A Vietnamese photographer has recently published a photobook featuring the development of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, over the last 150 years.
The book “150 Nam Hinh Bong Sai Gon” (Reflections on 150 Years of Saigon) includes photos and their underlying stories depicting the history of the city from 1863 to 2013.
Tam Thai was born in the central province of Quang Nam in 1960.
At 13, Thai came to Saigon, which he fell in love with and considers his second hometown.
It took him 10 years to finish the book, which does not only comprise his own photos and stories but also many other precious, rare materials collected from various sources.
Thai recalled the moment he discovered a film reel describing Saigon in the 1950s and bought it from a scrap metal dealer.
“I think the owner of the footage is probably an officer of the old regime, who later left the country and his document here,” he explained.
“Reflections on 150 Years of Saigon,” now widely sold in local bookstores, is considered a valuable resource contributing to the study of the historical city.
A truck with a roof made from coconut trees on a Saigon street in the 1950s. Photo: Collected by Tam Thai
A farmer hoes the paddy in an outlying area of Saigon in 1957. Photo: Collected by Tam Thai
Students are seen eating street food in Saigon in the 1950s. Photo: Collected by Tam Thai
A railway links Saigon and Go Vap (now called Go Vap District) in 1910. Photo: Collected by Tam Thai
People sell pigs in Phu Lam, now situated in District 6, in the late 19th century. Photo: Collected by Tam Thai
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