Announcement: 28.11.2025 – Online Lecture: "The Formation of Saigon – the 'Pearl of the Far East' and the Promotion of Its Values from Past to Present"

28. November 2025, 13:00 Uhr, von AAI Webmaster

Foto: Trần Hữu Phúc Tiến, cropped

We kindly invite you to this online lecture in English language on Friday, October 28th, 2025, at 1:00–3:00 p.m. (German time/CET/MEZ) / 7:00–9:00 p.m. (Vietnamese time/GMT+7).

Lecture Series: Vietnamese Culture Forum

A collaboration between the Vietnam Studies Center, Fulbright University Vietnam,
and the Department of Vietnamese Studies, University of Hamburg

Online lecture by
Trần Hữu Phúc Tiến, Ho Chi Minh City:

"The Formation of Saigon – the 'Pearl of the Far East' and the Promotion of Its Values from Past to Present"

Friday, 28.11.2025
13:00 – 15:00 h (German time/CEST/MESZ)
7:00 – 9:00 p.m. (Vietnamese time/GMT+7)
 
Online lecture:

• livestream via ZOOM
  Zoom link: https://uni-hamburg.zoom.us/j/64630498490?pwd=BOZ4bpDFd1bcnBVUEhXsNNBslChjPf.1
  Webinar-ID: 646 3049 8490
  Passcode: 85104098

This lecture will be held in English!

Open to public! – Admission free!

About the speaker and his lecture:

The Department of Vietnamese Studies, Hamburg University, and the Vietnam Studies Center, Fulbright University Ho Chi Minh City, cordially invite to a talk by Trần Hữu Phúc Tiến, a journalist and researcher based in Ho Chi Minh City.

Trần Hữu Phúc Tiến (pen name: Phúc Tiến) is a veteran journalist specializing in culture and education, as well as a researcher in urban history. He was born in Saigon in 1962, graduated with a Bachelor's degree in History, and has worked for several major media outlets such as Tuổi Trẻ, Saigon Times, Thế Giới Mới, and FBNC Television. In 1993, he received a Reuters Foundation Scholarship to study journalism at Oxford University. Over the past forty years, he has had the opportunity to travel extensively within and outside Vietnam, conducting field research on social and cultural issues and collecting materials on Vietnamese history.

He has published two books in 2025, related to the history of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). These are "French–Indochinese Architecture and the Vestige of the Pearl of the Far East" (NXB Tổng Hợp, winner of the Gold Award from the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association) and "Saigon – The Capital of Waterways" (NXB Trẻ).

"The Pearl of the Far East" is an epithet that emerged in the late 19th century to highlight the economic significance of Saigon. Gradually, especially from the 1920s onward, this expression became associated with the promotion of tourism and trade in Indochina in general and Vietnam in particular.

The author introduces the origin of the term "Pearl of the Far East" while outlining Saigon's modernization process under French administration from 1859 to 1945. Through this narrative, the author explores the city's unique and precious beauty — not only in its landscapes, architecture, and economy but also in its culture, science, and education — in comparison with other urban centers of Indochina and Asia at that time.

The author also examines how the values embodied in "the Pearl of the Far East" have been inherited and developed in subsequent periods. In particular, in recent years, this epithet has been invoked by Vietnamese leaders who hope the city will reclaim this illustrious title in the new phase of 21st-century development. The key question — what challenges Ho Chi Minh City must overcome to once again shine as "the Pearl of the Far East" — is what the author wishes to share and discuss with the audience.

After the presentation, the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions to the speaker or to give comments and share thoughts about the topic. The event will be held online (via ZOOM) in English.
 
The talk will be introduced and chaired by Professor Nguyễn Nam (Fulbright University Ho Chi Minh City).

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