Architect Doan Bac will exhibit a collection of black-and- white photosin celebration of Hanoi's millennium to give Hanoians and visitors aglimpse of the city in the 1800s.
Bac has spent manyyears collecting the photos from a variety of sources and categorisingthem in chronological order. "Collecting the photos take a lot of timeand effort," he said.
His father, a retired historyteacher, has helped him with his work. Bac's father was born in Hanoi, where he has spent his entire life in a small alley of Lo DucStreet . With his deep knowledge of Hanoi , looking at the oldphotos always brings back a lot of interesting memories.
"In the old days, the sounds of Hanoi included bells chiming as thetram went by and food vendors hawking on the streets at night," he said.
The lifestyle in Hanoi is much different now. Heremembers when street vendors sold pho in narrow bowls from twowooden-barrels.
"Women wore long dresses and puffed up their hair. Hanoians were simple but elegant," he said.
“All of my 1,820 black & white photos have been digitally restored to the best quality”, said Bac.
He is surprised at the huge number of photos he has collected fromenthusiastic Hanoi lovers. For example, he met Pierre Sadoul, thegrandson of Louis Sadoul, a French military doctor. Doctor Sadoul cameto Viet Nam in 1889, 1890 and 1903, and took photos of the cityduring each visit.
Pierre Sadoul and his wife presentedBac with 40 photos taken by the doctor featuring Thang Long Citadel, aUNESCO world cultural heritage. These photos give viewers a panoramicview of the citadel before it was destroyed, said Bac's father.
Another rare photo taken by Dr Sadoul is an image of the Statue ofLiberty on top of Turtle Tower in Sword Lake [taken in 1890according to Louis Sadoul's diary]. Hanoi was home to a copy of thestatue from 1887 to 1945. Measuring 2.85m tall, the statue was erectedby the French colonial government after being sent from France foran exhibition.
The collection will be displayed onOctober 7 at the Hanoi Library. Pierre Sadoul is scheduled to attend theevent. With the theme Ky Uc Hanoi Xua (Memory of Old Hanoi), thedisplay will be divided into five parts featuring Hanoi from 1831 to1954. After the display, Bac and his father plan to donate thecollection to the Hanoi Library and the Hanoi Museum ./.
Bac has spent manyyears collecting the photos from a variety of sources and categorisingthem in chronological order. "Collecting the photos take a lot of timeand effort," he said.
His father, a retired historyteacher, has helped him with his work. Bac's father was born in Hanoi, where he has spent his entire life in a small alley of Lo DucStreet . With his deep knowledge of Hanoi , looking at the oldphotos always brings back a lot of interesting memories.
"In the old days, the sounds of Hanoi included bells chiming as thetram went by and food vendors hawking on the streets at night," he said.
The lifestyle in Hanoi is much different now. Heremembers when street vendors sold pho in narrow bowls from twowooden-barrels.
"Women wore long dresses and puffed up their hair. Hanoians were simple but elegant," he said.
“All of my 1,820 black & white photos have been digitally restored to the best quality”, said Bac.
He is surprised at the huge number of photos he has collected fromenthusiastic Hanoi lovers. For example, he met Pierre Sadoul, thegrandson of Louis Sadoul, a French military doctor. Doctor Sadoul cameto Viet Nam in 1889, 1890 and 1903, and took photos of the cityduring each visit.
Pierre Sadoul and his wife presentedBac with 40 photos taken by the doctor featuring Thang Long Citadel, aUNESCO world cultural heritage. These photos give viewers a panoramicview of the citadel before it was destroyed, said Bac's father.
Another rare photo taken by Dr Sadoul is an image of the Statue ofLiberty on top of Turtle Tower in Sword Lake [taken in 1890according to Louis Sadoul's diary]. Hanoi was home to a copy of thestatue from 1887 to 1945. Measuring 2.85m tall, the statue was erectedby the French colonial government after being sent from France foran exhibition.
The collection will be displayed onOctober 7 at the Hanoi Library. Pierre Sadoul is scheduled to attend theevent. With the theme Ky Uc Hanoi Xua (Memory of Old Hanoi), thedisplay will be divided into five parts featuring Hanoi from 1831 to1954. After the display, Bac and his father plan to donate thecollection to the Hanoi Library and the Hanoi Museum ./.
