Vietnam (1) Top 10 Tourist Attractions (2) Vietnam War (3) Time Frame (4) Trivia

3. TOP
Ten
Tourist
ATTRACTIONS
In
Vietnam

4. Nha Trang is Vietnam’s most popular seaside resort town located along the second
most beautiful bays in the country. It features beautiful beaches with fine and clean
sand and clear ocean water with mild temperatures. The city has about 300,000
inhabitants and is more lively and urban. It’s also the scuba diving center of Vietnam.

5. The Cu Chi Tunnels are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located
about 40 km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The tunnels were used by Viet
Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during the Vietnam War, and were the base of
operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968. The tunnels have become a popular tourist
attraction, and visitors are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel
system.

6. The Mekong Delta is the region in southern Vietnam where the Mekong River
approaches and empties into the sea. It is a very rich and lush area, covered with rice
fields, that produces about half of the total of Vietnam’s agricultural output.
Subsequently, life in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the river, and all the
villages are often accessible by river rather than by road.

7. The vast sandy expanse provide some great panoramic views especially during sunset.

8. Sa Pa is a town in northwest Vietnam not far from the Chinese border. Rice terraces
can be found in the Muong Hoa valley between Sa Pa town and the Fansipan Mountain,
on a backdrop of thick bamboo woodlands. Local mountain people, the Hmong, Giay,
Dao, Tay, and Giay, grow rice and corn on these paddy terraces, along with
vegetables.

9. Located in front of the Cambodia coast, Phu Quoc is the largest island in Vietnam. Phu
Quoc is what Phuket would be if it hadn’t been overrun by development. The island
features pristine tropical forests, undamaged coral reefs and great beaches. One of
its beaches, named Bai Dai (Long Beach), was chosen by the ABC News as one of five
beautiful and clean beaches. Phu Quoc is famous for producing the best nuoc mam or
fermented fish sauce in the world

10. This fishing-village-turned-tourist-attraction is situated on the coast of the South
China Sea. Hoi An has been an international port from the 16th century although the
serious shipping business has long since moved to the city of Da Nang. The heart of
the city is still the Old Town, full of winding lanes and Chinese-styled shops. It is
sometimes called the “Venice of Vietnam” because of the narrow canals that cut
through part of the town.

11. Located in the historical center of Hanoi, Hoan Kiem Lake is one of the major scenic
spots in the city and serves as the locals’ favorite leisure spot. Hoan Kiem means
“returned sword”, and the name comes from a legend in which King Le Loi was given a
magical sword by the gods, which he used to drive out the invading Chinese. Later he
returned the sword to the Golden Turtle God in the lake.

12. With seven stories, the Thien Mu Pagoda in Hue is the tallest pagoda in Vietnam. The
pagoda overlooks the Perfume River and is regarded as the unofficial symbol of the
former imperial capital. The temple was built in 1601 during the rule of the Nguyễn
Lords. The initial temple was very simply constructed, but over time it was redeveloped
and expanded with more intricate features.

13. Ha Long Bay is situated in north Vietnam round a 120 kilometer long coast line and is
literally translated as “Bay of Descending Dragons”. The top tourist attraction in
Vietnam, Ha Long Bay features thousands of islands, each topped with thick jungle
vegetation, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Several of the islands
are hollow, with enormous caves, others islands include lakes and some support floating
villages of fishermen

14. Quick Facts:
Identification: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Capital: Hanoi
Population: 93,421,835 (July 2014 est.)
Largest City: Ho Chi Minh City
Official Language: Vietnamese
Currency: Vietnamese dong
Government type: Communist state
Life Expectancy:
Male: 70.6 years
Female: 76 years (2014 est.)

16. Vietnam
The Vietnamese are descendants of nomadic Mongols from China and migrants from Indonesia.
2879 B.C.
According to mythology, the first ruler of Vietnam was Hung
Vuong, who founded the nation.
111 B.C.- 15th Cent
China ruled the nation then known as Nam Viet as a vassal state from 111
B.C. until the 15th century, an era of nationalistic expansion, when
Cambodians were pushed out of the southern area of what is now Vietnam.

17. 16th Century
Portuguese were the first Europeans to enter the area.
19th Century
France established its influence early in the 19th century, and within 80
years it conquered the three regions into which the country was then
divided—Cochin-China in the south, Annam in the central region, and
Tonkin in the north.
1859
France captured Saigon.

