Vanishing Spaces in Ho Chi Minh City

Similar to other megacities in Southeast Asia, Ho Chi Minh City’s physical landscape has undergone major transformations in recent decades as both a reflection of economic and population growth, and in speculative efforts to project an image of modernity and attract continuous capital into the city. Shiny new skyscrapers in the central business district, fancy hotels, and luxury apartments have become much more commonplace in the city’s skyline. These developments have come at the loss of other spaces in the city though, which the author of “Vanishing Spaces in Ho Chi Minh City” laments. The author focuses on three in particular: Cargo, 42 Nguyen Hue, and 3A station, positing each as an important space of culture in the city for locals. Upon further research, 42 Nguyen Hue is actually still open today, although there was an order from the City in 2017 to close down.

Cargo was a large entertainment venue in an old, dilapidated warehouse in HCMC’s District 4 that fostered a hip music scene. The site allowed big name artists in the EDM and alternative music scenes to add Saigon as a stop on their tours, in addition to promoting local artists who could do smaller concerts or open for bigger artists. Other events held at Cargo during its tenure included the Saigon International Tattoo Convention, a production of Waiting for Godot, and a sci-fi cosplay party. Despite being a popular spot for young, alternative HCMC folks, Cargo closed down in 2016 due to unspecified reasons, but was presumably bought out by a developer. Based on a quick google search of the address today, it seems like the warehouse has become a dance club, although its popularity is indeterminable.

3A Station served a similar purpose of supporting subcultures in HCMC. A collection of colonial buildings that were reportedly occupied by the CIA during the Vietnam war, before its closure in 2017, 3A Station was a graffiti hub and street art area. In another article in the South China Morning Post on the station, a young graffiti artist is quoted saying, “Young people want to break the rules, we want to see more interesting things on the street or on the wall, so we do graffiti to express ourselves.” The station was on valuable downtown land though, surrounded by towering high-rises on all sides, so it was sold to developers and quickly demolished.

Both articles lament the loss of not just the physical spaces themselves, but the threat of urban development and the real estate market on these subcultures of Vietnam. I was surprised to even read that there was such a big alternative scene, and similarly upset to know that these young folks were being pushed out of the city. These articles show that there are many modernities developing in Vietnam, and in this case they are competing. The built environment, or simply who/what is able to exist in physical space, is a reflection of these contestations. While I’m sure these graffiti and music subcultures have managed to adapt and find new spaces in the city since the closures of Cargo and 3A,  if the city is only subject to the will of the market, they will surely be pushed out again.

“Graffiti booms in streets of Ho Chi Minh City as artists push back against official censorship,” South China Morning Post: https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2086659/graffiti-b…