Just 27 years ago, Hanoi was a different world

By Di Vy June 14, 2018 | 10:40 pm PT

Patrick Zachmann’s black and white photos of Hanoi in 1991 capture a capital city now lost in the mists of time.

Just 27 years ago, Hanoi was a different world

Frenchman Patrick Zachmann, born in 1955, became a freelance photographer in 1976, and has been a member of the international photography organization Magnum Photos since 1990.

“I became a photographer because I have no memory. Photography allows me to reconstruct the family albums I never had, the missing image becoming the engine of my research,” he is quoted by the Magnum Photo website as saying.

Just 27 years ago, Hanoi was a different world - 1

Cars are conspicuously absent on Hang Buom Street, just 27 years ago.

The Grand Cathedral, once a quiet spot, bustles day and night today with hundreds of cafes and tea shops patronized by thousands of Hanoians, expats and foreign tourists.

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The Hoan Kiem Police Center still remains today, as does the crossroads on which it stands.

Just 27 years ago, Hanoi was a different world - 4

People cycle in front of the State Bank of Vietnam, a scene unimaginable today.

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Children gather at the Tuoi Tho Kindergarten on Hang Buom Street. This was also the venue for the Quang Dong club set up by the Chinese community that lived nearby.

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In an Old Quarter alley. Pavement cafés and eateries have been a Hanoian pastime for long, and this tradition continues today. This scene has not changed much over time. The wooden stools have turned plastic, though.

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A bare restaurant kitchen using aluminum utensils.

Cyclos were to found everywhere then, and they dominated the streets along with bicycles. Motorbikes and cars were still a rare sight. Now cyclos are just a tourist attraction.

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Harvest season in a field in the suburbs of the capital city.

Photos: Patrick Zachmann/Magnum Photos