Since no one's taking me to the future, Im taking you to the past.....and you will love it :)

many people today visit Hanoi/saigon and see French buildings they think those are the orginal architectures. however many of them, even during the French colonial period, (from the time they occupied to the time they left, 1945) had changed atleast 2-3 times......... until today, many French buildings has changed up to 9 times

these are the 3 stages of French architectures in Vietnam:
1-colonial (usually simple-moderate in size and designs)
2-French empire (excessive designs, replicated those of French architectures from France)
3-French Indochina (combination of local and French architecture)
the last architecture style later bridging with the art-deco

This is Hanoi opera house the first one is the true Neo-classical style, the one you see today is beaux-art of the early 20th century renovation.

compare the 2 opera house.......this is the reason why some books said Hanoi opera house got the Opera Garnier facade in Paris, but Vienna wing (Vienna opera house)
http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/2020/hnoperadshds6wv.jpg
http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/3378/hnoperady56u62od.jpg


Hanoi exposition hall....house to the biggest international exposition in southeast asia during the early 20th century.
This model of petit palais in Paris is sadly bombed during the war and now replace by a SoViet building....or they call it in Hanoi "Viet Xo palace"
http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/3623/hnexpomuseelong8ar.jpg
http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/6152/hnhallpanorama19236ld.jpg
http://img335.imageshack.us/img335/4567/hnexpoghg4bk.jpg


I have big collection of the Hanoi exposition pictures, if people are interested I will post more......a lot of beautiful buildings in this colonial internation fair

thanks bang i love all those old pictures, please post more, i'm a big fan of them!

btw, i prefere the way that the opera looks today... and it is so a pity that the american bombed the hanoi exposition hall...

Amazing.

Americans should payback.

tran you're right... when you look at how it is nowdays...

The American "rule of engagement" was to bomb hospitals and civilian buildings during the war, but they are always lying that their hands were tied behind their backs that they couldn't do anything, what a joke!

great to see people are interested in this.......will post more soon

about the bommng.....I don't think we will know for sure who bombed the place it could be russian ya kknow.......or the VC bombed themselves in the rage of anger

na na Bang, be sure it's the american who bombed the hanoi exposition hall...
Russia supported the Vc...

they also bombed the main building of the train station...

Too bad such grand ones were gone :(

nothing will last forever; the great mongol empire spread from asia to europe had also fall in a century

Nice old pics.

From the expo hall looking out
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/6299/hnyunhanoffive9ae.jpg
main entrance
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/3429/hnhallgate7fl.jpg
the main hall interior
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/6828/hnhallexposition6pn.jpg
Hanoi got hit by the 1906 typhoon
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/3924/hnexpostun1uz.jpg

other pavillions
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/2548/hnexpositrn7se.jpg
I say this is the forestry pavillion
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/7530/hnexpositonhk6ct.jpg

more to come....

as you could see even this short lived palace in Hanoi had undergone 2 different architectures.
the first time was a vast complex extended to Hanoi train station, with many big and minor buildings along with the main hall.........but after they got hit by the typhoon in 1906, they simplified the palace with fewer buildings
eg. the panorama picture is the image of the complex after it was hit by the typhoon, the complex is much smaller than when it was built, about 1/3 of it orginal size.

the philipines and Thailand pavillions
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/7176/hnexpositn3f48pr.jpg
the hall again
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/2357/hnexpositionfds3xo.jpg
ya could see a litte of the Hanoi train station from the back
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/3297/hnexpositinf7xy.jpg
forestry pavillion
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/3258/hnexpositb9fq.jpg
more to come

some attraction at the expo
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/2574/hnexpogf3ae.jpg
the entertainment vietnamese section
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/6564/hnexpodsuf5ji.jpg
The French at the expo
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3240/hnexpoads9tp.jpg
algeria pavillion
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/6994/hnexpo8ba0zk.jpg
some education building at the expo
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/5728/1307564604633lz.jpg