Category: SAIGON STREET ART

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳: MAKES YOU WANT THINGS YOU FORGOT YOU NEEDED

Published on by jacquelinemhadel2 Comments
Andrew X. Pham (Catfish and Mandala):
“Saigon makes you want things you forgot you needed.”
Jean-Claude Pomonti (Un Vietnamien Bien Tranquille):
“Saigon is a woman who changes her dress but never her habits.”
Tim O’Brien (The Things They Carried):
“The war was over and there was no place in particular to go.”
Iconic Red Stool

May 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 ARCHITECTURAL STORIES

Published on by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment
A strange red-paneled building by the wharf.
Saigon cosplaying modernism. Surely some kind of government building.

Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam – Chi nhánh TP.HCM

📍 Address: 8 Võ Văn Kiệt, District 1

Ho Chi Minh City branch of Vietnam’s central bank (the equivalent of:

  • the Federal Reserve in the U.S.
    dates back to the late French colonial period, most likely the 1930s.
    Original era (French Indochina – ~1930s)

The structure was built during the colonial period as part of the financial administration network tied to Banque de l’Indochine.

That bank wasn’t just any bank—it effectively acted as:

  • the central bank of French Indochina
A classic mid-century Vietnamese apartment / mixed-use block, probably dating from the 1960s–1970s.
possibly originally built for civil servants, workers, or urban middle-class residents during the late South Vietnam era
This is the LIM Tower 3, a modern office tower in District 1.
Classic modern Saigon development:
steel-and-glass office tower
wrapped in neo-classical styling

Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange — usually called HOSE.

Vietnam’s main stock exchange:

  • the financial heart of the country’s stock market
  • where many of Vietnam’s largest companies are listed
  • effectively the Vietnamese equivalent of:
  • the NYSE in New York
  • or the London Stock Exchange

Tube Houses and Shophouses

Historically, because buildings were taxed according to street frontage rather than total area, many shophouses are long and narrow in shape, similar to the vernacular “tube house.”

The earliest surviving shophouses in Saigon date to the 1860s. The most common design is the two-storey type, featuring a shop and storage on the ground floor and residential spaces above.

6may26

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 STREET ART: HELLO MY NAME…

Published on by jacquelinemhadel1 Comment

6may26

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 STREET ART: MIRROR

Published on by jacquelinemhadel1 Comment
Mirror
An abandoned area in Pham Ngu Lao Park. This was a mural on an old Cigar Lounge Wall
The iconic conical hat (Nón lá) on the head of this graff piece
Interesting scrawl on an electric ⚡️ box in Pham Ngu Lao Park

May 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 STREET ART: VOLUNTEER SPRING

Published on by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

Central Section (Yellow Text)

• CÔNG TRÌNH THANH NIÊN: Youth Project.

• CHÀO MỪNG ĐẠI HỘI ĐẠI BIỂU LIÊN HIỆP THANH NIÊN VIỆT NAM P. NGUYỄN CƯ TRINH: Welcoming the Delegate Congress of the Vietnam Youth Federation of Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward.

• NHIỆM KỲ 2024 – 2029: Term 2024 – 2029.

Right Section (Orange/Yellow Text)

• XUÂN TÌNH NGUYỆN: Volunteer Spring.

Contextual Details

The mural illustrates various community service and environmental themes:

• Environmental Action: The right side depicts youth planting a tree, accompanied by a map of Vietnam.

• Waste Management: The background section to the left shows figures sorting waste into green, yellow, and blue bins, similar to standard recycling initiatives in the city.

• Organization: The project is attributed to the Vietnam Youth Federation (the logo with the bird and V-shape is visible above the central text) in Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, which is a neighborhood in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

2may26

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 STREET ART: TAKING ACTION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Published on by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

The Main Mural Slogan (Right Side)

• NHÂN DÂN VÀ HỘI VIÊN PHỤ NỮ KHU PHỐ 3 HÀNH ĐỘNG VÌ MÔI TRƯỜNG: The people and members of the Women’s Union of Neighborhood 3 take action for the environment.

• XANH – SẠCH – ĐẸP: Green – Clean – Beautiful.

The Trash Bins (Lower Right)

The bins are labeled to encourage waste sorting:

• RÁC HỮU CƠ: Organic Waste (Green bin).

• RÁC VÔ CƠ: Inorganic Waste (Orange/Red bin).

• RÁC TÁI CHẾ: Recyclable Waste (Blue bin).

Propaganda Art

2may2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 STREET ART: MOTORBIKE CITY

Published on by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

May 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 STREET ART: LUCKY CHARMS

Published on by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

May 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳 STREET ART: DIVINE HUMAN CONNECTION

Published on by jacquelinemhadel2 Comments

April 2026

SAIGON, VIETNAM 🇻🇳: THE MAN BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE

Published on by jacquelinemhadel2 Comments

“I have dedicated my whole life to the struggle of my people. That is all I can say.” – Ho Chi Minh


The irony of Uncle Ho is that his words are everywhere in Vietnam, on every wall, in every school, on every piece of currency, quoted by a government that controls everything he said he was fighting against. He wrote about freedom and the party built a surveillance state. He wrote about the people and the party built a one-party system. He asked people to write the truth and the press is ranked 174th out of 180 countries for freedom.


But the Vietnamese love him anyway. Not the ideology. Him. The man who lived simply, wore sandals, never married, and beat both the French and the Americans. The words on the walls belong to the state. The man belongs to the people. They know the difference even if they can’t say it out loud.

April 2026