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?
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 ...
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.
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...
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
FLC Group to Help Build $5bn Railway From Vientiane to Hà Tĩnh
All aboard!
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.
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.
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.
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.
[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.
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...
[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.
World's Largest Trade Bloc Created During Vietnam-Led ASEAN Summit
Vietnam is now part of the world's largest trade bloc.
[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.
[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?
Vietnamese Tech Company VNG Sues TikTok for Using Zing Music Illegally
The lawsuit is related to alleged copyright infringement.
[Photos] Rare Photos of Hue From a Vintage French Publication in 1919
Hue is a city of empires, dynasties, armies, conquest and rule.
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.
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.
[Photos] Vietnam's Sepia-Drenched Past
The past was just as colorful as our present, though we rarely imagine it that way.
[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.
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.
[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...
[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...
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."
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.
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...
