Vietnam

Overview

Vietnam is located in South-East Asia. The name of the country has become almost a synonym of the Vietnam War. For Vietnamese, it is called the American War. The history of the country goes back a lot further than 'the war that wasn't won', as the Americans euphemistically call it. Vietnam is actually a country with a long history and ancient traditions. It has many historic sights and old temples.

Vietnam covers an area of 330.363 sq. km making it about as big as Italy or New Mexico. Vietnam has a 3400 kilometre coastline and mountainous terrain covers 75% of the country. There are two huge and fertile river deltas where most of the population live, the Red River in the North and the Mekong River in the south. The mountainous north and central regions are relatively sparsely population. Vietnam shares land borders with Cambodia 609 miles (982 km), China 794 miles (1,281 km) and Laos 964 miles (1,555 km).

Vietnam's former capital was Hue, and its current one is Hanoi since the reunification of the country. Hanoi still has an almost intact old center. Ho Chi Minh City in the south, formerly known as Saigon (and still referred to as Saigon in speech), is the country's commercial center.

Halong bay, in the north, which means "descending dragon," is clearly Vietnam’s most beautiful region. With over 3,000 oddly shaped limestone islets, the natural beauty of the grottoes is captivating. The city of Hue, the ancient capital of the Annamese, is another highlight. Quite...more

History

In BC 111 ancestors of the present-day Vietnamese inhabiting part of what is now southern China and northern Vietnam were conquered by forces of China's Han dynasty. Chinese rule lasted more than 1 000 years (until 939 AD) when the Vietnamese ousted their conquerors and began a southward expansion that by the mid-18th century reached the Gulf of Siam.

Despite their military achievements the Vietnamese continued to suffer from internal political divisions. Throughout most of the 17th and 18th centuries contending families in the north and south struggled to control the powerless kings of the Le dynasty. During this period Vietnam was effectively divided near the 17th parallel just a few kilometers above the demarcation line established at the 1954 Geneva conference.

French Rule

Vietnam was reunited following a devastating civil war in the 18th century but soon fell prey to the expansion of European colonialism. The French conquest of Vietnam began in 1858 with an attack on what is now the city of Danang. France imposed control gradually meeting heavy resistance and only in 1884 was Vietnam officially incorporated into the French empire when emperor Tu Duc was forced to sign a treaty.

Fiercely nationalistic the Vietnamese never truly accepted the imposition of French rule. By 1930 the Vietnamese Nationalist Party had staged the first significant armed uprising against the French but its virtual destruction in the ensuing French repression left the leadership of the anti-colonial movement to those more adept at underground organization and survival-- the communists.

In that same year the recently formed...more