
I have lived in Hanoi for many years and have spent some time living in Saigon, Vietnam. Even though they are both in Vietnam, Hanoi and Saigon have some distinct differences. Hanoi and Saigon may be in Vietnam, but they also differ in the food and language of both cities’ daily lives. The weather and…

In April of each year, a large part of Asia celebrates a holiday known as Ching Ming (Qing Ming) festival. This holiday is a ceremony where Asians will go to their ancestor’s graves. The Ching Ming (Qing Ming) festival is celebrated in most parts of Asia, especially in any country with a large Chinese community.…

When traveling around China or studying Asian history, the difference between the Manchu, Mongol, and Han Chinese ethnic groups can sometimes be confusing. They may all seem similar, but they are different ethnic groups. The Manchu people are traditionally from Northeastern China and speak Manchurian. The Mongol people mainly live in Mongolia and in Inner…

I live a few miles from downtown of Hanoi, Vietnam; my house is only a few miles from the famous Hanoi prison where many American service members were held prisoner during the Vietnam War. Today, Hanoi is a bustling city home to millions of people, yet they continue to find unexploded Vietnam War-era bombs throughout…

I have lived in Vietnam long and wondered why the U.S. Army called the Vietnamese soldiers “Charlie” during the war. The term Charlie was used a lot by the U.S. Army to refer to the Vietnamese soldiers. The U.S. Army called the Viet Cong or Vietnamese soldiers “Charlie” for the letter “C” in the NATO…

When I first traveled to China in the mid-1980s, I would sometimes see women hobbling down the street with tiny little feet because their feet had been bound. These little old ladies were almost completely crippled and could hardly walk. Footbinding was the Chinese practice of breaking young girls’ feet and tightly wrapping them so…