{"id":3142,"date":"2026-06-14T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/?post_type=news&p=3142"},"modified":"2026-10-19T23:29:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:29:39","slug":"hoian-old-photo","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/news\/hoian-old-photo\/","title":{"rendered":"A Family Discovered in 1997 Photos of Hoi An | Memories Reconnected Through Everyday Life Before It Became a Tourist Destination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photographs of Hoi An taken in June 1997 by Dutch photographer Frank van den Berge delivered unexpected memories to local residents nearly 29 years later. When the photos were shared online, residents began recognizing the people in them as their own family members or neighbors.<\/p>\n\n

\"\u53e4\u3044\u5199\u771f\u3092\u4e16\u4ee3\u3092\u8d8a\u3048\u3066\u898b\u8fd4\u3057\u5730\u57df\u306e\u8a18\u61b6\u3092\u305f\u3069\u308b\u30a4\u30e1\u30fc\u30b8\u3002\u8a18\u4e8b\u306e\u5bb6\u65cf\u672c\u4eba\u30841997\u5e74\u306b\u64ae\u5f71\u3055\u308c\u305f\u5b9f\u969b\u306e\u5199\u771f\u3092\u518d\u73fe\u3057\u305f\u3082\u306e\u3067\u306f\u3042\u308a\u307e\u305b\u3093\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Everyday life, not landmarks, was the subject<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The photographs captured not only views of landmarks such as the Japanese Covered Bridge and B\u1ea1ch \u0110\u1eb1ng Street, but also people handling fish by the riverside, workers on small boats, and street food vendors. Today Hoi An is known for its lanterns and World Heritage townscape, but the heart of these photographs is daily life before the town was shaped for tourism.<\/p>\n
Item<\/th>Details<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Photographer<\/td>Frank van den Berge (Netherlands)<\/td><\/tr>
When photographed<\/td>June 1997<\/td><\/tr>
Where photographed<\/td>Hoi An Old Town and the riverside<\/td><\/tr>
Response<\/td>Residents identified people in the photos as family members or acquaintances<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n

A personal photograph becomes a community record<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A single shot taken while traveling may be a landscape to the photographer, but to those who live there it can become part of a family history. What makes this episode so striking is that it was not just an old townscape that came back as a record, but the lives of named individuals. While consideration for subjects is necessary when publishing images, the value of preserving the year and location of a photograph also becomes clear.<\/p>\n

When walking through Hoi An today<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When in Hoi An, look beyond searching for photogenic spots and turn your attention to the riverside market, old merchant houses, and the lanes where daily life continues. However, if you want to photograph someone up close, ask first, and take care not to disturb prayers or people at work. Even in a tourist destination, it remains someone's everyday space.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 1997 photographs serve both as a document of Hoi An's transformation and as a small album that found its way back to a family. The next time you walk through this town, imagining not only the beauty of the buildings but also the time lived by the people who have called it home may change what you see, just a little.<\/p>\n

Related reading:
\u30fbThanh Ha Pottery Village<\/a>
\u30fbHoi An lantern craftspeople<\/a>
\u30fbFood and culture in Da Nang<\/a><\/p>\n

Source:VnExpress<\/a><\/p>\n

Check the update date<\/h3>\n\n\n

Check the update date in the body of the article, not just the search result excerpt. If you are unsure whether figures or proper nouns are still current, go to the primary source from the company, organizer, or government authority. If no official page can be found, treat that fact itself as a factor in your judgment, and do not make bookings or long trips based on old articles alone.<\/p>\n\n\n

How to use the information in this article for current planning<\/h3>\n\n\n

Proper nouns, figures, prices, and opening hours are updated over time. Check the publication date and the period covered by the article, and reconfirm with official information from operators, government bodies, or companies immediately before booking or visiting. When reading reviews, look at the posting date and the specific conditions of use, and avoid judging safety or quality based on a single rating alone.<\/p>\n\n\n

Also, consider separately who this article is suited for and who it is not. The best choice varies depending on time, budget, physical condition, language ability, and the ages of those traveling with you. Having one alternative plan ready means that if something sells out, the weather turns bad, a venue is closed, or there are delays, you can avoid pushing yourself too hard.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A photo of Hoi An taken by a Dutch photographer in 1997 spread on social media, and residents found deceased family and neighbors. A story of a single image capturing the old town before it became a tourist site connecting people 28 years on.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"swell_btn_cv_data":"","ssp_meta_description":"","ssp_meta_keyword":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,56],"tags":[],"purpose":[],"keyword":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-3142","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-travel-guide"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3142"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6791,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/3142\/revisions\/6791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3142"},{"taxonomy":"purpose","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purpose?post=3142"},{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=3142"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietnam-gift.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=3142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}