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Nguyen Ngoc, 34, businessman and son of a decorated North Vietnamese army officer, represents the new generation of Vietnamese. They welcome Americans and are more interested in the country's new capitalism than the politics of communism.
Gary Powell / For CNHI News Service

Vietnam is the second fastest growing economy in Asia, behind China. But poverty is still a problem. One-third of the country's residents live below the international poverty line. This scene in an urban Hanoi neighborhood shows the squeeze of living conditions.
Brian Dennis / For CNHI News Service

Open-market wheeling and dealing at this Ho Chi Minh City store and elsewhere is evident in Vietnam after a long, dark period of communist government control of commerce. Making money and getting ahead is now encouraged as a way to grow the country's economy.
Larry Hall / For CNHI News Service

Ho Chi Minh, founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party, is revered as the George Washington of today's unified Vietnam. Statues of him appear prominently at museums and public buildings.
Bill Ketter / CNHI News Service