The DMV, which consists of Washington DC and the surrounding areas in Maryland and Virginia, has the largest Vietnamese population on the east coast, with around 78,000 Vietnamese-Americans in the DC metropolitan area. While there are concentrations of Vietnamese in certain areas, the Vietnamese have widely dispersed across the DMV in recent decades. Rather than relying on geographic proximity, community hubs like churches, temples, strip malls and even Tik Tok have brought together a sense of community for the Vietnamese-Americans near Washington DC.
Phi Tran, right, and son Max Tran, greet Pham Phi Xet at the Vietnamese Alliance Church in Dunn Loring, Va., on Sunday, June 18, 2023. The church opened in 1989 as a result of Vietnamese Christians settling in the suburbs of northern Virginia.
Boys arm wrestle during bible study at the Vietnamese Alliance Church in Dunn Loring, Va., on Sunday, June 18, 2023. Bible studies at the church gives opportunity to children to learn biblical lesson and Vietnamese.
Men play a friendly game of Xiangqi at the Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia on Saturday, July 1, 2023. While the Eden Center serves as a place to purchase Vietnamese-related goods and services, it has also become a cultural hub for the Vietnamese living in the area or passing by.
Dung Nguyen, right, lets Richie Crider try the tamarind sauce for Cua Rang Me, a Vietnamese crab dish, on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at Crider’s home in Bowie, MD. Nguyen and Crider were neighbors for over a decade before they started cooking together and making TikToks during the COVID pandemic. Despite no longer being neighbors, they try to get together at least twice a week to cook food together for their more than 50 thousand followers.
Friends of Anh Tuan Nguyen enjoy food, drinks and karaoke in his home on Thursday, July 13, 2023 in Silver Spring, MD. Most of the friends at the party were Vietnamese immigrants that went to high school together.
Dung Nguyen, right, lets Richie Crider try the tamarind sauce for Cua Rang Me, a Vietnamese crab dish, on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at Crider’s home in Bowie, MD. Nguyen and Crider were neighbors for over a decade before they started cooking together and making TikToks during the COVID pandemic. Despite no longer being neighbors, they try to get together at least twice a week to cook food together for their more than 50 thousand followers.
Hung Hoang, of Hoang Tho Barbershop, gives a haircut at the Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia on Saturday, July 1, 2023. Hung Hoang has been cutting hair since the 1980s.
Ngoc Nguyen talks to a customer in her electronics store Saigon USA at the Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia on Saturday, July 1, 2023. The Eden Center became an enclave for Vietnamese businesses in the 80s after rising rent in the "Little Saigon" neighborhood in Arlington force the people to look elsewhere. Although there are still Vietnamese businesses in Little Saigon, its Vietnamese identity has greatly diminished.
Luna Howard says a final goodbye to her mother as funeral workers encase the ashes in a columbarium during a Buddhist funeral service on Sunday, July 30, 2023 in Rockville, MD. Luna Howard was born and raised in Vietnam from a Vietnamese mother and an American serviceman father. With the mother's ashes being buried in a Buddhist section near the Christian side, Luna said it symbolizes how her mother used to attend both temple and church.
Thuy Lam, left, holds the hand of her 10-year-old daughter Mai Lam at the Chua Giac Huang temple in Washington D.C. on Sunday, July 2, 2023. Being the site of a former Christian church, the Buddhist temple was established in 1976.
Trey Truong, left, gives a kiss to family friend Pansy Pham on Thursday, July 13, 2023 in Silver Springs, MD