Vietnam travel
information and local guide
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a sovereign and reunified
independent country, has a high percentage of territorial waters.
Looking at the map, Vietnam is located in the center of the
Southeast Asia, and is shaped like the letter "S". The country lies
in the eastern part of the Indochina peninsula, bordered by China to
the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, and the East Sea and
Pacific Ocean to the southeast. Vietnam's coast line is 3,260 km
long and its inland border measures 3,730 km.
The country's total length, from the northernmost point to the
southernmost point, is 1,650 km.
Its width, stretching from east to west, is 600 km at the widest
point in the north, 400 km in the south, and 50 km at the narrowest
part in the Quang Binh province on the central coast. Vietnam is
also a transport junction from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific
Ocean.
 Vietnam is
located in both a tropical and a temperate zone. It is characterized
by strong monsoon influences, but has a considerable amount of sun,
a high rate of rainfall, and high humidity. Regions located near the
tropics and in the mountainous regions are endowed with a temperate
climate.
The annual average temperature ranges from 22ºC to 27ºC. In Hanoi,
the average temperature is 23ºC, in Ho Chi Minh City it is 26ºC, and
in Hue it is 25ºC.
There are two distinguishable seasons. The cold season occurs from
November to April and the hot season from May to October. The
difference in temperature between the two seasons in southern
Vietnam is almost unnoticeable, averaging 3ºC. The most noticeable
variations are found in the northern provinces where differences of
12ºC have been observed. There are essentially four distinct
seasons, which are most evident in the northern provinces.
 Three quarters
of Vietnam's territory consists of mountains and hills. Vietnam is
divided into four distinct mountainous zones.
The Northeastern Zone (Viet Bac)
This zone stretches from the Red River Valley to the Gulf of Tonkin.
The mountainous area of Viet Bac is scattered with famous sights:
Dong Nhat Grotto, Dong Nhi Grotto, and Tam Thanh Grotto in Lang Son
Province; Bac Bo Grotto and Ban Gioc Waterfall in Cao Bang; Ba Be
Lake in Bac Can; Yen Tu Mountain and Halong Bay in Quang Ninh; and
Tay Con Linh, the highest mountain peak in the region reaching 2,341
meters above sea level.
The Northwestern Zone
This zone is comprised of mountains that run from the north of the
Sino-Vietnamese border to the west of Thanh Hoa Province. This
magnificent mountain range is nationally known for its resort town
of Sapa in Lao Cai Province, which is perched 1500 meters above sea
level. Several ethnic groups, such as the H'mong, Dao, Kinh, Tay,
Giay, Hoa, and Xa Pho, still reside in this region.
The northwestern zone is also famous for the historical site of Dien
Bien Phu and Fansipan Mountain, which measures 3,143 meters above
sea level at the peak.
The North Truong Son Zone
This zone runs from the western part of Thanh Hoa Province to the
Quang Nam-Da Nang Mountains. This region is known locally for its
picturesque Phong Nha Grotto and its two breathtaking passes, the
Ngang Pass and the Hai Van Pass. It is also known worldwide for
being the location of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail constructed
during the second great resistance war.
The South Truong Son Zone
This zone is located to the west of the south central coast
provinces. Behind these huge mountains is a vast area of red soil
known locally as "Tay Nguyen" (the Central Highlands). There are
numerous legendary accounts of the flora and fauna and of the lives
of several different ethnic minorities living in the Central
Highlands. Dalat, established during the 19th century, is a popular
resort town in this part of Vietnam.
Vietnam has two major deltas, including the Red River Delta in the
north and the Mekong River Delta in the south.
The Red River Delta, or Northern Delta
This region stretches for 15,000 sq.km. Over time, deposits of
alluvium carried from the Red River and Thai Binh River have
accumulated to form the delta. The ancient Viet people settled at
the junction of the two rivers . At that time, the wet rice
civilization was established
The Mekong River Delta, or Southern Delta
This region is approximately 36,000 sq. km. The land is very fertile
and has favorable climate conditions for agriculture. As a result,
it is the largest rice growing region in Vietnam.
 Vietnam is
crisscrossed by thousands of streams and rivers. There is a river
discharging every 20 kilometers along Vietnam's coastline. The
waterways are a very convenient means of transport with major rivers
like the Red River in the north and the Mekong River in the south.
Vietnam's coastline is 3,260 km long. If you have a chance to travel
along the coast of Vietnam, you will be able to enjoy the beautiful
beaches of Tra Co, Sam Son, Lang Co, Non Nuoc, Nha Trang, Vung Tau,
and Ha Tien. In some places, you will see mountains jutting out to
the sea. One such magnificent site is Halong Bay, which has recently
been listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Vietnam's coast has been awarded a series of large seaports, such as
the ones at Haiphong, Danang, Qui Nhon, Cam Ranh, Vung Tau, and
Saigon. There are thousands of islands and islets scattered offshore
from north to south. Among the most popular tourist destinations are
the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa Archipelagos.
