BackArts & Culture » Culture » [Photos] The Naked Truth Behind Hanoi's 'Banana Island' Nudists

[Photos] The Naked Truth Behind Hanoi's 'Banana Island' Nudists

Hanoi is a conservative capital where young couples rarely kiss in public, yet along the banks of the Red River, a men's nudist club thrives. 

Known colloquially as "Banana Island" to some, or Bai Giua (Middle Island) in Vietnamese, the seven-kilometer-long stretch of land is home not only to subsistence farmers, but also a community of men who swim, play tennis and meditate, all as naked as the day they were born. 

Many men come here to swim every day, with some even claiming that 24 hours without a dip in the river is akin to being away from their girlfriends. On land, they play sports or workout in ramshackle gyms. In the water, they bathe despite obvious pollution concerns — the river meanders through farmland all the way from China's southwest Yunnan Province, while the shore is littered with trash. 

"Take everything off," an elderly gentleman says as we enter the swimming area. Although only a few hundred meters from the center of the city, swimmers here feel at ease, with some nudists comparing the feeling to living in the countryside in the mountainous stretches of northern Vietnam. 

Thirty-three-year-old Duong, one of the men, says coming here makes him feel like he's a child again. He comes here every day of the year, and if he has no time during the day, he swims at night. "We are open to each other here," he says.

Though public nudity is not unusual at bathhouses in some East Asian countries, such as Japanese onsen or South Korea's jimjilbang, it is extremely uncommon in Vietnam. 

The men first started coming here about 40 years ago when Hanoi's lakes started getting too polluted. While the river here is far from clean, the men don't seem to mind. In a city where shopping malls are springing up like garden weeds, the swimming spot provides a sense of community for souls in need of connection and closeness to nature. 

Duong takes a sip of tea and looks pensively at the river, before adding simply: "You have to swim to feel it yourself."

Take a dip below:

Do Duc Hoang enjoys a naked game of badminton.

Duong sips tea with two friends.

Hoang bathes in the Red River...

... evidently unconcerned by the pollution.

Many of the men also practice yoga and meditate.

The view from the bridge.

Many on the island live on floating houses.

Hundreds of men from the city come to the island to swim.

The shoreline is littered with trash.

Sewer water from the city flows towards the river.

The men use homemade concrete weights in ramshackle gyms.

The island is comprised mainly of farmland, particularly banana plantations.

Long Bien Bridge crosses the island not too far from the swimming spot.

Do Duc Hoang

Related Articles

in Culture

5,000 People to Take Part in a Street Festival in Hanoi This Weekend.

Themed ‘The Quintessence of Hanoi – Confluence and Shine,’ the street festival will take place around Hoan Kiem Lake between 8am and 11am on July 29.

in Culture

A Visit to Hanoi's Birdsong Clubs: Have You Heard the Call of the Oriental White-Eye?

Birdsong clubs, a tradition originating from China, are one of Hanoi’s hidden gems. If you’re willing to really look for them, it’s possible to find huge collections of birds kept in finely decorated ...

in Culture

Artisan Phan Thi Thuan and the Skill of Weaving Silk From Lotus Stems

As gentle as smoke, as strong as fire – lotus silk provides an alternative to silkworms that could revolutionize silk production in Vietnam.

in Culture

Experience: How Becoming One of Hanoi's First Drag Queens Transformed My Life

“Oh my god! You look beautiful! You belong on the runway, why aren’t you on the runway?” said Tamah Lake, the organizer of last year’s RuPaul’s Drag Race viewing party events in Hanoi. She came up to ...

in Culture

Hanoi Gets Inked: Expo Showcases Vietnam’s Tattoo Boom

When Link Do was a child in Hanoi, she learned English from an American woman with a tattoo on her hand. Link, who loved to draw, thought the tattoo was beautiful, and began to imagine a future as an ...

in Culture

Hanoi Proposes Non-Smoking Areas Around Tourist Sites

The proposal was suggested for areas such as the walking streets around Hoan Kiem Lake in an effort to make the area more welcoming to tourists.

Partner Content