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Vietnam Overviews
Vietnam
Overviews
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.
Climate
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.
Topography
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.
Religion
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.
Spoken & Written Language
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.
source: http://www.greentrail-indochina.com & http://www.greentrailtourism.com
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