The forests of Vietnam account for most of the total land area.
National parks are preserved by the state and follow a steady
development plan. Some of the more famous national parks located
throughout the country include Ba Vi in Ha Tay, Cat Ba in Haiphong,
Cuc Phuong in Ninh Binh, Bach Ma in Hue, and Cat Tien in Dong Nai.
Vietnam has a variety of mineral resources. Beneath the forests are
valuable minerals such as tin, zinc, silver, gold, antimony,
precious stones, and coal. Vietnam also has large deposits of oil
and gas on its offshore islands and on the mainland.
Vietnam also has abundant subterranean mineral water sources. These
are found at Quang Hanh in Quang Ninh, Hoi Van in Binh Dinh, Vinh
Hao in Binh Thuan, Duc My in Nha Trang, Kim Boi in Hoa Binh, and
Binh Chau in Vung Tau.
The major religious traditions in Vietnam are Buddhism (which fuses
forms of Taoism and Confusianism), Christianity (Catholicism and
Protestantism), Islam, Cao Daism and the Hoa Hao sect.
Language
The Vietnamese language belongs to a language group which was
established a long time ago in East Asia. Changes in material
conditions over many centuries and the increasing demands of
cultural life have influenced the Vietnamese language.
While adopting many elements of the Chinese language, the
Vietnamese people changed many Chinese words, gradually creating
Han-Viet (Chinese-Vietnamese) which incorporated purely Vietnamese
words. "Vietnamization" not only applied to the Chinese language,
but also to French and other language groups, creating a diverse
vocabulary for the Vietnamese language.
Written
 When the
multi-ethnic Vietnamese nation was taking shape, a great monarchy
was established in the North, and it began a southward expansion.
The Vietnamese nation underwent thousands of years of Northern
domination. This was why Chinese was used for a long time as the
official written language. Local mandarins of various levels were
allowed to sit for examinations in the Northern Court (China), and
were recruited into the administrative machinery of foreign
invaders.
Based on Chinese characters, the Vietnamese worked out a unique
writing system of their own called Chu Nom. In Chu Nom, two Chinese
characters were usually combined, one of which indicated the meaning
of the Vietnamese word, while the other indicated pronunciation. Chu
Nom was welcomed and widely used by the masses in their daily life,
as well as in transcribing their national history and literature.
According to researchers, Chu Nom probably originated around the end
of the Northern domination period and early in the 10th century (the
independence period). The oldest evidence of Chu Nom currently
available is a stele in the Bao An Pagoda in Yen Lang, Vinh Phu
province, dating back to 1209 AD (Ly Dynasty). It was not until the
13th century under the Tarn dynasty that Chu Nom was systematized
and used in literature.
Nguyen Thuyen (alias Han Thuyen) and Nguyen Si Co wrote poems in
Chu Nom. Ho Quy Ly (1400 AD) made Chinese textbooks which translated
the Vietnamese language using the Chu Nom writing system. He also
used Chu Nom to write royal proclamations and ordinances. In the
15th century, Nguyen Trai, a national hero, used Chu Nom to write
250 poems in Quoc Am Thi Tap (Collection of Poems in the National
Language). The Chu Nom literature continued to be developed from the
16th century onwards and totally dominated national literary
circles. Ba Huyen Thanh Quan (the wife of the Chief of Thanh Quan
district), Cao Ba Quat and Kieu Story of Nguyen Du, and the
translation of Chinh Phu Ngam (Lament of a Wife Whose Husband has
Gone to War) by Doan Thi Diem were quite noteworthy poems.
In conjunction with the development of the nation, the Vietnamese
language was constantly developed and improved. Around the 17th
century, western missionaries came to Vietnam and learned Vietnamese
in order to disseminate Catholicism. They developed a romanced
script to represent the Quoc Ngu (meaning national language) in
order to translate prayer books and catechisms. A number of
Portuguese and Italian missionaries used Quoc Ngu to compile
catechisms and Portuguese-Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Portuguese
dictionaries. Based on these works, Alexandre de Rhodes, a French
Jesuit missionary, published the Vietnamese Portuguese-Latin
dictionary which was a fundamental catechism in Rome from 1649-1651.
After Alexandre de Rhodes, Quoc Ngu was further improved by foreign
missionaries and Vietnamese scholars.
In 1867, some colonial schools began to teach Quoc Ngu. It was
not until early in the 20th century that Quoc Ngu became widely used
in the local primary educational system. The introduction of Quoc
Ngu constituted a new step in the development of the Vietnamese
language. While romanization received a reserved welcome in other
Asian countries, it recorded extraordinary success in Vietnam,
creating favorable conditions for cultural and intellectual
development.
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