Image index

A Vietnamese legend tells that the thrashing tail of a great dragon running from the mountains toward the sea chopped up the land, leaving only the current rocky islands visible above the water in Halong Bay.

Fishing boats are moored in the harbor at Cat Ba, the only populated island in Halong Bay.

Women and children row small boats in the harbor at Cat Ba.

This net can be lowered into the harbor at Hoi An to catch fish at night.

Women sort and clean fish in the shallow water of Cat Ba harbor.

Small silver fish and colorful vegetables are on display at an outdoor market in Cat Ba.

At Nha Trang, salt is evaporated from seawater in vast fields.

Fishing boats are moored in the harbor at at Hoi An.

Three arched doorways enter the walled compound of the Fukian Chinese assembly hall at Hoi An.

In this garden fountain of the Chinese Fukian assembly hall at Hoi An, the large, coiled dragon represents power while the fish represents scholarly knowledge.

Inlayed wooden plaques display Chinese characters and traditional scenes.

The Imperial City in Hué is a near replica of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China.

This carved stone dragon serves as one of the hand rails for stairs inside the Imperial City at Hué.

The Women's Gate is one of the ten arched gateways entering the walled compound that guards the palace, Buddhist temples, gardens, statues, and royal tombs in Hué's Imperial City.

The Vietnamese emperor appeared from the top tower on the left during important public events or rituals.

This storefront in Hanoi displays a colorful variety of statues, dishes, paintings, and shrine boxes that Vietnamese families purchase to decorate their household's ancestral altars.

Ancestral altars like the one displayed here are common in many Vietnamese homes.

The Fukian Chinese community at Hoi An built this shrine, with figurines and miniature flags.

Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown, known as Cholon, is located southwest of the old city center of Saigon.

An ancient Chinese medical technique called moxibustion involves the burning of mugwort herb in glass cups placed at specific points on this young man's bare back.

Chickens and ducks from nearby farms are delivered live to a market in Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown.

In many urban apartments throughout Southeast Asia, laundry is washed in basins by hand and hung to dry on balconies.