Hanoi traffic through time

Hanoi 1900–2024 5 photos of this spot

5 photographs taken at the same spot in Hanoi, spanning 1900–2024 — 1 of them from before 1980. Line them up and watch the place change.

Rue des Pavillons Noirs in Hanoi, photographed around 1900, took its name from the Black Flag Army, the irregular forces that had contested control of the Tonkin region with French and Vietnamese authorities in the preceding decades.

Hanoï - Rue des Pavillons Noirs 1900 Rue des Pavillons Noirs in Hanoi, photographed around 1900, took its name from the Black Flag Army, the irregular forces that had contested control of the Tonkin region with French and Vietnamese authorities in the preceding decades.

Hanoi traffic 2004 Traffic in Hanoi, Vietnam, photographed in 2004, when motorbikes were rapidly becoming the dominant form of transport in the city following Vietnam's economic reforms.

Hanoi Old Quarter 2018 Narrow lanes and shopfronts typical of Hanoi's Old Quarter, a commercial district with roots going back centuries near the shore of Hoan Kiem Lake, appear in this 2018 photograph.

Hàng Giầy Street, Hanoi, Vietnam 10 2022 Hang Giay Street in Hanoi's Old Quarter, photographed in 2022; like its neighboring streets, its name reflects the traditional guild of shoemakers once concentrated there.

Street fruit seller in the Old Town district of Hanoi, 1330 2024 A street vendor sells fruit in Hanoi's Old Quarter, the dense network of merchant streets in the Vietnamese capital that has served as a commercial hub since medieval times, when each lane was associated with a particular trade or guild.