Old Nha Trang in photographs

The photographs of the old places in Nha Trang always evoke memories and emotions in the viewers. Through these photos, people can see the changes of Nha Trang over periods.

 

In recent years, people who are interested in learning about old Nha Trang have often visited a fan page named “Nha Trang xưa và nay” (Nha Trang, past and present). In this fan page, people can see many photos of Nha Trang which were taken in the past and at present time. 

 

 

Le Khanh Giang, who is working at VNPT Khanh Hoa, created this fan page to share the photos of Nha Trang and recall the memories of the old Nha Trang. The photos of the old Nha Trang are posted with the status “Where was this photo taken?”, which have often aroused the public’s interest and curiosity. Giang often offers a small award to the person who gives the right answer about the name of the place in the photo. Many people have spent time to search the place in the photo, and then take a photo of that place with the present day scene. Those past and present photos are interested by a lot of people.

 

Thanks to this game, Giang has collected numerous photos of the old places in Nha Trang, in which many photos were found in foreign accounts. The fan page has also helped to connect people. Many people who are old friends recognize each other through comments on the photos. There are also interesting stories behind the photos. For example, when Giang and his friends were commenting on a photo of an old bookshop on Cong Quan Street (now named Yet Kieu Street), Ton That Phi, a colleague of Giang, recognized that the bookshop had been his old house. However, his family did not take that photo. Furthermore, colored photos did not exist in Nha Trang in the time the photo was taken. After that, Phi recollected the by-chance meeting with an American soldier around the end of 1968. That American soldier bought books at his family’s bookshop and then asked to take a family photo in front of the house. Afterwards, the soldier posted the photo on a social media website; Giang found the photo while searching for photos of the old places in Nha Trang. Phi printed the photo of his old house and photo of that soldier and hung them on the wall of his current house. After knowing Phi’s story, Giang tried to help Phi and the veteran connect with each other. Reportedly, the veteran said that he might return to Nha Trang with his friends.

 

 

Artist Nguyen Xuan Khanh (also called Khanh Hmoong) has another way to recall the memories of the old Nha Trang. He has photographed old photos of Nha Trang in the original locations the photos were taken while fitting that photos into the original scenes. These evocative photos of Khanh show the changes and development of Nha Trang through time, and bring many emotions to the viewers. 

 

Apart from Giang’s fan page and Khanh’s photos, many other people have expressed their interest and love for the beach city through searching and sharing the photos of the old Nha Trang on the social media websites. 

 

Thanh Nguyen

Translated by H.N