Hanoi Opera House (continued 01)

Paul Bert Street (now Trang Tien) before the construction of the Hanoi Opera House

and after

Hanoi Opera House

Considered a small-scaled replica of the Palais Garnier, the older of Paris's two opera houses, the Hanoi Opera House was built by the French during 1901-1911 in the center of downtown Hanoi.

The monument before the opera house was soon demolished afterwards to create a public square

The interior of the opera house

Cyclo - Vietnam

Cyclo (or "xich-lo" in Vietnamese) is a kind of human-powered tricycle invented by a French named Coupeaud in 1939 for sport purposes. However, they only became popular when introduced to Phnompenh and then Saigon in 1939-1940 as a small-scaled local means of transport. In Vietnam and Cambodia, the driver's seat is situated behind the passenger, not in front or beside like in other countries.

Rickshaw - North Vietnam

Created in Japan in 1868, the runner-pulled rickshaws soon became popular in the whole Far East. The first one was brought to Hanoi in 1883 by Jean Thoman Raoul Bonnal. In 1884, the first fifty rickshaws were produced and used in North Vietnam under the name pousse-pousse (or "xe loi" in Vietnamese). They were not introduced to the South until some fifteen years later.

In the beginning, they were the main means of transportation of the social elite. Later, however, they were used also by common people. Associated with exploitive colonialism, the runner-pulled rickshaws were finally banned in Vietnam in 1945, replaced by the newly introduced cyclos.

Train - North Vietnam (continued 02)

After the war ended in 1975, the North-South railway service was restored together with reconstruction of the Hanoi train station in 1976. The first trains to run the whole length of the unified country left the stations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on the same day (31 December 1976), both arriving at the other end on 4 January 1977.

Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi, arriving at Hanoi

Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City, arriving at Ho Chi Minh City

Train - North Vietnam (continued 01)

The train stations in North Vietnam, early 20th century

Phu Ly Station
Yen Vien station, during the flood of 1904

Gia Lam Station

Bac Ninh Station

Nam Dinh Station

Train - North Vietnam

Common carriage

The train engine factory in Gia Lam (outside Hanoi) in 1905, the best-equipped one in Asia then

An advertisement for railway service: "To go far, to pay less, to be fine, take the train - Indochina Railway - Non-concessionary Networks"

A New Year greeting card with the train theme

Central Train Station - Hanoi

The Central Train Station of Hanoi (once known as the Hang Co Station) was built by the French in 1902, after the completion of the Long Bien (Doumer) Bridge and the railway system in the whole country. Destroyed by American bombardment in 1972, the station was rebuilt in 1976, and the first train to run the whole length of the unified country departed from the station in 31 December the same year, after 30 years of suspension, arriving at the other end in January 1977.

The original facade

The original design of the facade was not recovered in the 1976 reconstruction

View from the tracks

View from the tracks, with passengers

A rare photo of the interior of the main building, taken prior to 1927

Emperor Ham Nghi (continued 01)

In 1904, Emperor Ham Nghi married Marcelle Laloe (1884-1974) in Alger, with whom he had three children.

Emperor Ham Nghi

Born in 1871, the young Nguyen Phuc Ung Lich became Emperor Ham Nghi, the eighth Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty in 1884. In 1885, he led the Can Vuong armed movement against the French. After the failed attack of Hue in the same year, he fled to Laos to continue the leadership of the movement, while the French replaced him with Emperor Dong Khanh. Ham Nghi was finally arrested by the French and exiled to Algeria in 1888, where he lived till the end of his life. Emperor Ham Nghi died in Alger in 1943 and was buried in Aquitaine, France.

The young Emperor 1884-1885

In his old age in Algeria

His altar photo at Chateau de la Nauche

His simple tomb in Aquitaine

Dong Xuan Market - Hanoi (continued 01)

The market life - 1929

Dong Xuan Market - Hanoi

The Dong Xuan Market in the Old Quarter of Hanoi was established in 1889 (Les Halles), but the building was not finished until a year later, in 1890. After the big fire in 1994, the market was rebuilt, with much of the original shape recovered.

Dong Xuan Market in 1974

Dong Xuan Market in late 1980s