Linh Pham in Hanoi
A Personal History of Hồ Tây: Romance, Colonial Rule and Subsidy-Era Fishing Heists
My father-in-law has spent decades visiting Hồ Tây (West Lake). His personal story both contrasts and reflects Vietnam's history as a whole and, as a result, offers a profound insight into the im...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] Over 100 Years of Hanoi's Historic Opera House
There are some among the population who remember, with rose-tinted glasses, the days before coronavirus began ravaging countries across the globe. Many also remember Hanoi’s Opera House, particularly ...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
Part of Historic Building, Meant to Be Preserved, Destroyed After Miscommunication
Part of a historic building, meant to be saved from demolition and recognized as a heritage site, has been bulldozed thanks to a miscommunication.
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] An Artist's Sketches Capture the Charm of Indochina's Street Vendors
These illustrations of vendors working on Hanoi streets during French colonial rule are half-sketched, half-painted, which adds to the air of memories fading.
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Video] Travel Back in Time to Late 1970s Hanoi When Bicycles Ruled the Streets
The following footage of Hanoi from 1975 to 1980 reminds us that, less than 50 years ago, the capital was tranquil, slow-moving and unpolluted.
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] A Bird's-Eye View of the Capital in the 1930s
Aerial photography has been around since the 19th century. During colonial rule in Vietnam, French photographers took to the air to show sights of Hanoi in ways previously only appreciated by birds.&n...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] Misty Memories of 1930s Hanoi Show the Capital’s Former Calm
When he was 18 years old, Le Vuong bought his first camera.
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] Monochrome Images Capture the Calmness of the Capital in 1939
The following monochrome images, taken by an unknown French photographer in 1939, capture peaceful moments in corners of the capital, from the city center to outlying villages.
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] What Studying Was Like in a 1920s Hanoi Girls' School
Ever wonder what school in Hanoi was like before the advent of smartphones or even simple calculators and other basic electronic devices?
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Video] See Artisans Creating Traditional Dó Paper in 1930s Hanoi
The following short clip, titled Women of Hanoi, is only really connected to its titular meaning by its captions, which refer to "dusky ladies" and love notes scrawled on dó paper by street-side calli...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Video] Witness the Profound Difference of Life in Hanoi's Old Quarter in 1931
This remarkable video reveals not only Hanoi's Old Quarter in 1931, but also scenes from temples in Phnom Penh around the same time.
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Video] Travel Back in Time to the Streets of 1980s Hanoi
Old videos of Vietnam are akin to a digital museum. This clip, set against the musical backdrop of Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata,' not only brings us memories of folk games, rolling trams, and th...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] The Days When Hanoi Had Traditional Paper-Making Villages
Situated near the To Lich River, in the west of Hanoi, Yen Thai was a famous dó paper-making village, which began to develop rapidly in the 12th century once Hanoi became established as the capital o...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] 1885 Hanoi Revealed Through Sepia Prints, Sketches, Postcards and Maps
All too often these days, we come across monuments of historical significance, pull out our smartphone and take a picture, only for it to waste away in our maze of a camera roll, never to be looked at...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] Saunter Across Hanoi's Old Quarter Streets in 1896
Being alive today means seeing such an abundance of photos that they can become meaningless, yet these shots of Hanoi’s Old Quarter invoke a feeling that’s hard to define.
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] On Hanoi’s Streets in 1979: Trams, Bicycles, Buffaloes and Peace
Postwar-era Vietnam was a time of moving forward, regeneration and establishing a new normalcy.
Murray Jones in Hanoi
Author Michael Vann on Hanoi's Infamous Colonial Rat Hunt
When facing a bubonic plague epidemic, is it wiser to delve into sewers and cull infected rats yourself or offer payment to Vietnamese for deliveries of severed tails instead? For Hanoi’s French colon...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] The Ceremonial Tradition of a 1920s Hanoi Funeral
In Vietnam, there is a powerful sense of importance carried within the belief of life after death. This can be seen in the way family members create shrines and pray for those who have passed away, in...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] Striking Color Images Portray Daily Life in Hanoi 100 Years Ago
Old black-and-white photos of Hanoi sometimes feel like relics of a long-lost past. Monochrome photography often forces the viewer to use their imagination and fill in the blanks, yet these candi...
Peter Cowan in Hanoi
The Hanoian Family Tracing 700 Years of Ancestral History
There’s a certain air of intrigue one feels upon entering one of Hanoi’s many labyrinthine alleyways. Anything could be around the corner: a raucous market, a hair salon or a nhà nghỉ. These areas pro...
