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. |
