Drawing urban shapes from a hundred-year heritage

Attending the program were Mr. Tang Huu Phong, Deputy Head of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; Ms. Dinh Thi Thanh Thuy, Deputy Chief of Office of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, former Director - Editor-in-Chief of Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House.

Guests included: Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Mai (lecturer at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU-HCM), journalist Nguyen Hanh (editor-in-chief of the publication Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City Heritage) and journalist Tran Huu Phuc Tien (author of the book French - Indochina Architecture, Traces of Saigon - Pearl of the Far East).

Comrade Tang Huu Phong and Mr. Tran Dinh Ba (left), Deputy Director - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House, presented flowers to the speakers.

The two publications introduced at the program contribute to sketching the urban appearance of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City from the depth of more than 300 years of history, through the lens of architecture, landscape and community memory.

In particular, the photo book Heritage of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (bilingual in Vietnamese - English, in collaboration with Xua & Nay Magazine) selected more than 300 valuable documentary photos, depicting the urban appearance from a historical, cultural and social perspective - including photographs, spatial photos and sketches.

The two publications meet in the idea of ​​recreating the heritage of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City over hundreds of years.

The publication French-Indochinese Architecture, Traces of Saigon – Pearl of the Far East, initiated by the State Records and Archives Department – ​​National Archives Center II, records the process of urban modernization of Saigon from the colonial period to the stage of development into a modern, dynamic city.

Speakers at the program. From left: journalist Nguyen Hanh, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Mai and journalist Tran Huu Phuc Tien

At the seminar, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Mai commented: the unique features of Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City urban culture are clearly shown in three factors: the nature of a river-commercial urban area, the diversity of the residential community, and the rapid urbanization rate. She emphasized that from the typical river space, a way of living in the community “on the wharf and under the boat” has been formed, creating a unique life that few urban areas have.

Photographer Minh Hoa interacts with speakers

In addition, Saigon – Ho Chi Minh City is a place where residents from many regions and ethnicities converge, absorbing and blending different cultures. And especially, from the very beginning, this urban area was planned to become a key economic , administrative and cultural center, playing an important role in the country's modernization process.

QUYNH YEN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ve-dang-hinh-do-thi-tu-di-san-tram-nam-post795678.html