18. 1883
North and Central Vietnam was forced to become a French protectorate.
The French built infrastructure in Vietnam such as the Saigon to Hanoi
railway. They also built roads and bridges. However the building was
funded by heavy taxation.
1887
France first unified Vietnam.
When a single governor-generalship was created, followed by the first
physical links between north and south—a rail and road system. Even at the
beginning of World War II, however, there were internal differences among
the three regions.

19. 1940
Japan took over military bases in Vietnam.
1945
Japan invaded and occupied Vietnam. Inspired by Chinese and Soviet communism,
Ho Chi Minh formed the Viet Minh, or the League for the Independence of
Vietnam, to fight both Japan and the French colonial administration. Japan
withdrew its forces, leaving the French-educated Emperor Bao Dai in control of
an independent Vietnam. Ho’s Viet Minh forces rose up immediately, seizing the
northern city of Hanoi and declaring a Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV)
with Ho as president.

20. 1949
Paris proposed a unified government within the French Union under the
former Annamite emperor, Bao Dai. Cochin-China and Annam accepted the
proposal, and Bao Dai was proclaimed emperor of all Vietnam.

21. Vietnam splits North and South; America enters the war
1954
Vietnam War began.
1955
In the new South, Ngo Dinh Diem, prime minister under Bao Dai,
deposed the monarch in 1955 and made himself president. Diem used
strong U.S. backing to create an authoritarian regime that suppressed
all opposition.
Division of Vietnam.

22. 1968
The most savage fighting of the war occurred during the Vietnamese
New Year, known as Tet. Although the so-called Tet Offensive ended in
a military defeat for the North, its psychological impact changed the
course of the war.
1970
U.S. bombing and an invasion of Cambodia. An effort to destroy Viet Cong
bases in the neighboring state—marked the end of major U.S.
participation in the fighting.
1975
Communist forces seized control of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War,
and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the
following year.

23. 1994
The U.S. lifted a Vietnamese trade embargo that had been in place since
U.S. involvement in the war.
1997
A pact was signed with the U.S. concerning repayment of the $146 million
wartime debt incurred by the South Vietnamese government, and the
following year the nation began a drive to eliminate inefficient bureaucrats
and streamline the approval process for direct foreign investment. Efforts
of reform-minded officials toward political and economic change have been
thwarted by Vietnam's ruling Communist Party.
2001
Vietnam's national assembly approved a trade agreement that opened U.S.
markets to Vietnam's goods and services. Tariffs on Vietnam's products
dropped to about 4% from rates as high as 40%. Vietnam in return opened
its state markets to foreign competition.

24. 2005
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai visited the United States in June, becoming
the first Vietnamese leader to do so since the Vietnam War ended. He
met with President Bush and several business leaders, including
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. The U.S. is Vietnam's largest trading
partner, buying about $7 billion in Vietnamese goods each year.
2006
A corruption scandal rocked Vietnam. Transport minister Dao Dinh Binh
resigned amid allegations that members of his staff embezzled millions from
the country and used the funds to bet on soccer games. His deputy Nguyen
Viet Tien was arrested for his role in the scandal.
2007
Vietnam became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization,
after waiting 12 years to join the group.

25. 2012
Regional tension over claims to islands and resources in the South China
Sea.

27. The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam
and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United
States. The war began in 1954 (though conflict in the region stretched back to the mid-1940s), after
the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist Viet Minh party in North Vietnam, and continued
against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two global superpowers: the United States and the
Soviet Union.
More than 3 million people (including 58,000 Americans) were killed in the
Vietnam War; more than half were Vietnamese civilians. By 1969, at the peak of
U.S. involvement in the war, more than 500,000 U.S. military personnel were
involved in the Vietnam conflict. Growing opposition to the war in the United
States led to bitter divisions among Americans, both before and after President
Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973. In 1975,
communist forces seized control of Saigon, ending the Vietnam War, and the
country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year.

28. YOU
KNOW
According to a survey by
the Veterans
Administration, some
500,000 of the 3 million
troops who served in
Vietnam suffered from
post-traumatic stress
disorder, and rates of
divorce, suicide,
alcoholism and drug
addiction were markedly
higher among veterans.