In the 1850s, persecution of French missionaries gave France an excuse to expand their colonial empire into Vietnam. In 1859, French troops destroyed the citadel at Gia Dinh. Skirmishes continued ...
After a long and brutal war, Vietnamese revolutionaries led by Ho Chi Minh end nearly a century of French colonial occupation. With the Cold War intensifying, Vietnam is divided in two at Geneva.
The Hanoi Opera House, completed in 1911, is an iconic landmark in the heart of Vietnam's capital, celebrated for its elegant colonial design and lasting cultural significance.