Vietnam
Saigon's busiest tourist quarter is named after a man few visitors could identify: a basket weaver who became the general the Mongols could not beat. The street itself began as a nameless lane beside a colonial railway station.
Vietnam
2026 is the Year of the Horse. Saigon's century-old Phú Thọ Racetrack — once Asia's largest — is being turned into a park. Here's the story it leaves behind.
Culture
[Inside Saigon's State Bank: A Rare Exhibition on 160 Years of Vietnamese Currency] The Ho Chi Minh City branch of the State Bank of Vietnam — a building normally closed to the public — is hosting a rare exhibition on the history of Vietnamese currency. If you're interested
Diaspora
[6 Million Viet Kieu: How the Boat People's Descendants Became Vietnam's Hidden Economic Engine] Walk into a pho restaurant in Orange County, California, and you might hear the owner greeting customers in Vietnamese while a South Vietnamese flag hangs on the wall. This is "Little
Culture
The airport code is SGN, the official name is Ho Chi Minh City, and locals just say Sài Gòn. In 2025, this "unofficial" name finally became an administrative place name again.
Vietnam
2026 is the Year of the Horse. Saigon's century-old Phú Thọ Racetrack — once Asia's largest — is being turned into a park. Here's the story it leaves behind.
Diaspora
Vietnam's 6 million overseas diaspora sends USD 16 billion home annually. From the boat people exodus to new dual citizenship laws, the Viet Kieu story.
Culture
A rare exhibition inside the State Bank of Vietnam HCMC branch traces 160 years of Vietnamese currency history.