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...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Photos] An Idiosyncratic Car Parade in 1920s Hanoi
Street festivals have come a long way since the endearing car parades of early 1900s Indochina.
Saigoneer in Hanoi
[Video] Vintage Home Movie Takes You Through the Streets of 1950s Hanoi
Beginning with a delightfully kitsch, Star Wars-esque, rolling text introduction explaining how the clip was filmed during Tet in the early 1950s, the footage quickly shifts to grainy, quotidian foota...
Urbanist Hanoi in Hanoi
[Illustrations] Paintings of Hanoi’s Old Quarter in the Feudal Era
Depicting an age before the stress of modern life took hold, these illustrations are an endearing reminder of the Old Quarter’s former imperial life over 1,000 years ago.
Saigoneer in Hanoi
[Photos] The Serene, Laid-Back Vibe of Hanoi in the Mid-1990s
Hanoi in the mid-1990s was a city of rich traditions and a laid-back lifestyle.
Saigoneer in Hanoi
[Photos] Early 1980s Hanoi on the Brink of Doi Moi
The early 1980s were a complicated time for Vietnam. Still reeling from the end of a war within the country – not to mention border conflicts with Cambodia and China in the later 1970s – Vietnam was j...
