{"id":9211,"date":"2022-06-20T04:00:56","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T11:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/?p=9211"},"modified":"2022-06-20T16:12:42","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T23:12:42","slug":"vietnam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/vietnam\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/h2>\n

Vietnam, officially the\u00a0Socialist Republic of Vietnam,<\/sup>\u00a0is a country in\u00a0Southeast Asia<\/a>. It is located at the eastern edge of the\u00a0Indochinese Peninsula<\/a>, and is divided into 58 provinces and five municipalities, covering 331,699 square kilometers, with a population of over 96 million inhabitants, making it the world’s\u00a0sixteenth-most populous country<\/a>. Vietnam shares borders with\u00a0China<\/a>\u00a0to the north,\u00a0Laos<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Cambodia<\/a> to the west; while maintaining maritime borders<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Thailand<\/a>\u00a0through the\u00a0Gulf of Thailand<\/a>, and the\u00a0Philippines<\/a>,\u00a0Indonesia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Malaysia<\/a>\u00a0through the\u00a0South China Sea<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Its capital is\u00a0Hanoi<\/a>\u00a0and its\u00a0largest city<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Hanoi Skyline<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Archaeological excavations indicate that Vietnam was inhabited as early as the\u00a0Paleolithic<\/a>\u00a0age. The ancient Vietnamese nation, which was centered on the\u00a0Red River valley<\/a>\u00a0and nearby coastal areas, was annexed by the\u00a0Han dynasty<\/a>\u00a0in the 2nd century BC, which subsequently made Vietnam a division of Imperial China for over a millennium. The first independent\u00a0monarchy<\/a>\u00a0emerged in the 10th century AD. This paved the way for successive\u00a0imperial dynasties<\/a>\u00a0as the nation\u00a0expanded southward<\/a>\u00a0until the Indochina Peninsula was\u00a0colonized by the French<\/a>\u00a0in the late 19th century. Modern Vietnam was born upon the\u00a0Proclamation of Independence<\/a>\u00a0from France in 1945 following\u00a0Japanese occupation<\/a>. Following Vietnamese victory against the French in the\u00a0First Indochina War<\/a>, which ended in 1954, the nation was divided into two rival states: communist\u00a0North<\/a>\u00a0and anti-communist\u00a0South<\/a>. Conflicts intensified in the\u00a0Vietnam War<\/a>, which saw\u00a0extensive American intervention<\/a>\u00a0in support of South Vietnam, while the Soviets and the\u00a0PRC<\/a>\u00a0supported the North, which ended with\u00a0North Vietnamese victory<\/a>\u00a0in 1975.<\/p>\n

After North and South Vietnam were reunified as a\u00a0communist state<\/a>\u00a0under a\u00a0unitary<\/a>\u00a0socialist<\/a>\u00a0government in 1976, the country became economically and politically isolated until 1986, when the\u00a0Communist Party<\/a>\u00a0initiated a series of\u00a0economic and political reforms<\/a>\u00a0that facilitated Vietnamese integration into world politics and the global economy. As a result of the successful reforms, Vietnam has enjoyed high economic growth rate, consistently ranked amongst the\u00a0fastest growing economies<\/a>\u00a0of the world.<\/p>\n

Vietnam is a\u00a0regional power<\/a>,<\/sup>\u00a0and is considered a\u00a0middle power<\/a>\u00a0in global affairs.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0Vietnam is a part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the\u00a0United Nations<\/a>, the\u00a0ASEAN<\/a>, the\u00a0APEC<\/a>, the\u00a0CPTPP<\/a>, the\u00a0Non-Aligned Movement<\/a>, the\u00a0OIF<\/a>, the\u00a0RCEP<\/a>, and the\u00a0World Trade Organization<\/a>, and has also assumed a seat on the\u00a0United Nations Security Council<\/a>\u00a0twice. Vietnam was listed as a developing country by the UN until 2019, and by the US until 2020.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Vietnam on the Globe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Corruption in Vietnam<\/a>, including rampant bribery, is a major issue.\u00a0Surveys of Vietnamese urban citizens rated Vietnam’s corruption transparency as poor in surveys conducted in 2005 and 2010, and the bribing of officials, health workers, and civil servants was highly prevalent. The practice of\u00a0red envelope payments<\/a>, normally a practice of informal payment reserved for\u00a0festivities<\/a>, became common in the health sector when the country was attempting to transition to a market economy in 1986. Anti-corruption measures have been implemented and while there have been improvements, control of corruption was still rated poorly in 2015\u20132017.\u00a0Plans made for anti-corruption drive continue for 2021\u20132025.<\/p>\n

