Viewing Saigon through the pages of architecture books

Adding to the rich material about this land, recently, many picture books and photo books about ancient and modern architectural works have been published.

Several picture books and photo books about Saigon architecture have been published.

From ancient times to the present, architectural works always carry a unique language, bearing the mark of the times, carrying the cultural, historical, geographical significance... of each land. It can be a majestic mansion behind a gate with French architecture, a quiet pagoda nestled in a quiet campus separate from the noisy streets, a majestic church with a bell tower reflected in the blue sky, or poetic bridges connecting the two banks of the city along the magnificent river. According to author Vo Thi Mai Chi, "as an inevitable part of history, works in the flow of time are evidence of the formation and continuous growth of the land of Gia Dinh - Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City". For that reason, author Vo Thi Mai Chi and artist Ho Quoc Cuong have taken readers on a journey to learn about architectural works associated with the history of the formation and development of the city through the book "Following the steps of time: Typical works of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City" (Kim Dong Publishing House).

With brief information about the history, culture, architectural highlights of the works and realistic and vivid illustrations, the authors introduce to readers 38 typical works and clusters of works of Gia Dinh - Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City throughout its long history. There, there are not only religious works that are hundreds of years old such as Thong Tay Hoi Communal House, Tomb of Ta Quan Le Van Duyet...; museums, schools, hospitals, mansions - works with French architectural style such as the Headquarters of the People's Council - People's Committee of the City, City Theater, City Post Office , Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, Ben Thanh Market, Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Railway Station...; constructions associated with the resistance period such as Ben Nha Rong, Independence Palace, Cu Chi Tunnels... but also new symbols with skyscrapers, constructions representing a modern, dynamic and constantly developing megacity of the 21st century such as Landmark 81 or metro line 1 Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien.

Old Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City today is still the largest urban area in the country. According to author Tran Huu Phuc Tien, the compiler of the book "French - Indochina Architecture, Traces of Saigon - Pearl of the Far East" (a documentary book initiated by the Department of State Records and Archives - National Archives Center II), "the process of building the largest urban area in Vietnam from the past to the present has gone through many centuries, condensed by the sweat, intelligence and blood of many generations. From there, it crystallized into the multi-faceted sparkling beauty of a precious pearl of the Far East Asia". With 232 pages, the book is like a narrative about the process of the city entering the modern era from the beginning of building Saigon - the Pearl of the Far East in the past to the beautiful, dynamic and attractive Ho Chi Minh City today through a series of architectural works. The author shared: “As a person who grew up in Saigon and participated in researching the city’s history, I feel honored and proud to compile the content of the book with many interesting topics. Hopefully, the book can make certain contributions with useful information about the city’s construction and perfect architectural works in the past to serve the urban renovation, new construction, contributing to the preservation and promotion of the beautiful heritage values ​​of previous generations.”

Also with the desire to contribute to the collection of research documents and photo materials about Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City, thereby enriching Vietnam's cultural heritage, Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House has introduced two photo books "Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City Heritage" and "Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City: Changes through frames (1975 - 2025)". In particular, the Vietnamese - English bilingual photo book "Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City Heritage" gathers more than 300 rare photos about the history - culture - society of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City. The book "Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City: Changes through frames (1975 - 2025)" is the result of the persistent journey to find the city's image through authentic images by author Tam Thai, from "Saigon, through the memory", "Saigon - Cho Lon wandering" to "Saigon changes", "Saigon: Glancing through some new towns", "Saigon, rural urban area" and "Urban soul". Commenting on the book by author Tam Thai, Associate Professor Dr. Pascal Bourdeaux, French School of the Far East, said that "the images connect the reality of human activities with forms of expression such as in the fields of construction and architecture, not simply illustrations. These photos make us think about what happened in the past, and raise questions about the future of a dynamic city like Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City today.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/ngam-sai-gon-qua-nhung-trang-sach-kien-truc-703393.html