in celebration of Hanoi's millennium to give Hanoians and visitors a
glimpse of the city in the 1800s.
Bac has spent many
years collecting the photos from a variety of sources and categorising
them in chronological order. "Collecting the photos take a lot of time
and effort," he said.
His father, a retired history
teacher, 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 Duc
Street . With his deep knowledge of Hanoi , looking at the old
photos always brings back a lot of interesting memories.
"In the old days, the sounds of Hanoi included bells chiming as the
tram went by and food vendors hawking on the streets at night," he said.
The lifestyle in Hanoi is much different now. He
remembers when street vendors sold pho in narrow bowls from two
wooden-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 from
enthusiastic Hanoi lovers. For example, he met Pierre Sadoul, the
grandson of Louis Sadoul, a French military doctor. Doctor Sadoul came
to Viet Nam in 1889, 1890 and 1903, and took photos of the city
during each visit.
Pierre Sadoul and his wife presented
Bac with 40 photos taken by the doctor featuring Thang Long Citadel, a
UNESCO world cultural heritage. These photos give viewers a panoramic
view of the citadel before it was destroyed, said Bac's father.
Another rare photo taken by Dr Sadoul is an image of the Statue of
Liberty on top of Turtle Tower in Sword Lake [taken in 1890
according to Louis Sadoul's diary]. Hanoi was home to a copy of the
statue from 1887 to 1945. Measuring 2.85m tall, the statue was erected
by the French colonial government after being sent from France for
an exhibition.
The collection will be displayed on
October 7 at the Hanoi Library. Pierre Sadoul is scheduled to attend the
event. With the theme Ky Uc Hanoi Xua (Memory of Old Hanoi), the
display will be divided into five parts featuring Hanoi from 1831 to
1954. After the display, Bac and his father plan to donate the
collection to the Hanoi Library and the Hanoi Museum ./.
