The Hanoi Exhibition (Exposition de Hanoi) was a world's fair held in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

in then

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

between November 16, 1902, and February 15 or 16, 1903.

Context

Hanoi had become the capital of

earlier in 1902 replacing Saigon. Earlier activities to mark the change included a festival on 26 February 1902 attended by emperor

Thành Thái Thành Thái (, vi-hantu, 成泰; 14 March 1879 – 20 March 1954) born Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Lân (阮福寶嶙), was the son of Emperor Dục Đức and Empress Dowager Từ Minh. He reigned as emperor for 18 years, from 1889 to 1907. Biog ...

and the

governor general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

Paul Doumer Joseph Athanase Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer (; 22 March 18577 May 1932), was the President of France from 13 June 1931 until his assassination on 7 May 1932. Biography Joseph Athanase Doumer was born in Aurillac, in the Cantal ''dépar ...

and the opening of the

(now Long Biên) Bridge. The exhibition was the idea of Paul Doumer.

Grand Palais de l'Exposition

The site of the fair was the racecourse established in the early 1890s, and its main building was the ''Grand Palais de l'Exposition'' ( vi, Nhà Đấu xảo) designed by Adolphe Bussy. The preparation for the fair, especially the construction of the exhibition palace, left Hanoi's budget in deficit for a decade. When the Japanese took over Vietnam, they based their military and supply in the palace. Later, air raids at the end of World War II completely destroyed the building. The modern site of the palace now stands the ''Friendship Cultural Palace'' ( vi, Cung Văn hoá Hữu nghị), a concert venue in southern Hoàn Kiếm District.

Participation

The fair showed products from France and her colonies, and from other territories in Southeast Asia: ,

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, Ceylon, China,

Dutch Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, Formosa (now Taiwan), French Indo-China,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Japan,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Malacca, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Exhibits

As well as country displays there was a machine gallery, a ''La Grand Roue'' amusement ride, and art in the French Section of Fine Arts including work by Carolus-Duran.

References

External links

Poster for the exhibition

Hanoi postcards from turn of the 19th 20th century including several from the exhibition {{List of world's fairs of Southeast Asia 1900s in Vietnam 1902 festivals 1902 in Asia 1903 festivals 1903 in Asia French colonial empire World's fairs in Asia Colonial exhibitions