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Paul Christiansen

in Vietnam

Revisiting the Coats of Arms of Vietnam's Major Cities Under French Rule

Did you know that several Vietnamese cities have coats of arms?

in Hanoi

Postcard-Ready Vintage Album Highlights a Lonesome Hanoi in the 1920s

Looking at past albums of our cities today, I’m always stricken by a bewildering vastness — every street, every square, every building seemed to have been constructed in a ghost town, serving lonesome...

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 Indochi...

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 In Plain Sight

As Science Advances and Stigma Fades, Quy Hòa Leprosy Village Seems Frozen in Place

Many of the images conjured by the word leprosy (bệnh phong) can be unsettling to some. Yet, the misunderstood disease exposes the capacity for human care and empathy. Quy Nhơn’s Quy Hoà lep...

Linh Phạm

in In Plain Sight

How a Plane Carcass Became a Museum and Community Hangout in Hanoi

The massive chunk of metal greeted me as soon as I stepped through the gate.

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 Film & TV

Netflix Announces Next 'Bridgerton' Season to Focus on Long-Lost Vietnamese Sister Hường Bridgerton

Steamy night rendezvous, sordid secrets, and stupendous wigs — historical smash hit Bridgerton returned last week with all the glitz and glam that made its first season one of the most-watched se...

in Vietnam

[Photos] Inside a Vaccination Point in Vietnam Nearly 100 Years Ago

A century ago, the colonial government was active in inoculating Vietnamese citizens against a variety of diseases.

in Asia

Vintage Illustrations From 1931 Showcase Native Birds of Indochina

Somebody definitely paid attention in art class.

in Vietnam

[Photos] Long Xuyen, an Enterprising Mekong Delta Trading Hub in the 1920s

Founded on the banks of the Hau River, Long Xuyen began as a trading post and has prospered into one of the Mekong Delta’s major cities today.

in Saigon

[Photos] A Collection of Illusory Saigon Nightscapes From 1938

A rare glimpse into colonial Saigon after sunset.

in Saigon

[Photos] A Brief Tribute to Saigon’s Old Electricity Substations and Their Iconic Logo

Have you ever spotted these substations peppered across downtown Saigon and wondered what the initials CEE stands for?

in Vietnam

[Maps] A Brief Cartographic History of Hai Phong 1898–1968

Known today by the moniker "City of Red Flamboyant Trees," Hai Phong has always been one of Vietnam’s most prominent port cities ever since its establishment in 1888.