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[Photos] A Bird's-Eye View of 1930 Hanoi

Now that the age of drones has dawned upon us, cityscapes are easily captured from above.

in Hanoi

The City as Text: Chợ Trời and the Representation of an Invisible Hanoi

Despite being the largest marketplace in the city since the 1950s, and still the oldest temporary market in town, Troi Market (chợ Trời) doesn't appear in delightful pieces of literature or art like t...

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...

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 ...

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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. 

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. 

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.

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...

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.

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. 

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?

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...

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. 

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...

in Hanoi

Date With the Wrecking Ball: The Last Transmission From Dai La

In the southern reaches of the Vietnamese capital, a French villa will be demolished in the coming months following a decision by the Hanoi People’s Committee to construct a new ring road. The elegant...

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...

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[Photos] A Celebration of the Hung Kings' Festival Decades Ago

Every year, the Hung Kings' Temple Festival is held to mark the death anniversary of the Hung Kings on the 10th day of the third month on the lunar calendar.

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[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...

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.

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.