Documents for "Vietnam Political Geography":

• An Nhon see Quy Nhon , Vietnam.

• Annam historic region (c.58,000 sq mi/150,200 sq km) and former state, in central Vietnam, SE Asia. The capital was Hue. The region extended nearly 800 mi (1,290 km) along the South China Sea between Tonkin on the north and Cochin China on the south. In addition to Hue, the principal cities in the region are Da Nang (the chief seaport), An Nhon, Quang Tri, and Vinh. In 1954, when Vietnam was divided on a line approximating the 17th parallel, Annam went largely to South Vietnam. The ridge of the Annamese Cordillera separated N and central Annam from Laos on...

• Bien Hoa city (1989 est. pop. 313,816), S Vietnam, c.20 mi (30 km) NE of Ho Chi Minh City. It is famous for its handmade pottery. In the city are sawmills and granite quarries. There is a commercial...

• Binh Dinh see Quy Nhon , Vietnam.

• Can Tho city (1989 est. pop. 284,306), S Vietnam, a port on the Mekong River delta. A large industrial area, where rice and fish are traded, it is the seat of an agricultural and teachers college. The...

• Cholon district and former city, since 1932 part of Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam; on the right bank of the Saigon River, a tributary of the Dong Nai. Cholon is the Chinese section of Ho Chi Minh City; it is connected to the city's left bank by road, rail, and canal...

• Cochin China Fr. Cochinchine, historic region (c.26,500 sq mi/68,600 sq km) of Vietnam, SE Asia. The capital and chief city was Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City ). Cochin China was bounded by Cambodia on the northwest and north, by the historic region of Annam on the northeast, by the South China Sea on the east and south, and by the Gulf of Thailand on the west. It included the rich Mekong delta, one of the world's great rice-growing regions, and, in the northeast, the southern spurs of the Annamese Cordillera, where rubber, coffee, tea, oil palm, and sugarcane plantations were...

• Da Lat city (1989 pop. 87,136), S Vietnam, in the central highlands, alt. c.5,000 ft (1,520 m). Developed by the French as a health resort and hunting center, it is a modern city surrounded by mountains...

• Da Nang formerly Tourane , city (1990 est. pop. 371,000), central Vietnam, a port on the South China Sea. One of the largest cities in Vietnam, it has an excellent deepwater harbor (dredged and improved by the United...

• Dienbienphu or Dien Bien Phu , former French military base, N Vietnam, near the Laos border. It was the scene in 1954 of the last great battle between the French and the Viet Minh forces of Ho Chi Minh in Indochina. The French occupied the base by parachute drop in Nov., 1953; this move prevented a Viet Minh thrust into Laos and provided support for indigenous forces opposing the Viet Minh in...

• Haiphong city (1989 pop. 1,447,523), NE Vietnam, on a large branch of the Red River delta c.10 mi (20 km) from the Gulf of Tonkin. It is connected with the sea by a narrow access channel that requires...

• Hanoi city (1997 est. pop. 3,500,800), capital of Vietnam, on the right bank of the Red River. It is the transportation hub of the country, with two airports and rail connections to Kunming, China, as...

• Ho Chi Minh City formerly Saigon, city (1997 pop. 5,250,000), on the right bank of the Saigon River, a tributary of the Dong Nai, Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city, the greatest port, and the commercial and industrial...

• Hue city (1989 pop. 260,489), former capital of the historic region of Annam , Vietnam, in a rich farming area on the Hue River near the South China Sea. Probably founded in the 3d cent. AD, Hue was occupied in turn by the Chams and the Annamese. After the 16th cent. it was...

• Indochina Fr. Indochine, former federation of states, SE Asia. It comprised the French colony of Cochin China and the French protectorates of Tonkin , Annam , Laos , and Cambodia (Cochin China, Tonkin, and Annam were later united to form Vietnam ). The capital was Hanoi. The federation formed the easternmost region of the Indochinese peninsula (which it shared with Myanmar, Thailand, and Malaya) and faced E on the South China Sea. The cultures of Indochina were...

• Nha Trang city (1989 est. pop. 263,100), E central S Vietnam, a commercial port on the South China Sea. It has an important fishing industry. It was the site of a major U.S. military base in the Vietnam...

• Play Ku Vietnam: see Pleiku.

• Pleiku or Play Ku , town, central Vietnam. A highway junction for roads going east (to Quy Nhon), west (to Cambodia), north (to Da Nang), and south (to Ho Chi Minh City), it was a large U.S. base in the Vietnam War...

• Qui Nhon Vietnam: see Quy Nhon.

• Quy Nhon or Qui Nhon , city (1989 est. pop. 201,972), SE Vietnam, on the South China Sea coast. Quy Nhon is a growing commercial and industrial center that produces textiles, processed food, and seafood; it has a...

• Saigon see Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam.

• Son My see My Lai incident.

• Tay Ninh city, S Vietnam, NW of Ho Chi Minh City. It is the center of the Cao Dai, a politically active religious group that was suppressed by South Vietnamese forces after an armed insurrection in 1955...

• Thanh Hoa city, E central N Vietnam, near the mouth of the Song Ma River, in a cotton-growing area. It is on the highway and railroad from Hanoi south to the demarcation line. Recent government programs...

• Tonkin historic region (c.40,000 sq mi/103,600 sq km), SE Asia, now forming the heartland of N Vietnam. The capital was Hanoi. Tonkin was bordered on the north by China, on the east by the Gulf of Tonkin, on the south by the historic region of Annam , and on the S and W by Laos. The region of Tonkin was conquered in 111 BC by the Chinese, who ruled until they were ousted in AD 939, at which time the area became independent. The inhabitants...

• Tourane see Da Nang , Vietnam.

• Vietnam officially Socialist Republic of Vietnam, republic (v), 128,400 sq mi (332,642 sq km), Southeast Asia. Occupying the eastern coastline of the Southeast Asian peninsula, Vietnam is bounded by China...

• Vinh city (1989 pop. 175,167), E central Vietnam, near the Song Ca River and the Gulf of Tonkin coast. It is the commercial center for the surrounding agricultural area and is linked to Hanoi by...