General Giap s photographer

Photographer Tran Tuan said that for the last 35 years, he had taken thousands of photos of General Vo Nguyen Giap – the legendary military strategist of Vietnam, who died in October. [ more... ]

A picture book to remember General Vo Nguyen Giap

The passing of any great and or famous figure is likely to trigger a surge of interest in any recordings or writings he or she may have left behind. [ more... ]

A secret world between the light and the dark

In 1996, I asked an errant photographic artist MPK in Dalat about the contemporary photographers with whom he took the most interest. MPK replied immediately, ‘Thi Tho’. [ more... ]

Mum s home!

Mum’s home!’ someone says, and it makes the whole family get up and rush to the river bank, where my mum unloads burden sixty or seventy kilos of fish, shrimps and crabs. [ more... ]

Himalayan Yew a Vietnam cancer cure in the making

The rare and valuable Himalayan Yew is endemic to Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands. It ranks among the species that contain the active agent 10-DB III, which is converted into taxol to make the foremost cancer treatment medicine in the world. [ more... ]

Vietnam s first regatta comes about

Vietnam’s first national sailing regatta took place in June in Nha Trang. There were 14 boats, 50 crew members, including adults and children, and 30 onshore volunteers. [ more... ]

Song of napalm

The Los Angeles New International Music Festival was held in May, 2012, musical pieces such as ‘Song of Napalm,’ by composer Vu Nhat Tan were featured. [ more... ]

­­­­­­­­­­­­No-frills religion guides followers on southern island

Travelling around Long Son Island, I saw many men with long hair tied up in buns and wearing traditional southern Vietnamese clothing, like people did one hundred years ago. [ more... ]

Plans to harness art and nature for the promotion of the nation

In Ho Chi Minh City, I seldom travel outside my comfort zone-the downtown area. The other day, however, I had an assignment in District Two. As we crossed the Saigon Bridge and turned into the backstreets of this area, I became aware that this once ordinary, in parts even impoverished neighbourhood, has recently become favoured for the construction of mansions for the rich. [ more... ]

Nom village in the longan lands of Hung Yen province

Nom Village in Dai Dong hamlet, Van Lam district, Hung Yen province lies just over 30 kilometers east of Hanoi. The village was formed at the beginning of the Common Era, according to a stele preserved in Nom Pagoda. [ more... ]