National Day in Vietnam

People all across VIETNAM are celebrating their country's National Day today. Vietnam proclaimed independence from France in September 1945. Happy Independence Day!

Vietnam Exports

According to National Geographic MapMaker (mapmaker.nationalgeographic.org) and MIT's Observatory of Economic Complexity (atlas.media.mit.edu), the following items are major exports of VIETNAM: animal food, automobile parts, baked goods, bananas, batteries, bauxite, beverages (especially beer and liquor), broadcasting and video-recording equipment, cases and trunks, cashews, cassava, cement, chromate, cinnamon and other spices, circuit boards, clothing and textiles, coal briquettes, coal, coffee, copper pipes, electric motors, electric transformers, electricity to neighboring countries, electronics, feldspar, fertilizer, footwear, frozen fruit and nuts, furniture, glass, gravel, headphones and microphones, industrial printers, iron products, machinery, malt extract, manganese, natural gas, nickel, office machine parts, packaged food, paddy rice, pasta, peanuts, pepper, petroleum products, phosphates, quicklime, rare earth elements, rubber, seafood, silverware, soybeans, starches, steel, sugarcane, tea, telephones, tobacco, toys, valves, wheat flour, and wood products.

According to February 2017 statistics from the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports include the United States (top importer), China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Italy, the Philippines, France, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Cambodia, India, Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, Israel, and Sweden.

Ha Long Bay

Hạ Long, VIETNAM (GeoFact of the Day) — Northeastern Vietnam, particularly the Quảng Ninh Province, boasts several characteristics: contiguous forests on mountainous terrain, a dominant coal industry compared to other Vietnamese provinces, coveted access to the Gulf of Tonkin, and many virtually untouched islands in the gulf and its smaller Ha Long Bay (Vietnamese: Vinh Hạ Long). Translating into “Where the Dragon Descends to the Sea,” Ha Long Bay contains over 1,600 islands and small islets — most of which are not inhabited by people — in addition to waterside caves and hundreds of tall limestone pillars. Islands and islets in Ha Long Bay include Đảo* Cát Bà (largest island in near the bay), Đảo Quá Muỗm, Đảo Quan Lạn, Đảo Trà Bản, Hòn Công Chéo Nam, Hòn Mây, Hòn Vạn Buồng, Hòn Vạn Cảnh, and Sha Pak Wan. With an approximate size of over 1500 square kilometers and 580 square miles, Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (↗).

The Legend of Zelda Tarasque
The bay's mythical origin story consists of two main legends involving Tarasque, a folkloric marine dragon (hence Ha Long Bay's nickname above). One legend describes the Tarasque dragon creating a bunch of valleys by walking on mountainous terrain and crumbling it. Soon, all of those valleys filled up with water and subsequently formed Ha Long Bay. A similar legend purports that Tarasque used its powerful tail to carve out crevices and valleys, which all flooded once Tarasque landed in nearby water and thereby helped form Ha Long Bay. The six-legged Tarasque's head resembles that of a lion, while its spiky shell gives Tarasque a menacing turtle-like appearance. Visiting tourists to islands in Ha Long Bay might come for a chance to witness the magical Tarasque, although the area's picturesque views are worthwhile enough!

* Đảo means island in Vietnamese.

View Larger Map (↗)  —  View Bird's Eye (↗)

Vietnam Endangered Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for VIETNAM in Southeast Asia and Indochina lists 1 extinct species (Indochinese Warty Pig), 104 critically endangered species, and 171 endangered species. Critically endangered species include the Chinese Pangolin, Chinese Swamp Cypress tree, Eagle Wood tree, Ebony tree, Edwards' Pheasant, Giant Carp fish, Golden-headed Langur monkey, Javan Rhinoceros, Large-antlered Muntjac deer, Red-Headed Turtle, Siamese Crocodile, Southern River Terrapin turtle, Southern Vietnam Box Turtle, Spoon-Billed Sandpiper bird, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Tonkin Snub-Nosed Monkey, Vietnamese Pond Turtle, and White-Rumped Vulture. Vietnam's endangered species include the Asian Buffalo (Wild Water Buffalo), Banteng wild cattle, Bourret's Cat Snake, Chinese Hickory tree, Dhole dog-like mammal, Hog Deer, Keeled Box Turtle, Narrow Sawfish, Owston's Civet mammal, Psychedelic Rock Gecko (groovy colors!), and White-Winged Duck. Species named after Vietnam include the Vietnam Flying Frog, Vietnamese Cutia bird, Vietnamese frog, Vietnamese Greenfinch, and Vietnamese Mouse-Deer.

Hué Monuments

Once serving as the capital of VIETNAM starting in 1802, Hué in central Vietnam now serves as the picturesque home of about 350,000 residents (2016 estimate). Until 1945, Hué boasted its designation as a cultural, political, and religious center of the Nguyen Dynasty. Despite destructive wars and the typical forces of building deterioration, plenty of architectural amazement remains visible in the city of Hué today. The Sông Huong (Perfume River) and Ngu Bình mountain both straddle the city and various places belonging in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a site which was designated as a place of cultural importance in 1993. Some sites within the Heritage Site area include Điện Voi Ré (Temple of the Roaring Elephant), Hoàng Thành (Imperial City) palace, the Imperial Palace, Trai Bình Dài and Trai Bìn Thành fortresses, Tu Cam Thành (Forbidden Purple City) palace, and Van Mieu (Temple of Literature). Tombs of the dynasty's emperors are housed upstream along the Perfume River. To view more photos of this Heritage Site, access this UNESCO Image Gallery.

Mekong River

Rivers around the world are important modes of transportation in both developed and developing countries, and the Mekong River in Southeast Asia is no exception! Providing a vital route for shipping goods like rice, cotton, vegetables, peanuts, timber, and minerals to the South China Sea and beyond, the Mekong originates in southern Qinghai Province in southern CHINA (where it is called the Lancang River), and then flows south and serves as part of the border for LAOS, MYANMAR (Burma), and THAILAND. Next, it flows through southern Laos and CAMBODIA before turning southeast through southern VIETNAM, then reaches the Mouths of the Mekong, Mekong Delta, and the South China Sea.

Cities Along the Mekong River
The largest city along the Mekong in southern China is Jinghong, which is in Yunnan Province. Laos' four largest cities - Louangphrabang, Vientiane (Laos' capital), Savannakhet, and Paxhé - are also located beside the Mekong. Further south, the Mekong flows past Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. Finally, Vietnamese cities such as Cao Lanh, Sa Dec, Vinh Long, My Tho, Ben Tre, and Tra Vinh are located beside the river and the distributaries in the Mekong Delta.

Basics About Gulf of Tonkin

Quick GeoFact: The Gulf of Tonkin is situated to the east of northern VIETNAM and west of CHINA's Hainan island. Hai Phong, a city with a population greater than 1 million, sits on Gulf of Tonkin's northwest coast.

Vietnam

VIETNAM is an elongated country located in Southeastern Asia and Indochina. There are 3 bordering countries: Cambodia to the west and southwest, China to the north, and Laos to the west. Vietnam is found west of the Gulf of Tonkin, which is west of both the South China Sea (part of the Pacific Ocean) and China's Hainan island. The Gulf of Thailand is situated southwest of Vietnam. With a population greater than 2.6 million, Hanoi serves as the Communist country's capital and is surpassed in population by Ho Chi Minh City — which boasts a population hovering around 6 million. The currency is the Vietnamese Đong, and its ISO 4217 currency code is VND.