life

Vietnam isn't the only country in the region to change dramatically over the last several decades.

in Asia

World's Largest Trade Bloc Created During Vietnam-Led ASEAN Summit

Vietnam is now part of the world's largest trade bloc.

in Vietnam

[Photos] From the National Geographic Archive, Slices of Life in 1952 Vietnam

Mostly taken by National Geographic photojournalist Joseph Baylor Roberts, these excellent shots are among the best images of 1952 Vietnam that one can encounter.

in Hanoi

[Photos] What Life in Hanoi Was Like in the 1890s

Can you imagine daily life before electricity, light bulbs, plastics, refrigerators, antibiotics, automobiles and telephones?

in Tech

Vietnamese Tech Company VNG Sues TikTok for Using Zing Music Illegally

The lawsuit is related to alleged copyright infringement.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Rare Photos of Hue From a Vintage French Publication in 1919

Hue is a city of empires, dynasties, armies, conquest and rule.

in Vietnam

Vietnam Arrests 7 for Trafficking Chinese Nationals Into Vietnam

The arrests come amid a crackdown on trafficking following a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 cases in central Vietnam.

in Asia

China Removes Pangolin Scales From Official Traditional Medicine List

The move has given conservationists hope in the fight to save the world's most-trafficked animal.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Vietnam's Sepia-Drenched Past

The past was just as colorful as our present, though we rarely imagine it that way.

in Vietnam

[Photos] What Vintage School Assignments Can Teach Us About 1933 Vietnam

Cultural artifacts like artwork can reveal fascinating insights into our ancestors’ past life, though the pieces below are far from the kind of artistic creations that get featured in museums.

in Asia

China to Release Dam Water in Upper Mekong to Aid Droughts

Severe droughts in the Mekong Delta region are being exacerbated by the building and storage of water in dams. 

in Saigon

[Photos] A French Photographer's Portrait of Saigon in 1866

It took millions of years for dinosaurs' ferocious claws to evolve into the soft wings of a hummingbird and even longer for simple algae to transform into towering pine trees; change has been much mor...

in Film & TV

[Photos] China's Massive Film Studios Are a Full-Fledged Alternate Universe

“Across the country, entire towns have been constructed around making movies. Moreover, movie sets in China are not mere plywood facades, but monumental fortresses, maze-like palaces, and complete urb...

in Development

Proposed Hai Phong–China Train Route Raises Concerns Over Hefty Price Tag

From Hai Phong, the 390-kilometer line would run through Hanoi and Lao Cai before reaching China’s Hekou County.

Paul Christiansen

in Culture

The Harrowing History of Vietnam's Rubber Plantations

"Oh it’s easy to go to the rubber and hard to return, / Men leave their corpses, women depart as ghosts."

in Asia

Archaeologists in China Have Discovered Rice That Is Over 9,400 Years Old

Researchers in China have determined that rice was first domesticated in the country nearly 10,000 years ago.

in Vietnam

How a French Adventurer Became King of the Central Highlands

Many will have heard of Englishman James Brooke, the so-called “White Rajah” who in the 1840s established the Kingdom of Sarawak, or indeed of French lawyer Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, who in 1860 foun...

Brian Letwin

in Saigon

20 Pictures of Cho Lon From Before You Were Born

Cho Lon is one of Saigon’s oldest and most interesting neighborhoods. Spanning much of Districts 5 and 6, this predominantly Chinese area has been an integral part of Saigon’s economy since its establ...

Brian Letwin

in Asia

A Look at Hong Kong's Cramped Apartments

There are plenty of small rooms here in Saigon, no doubt. But Hong Kong is notorious for it's cramped living quarters. These overhead photos were commissioned and released by The Society for Community...