History:<\/h2>\n

Prehistory:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the <\/span>Paleolithic<\/a>\u00a0age.\u00a0<\/span>Homo erectus<\/a><\/i>\u00a0fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in\u00a0<\/span>L\u1ea1ng S\u01a1n<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Ngh\u1ec7 An<\/a>\u00a0provinces in northern Vietnam.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The oldest\u00a0<\/span>Homo sapiens<\/a><\/i>\u00a0fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of\u00a0<\/span>Middle Pleistocene<\/a> provenance, and include isolated tooth fragments from Tham Om and Hang Hum.<\/span>\u00a0Teeth attributed to\u00a0<\/span>Homo sapiens<\/i>\u00a0from the\u00a0<\/span>Late Pleistocene<\/a>\u00a0have been found at Dong Can,<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0and from the Early\u00a0<\/span>Holocene<\/a> at Mai Da Dieu,<\/span> Lang Gao<\/span>\u00a0and Lang Cuom.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Photograph<\/a>
A\u00a0\u0110\u00f4ng S\u01a1n\u00a0bronze drum,\u00a0c.\u2009800 BC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
By about 1,000 BC, the development of wet-<\/span>rice<\/a>\u00a0cultivation in the\u00a0<\/span>Ma River<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Red River<\/a>\u00a0floodplains led to the flourishing of\u00a0<\/span>\u0110\u00f4ng S\u01a1n culture<\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0notable for its\u00a0<\/span>bronze<\/a>\u00a0casting used to make elaborate bronze\u00a0<\/span>\u0110\u00f4ng S\u01a1n drums<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0At this point, the early Vietnamese kingdoms of\u00a0<\/span>V\u0103n Lang<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>\u00c2u L\u1ea1c<\/a>\u00a0appeared, and the culture’s influence spread to other parts of\u00a0<\/span>Southeast Asia<\/a>, including\u00a0<\/span>Maritime Southeast Asia<\/a>, throughout the first millennium BC.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Dynastic Vietnam:<\/span><\/h3>\n

The <\/span>H\u1ed3ng B\u00e0ng dynasty<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0<\/span>H\u00f9ng kings<\/a>\u00a0first established in 2879 BC is considered the first Vietnamese state in the\u00a0<\/span>History of Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0(then known as X\u00edch Qu\u1ef7 and later\u00a0<\/span>V\u0103n Lang<\/a>).<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0In 257 BC, the last H\u00f9ng king was defeated by Th\u1ee5c Ph\u00e1n. He consolidated the\u00a0<\/span>L\u1ea1c Vi\u1ec7t<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>\u00c2u Vi\u1ec7t<\/a>\u00a0tribes to form the\u00a0<\/span>\u00c2u L\u1ea1c<\/a>, proclaiming himself\u00a0<\/span>An D\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u01b0\u01a1ng<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0In 179 BC, a Chinese general named\u00a0<\/span>Zhao Tuo<\/a>\u00a0defeated An D\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u01b0\u01a1ng and consolidated \u00c2u L\u1ea1c into\u00a0<\/span>Nanyue<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0However, Nanyue was itself\u00a0<\/span>incorporated into the empire<\/a>\u00a0of the Chinese\u00a0<\/span>Han dynasty<\/a>\u00a0in 111 BC after the\u00a0<\/span>Han\u2013Nanyue War<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0For the next thousand years, what is now northern Vietnam remained mostly under\u00a0<\/span>Chinese rule<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0Early independence movements, such as those of the\u00a0<\/span>Tr\u01b0ng Sisters<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Lady Tri\u1ec7u<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0were temporarily successful,<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0though the region gained a longer period of independence as V\u1ea1n Xu\u00e2n under the\u00a0<\/span>Anterior L\u00fd dynasty<\/a> between AD 544 and 602.<\/span>\u00a0By the early 10th century, Vietnam had gained autonomy, but not sovereignty, under the\u00a0<\/span>Kh\u00fac family<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In AD 938, the Vietnamese lord\u00a0Ng\u00f4 Quy\u1ec1n<\/a>\u00a0defeated the forces of the Chinese\u00a0Southern Han<\/a>\u00a0state at\u00a0B\u1ea1ch \u0110\u1eb1ng River<\/a> and achieved full independence for Vietnam after a millennium of Chinese domination.\u00a0Renamed \u0110\u1ea1i Vi\u1ec7t (Great Viet<\/i>), Vietnamese society enjoyed a golden era under the L\u00fd and\u00a0Tr\u1ea7n<\/a>\u00a0dynasties. During the rule of the Tr\u1ea7n Dynasty, \u0110\u1ea1i Vi\u1ec7t repelled three\u00a0Mongol invasions<\/a>.\u00a0Meanwhile, the\u00a0Mah\u0101y\u0101na<\/a>\u00a0branch of\u00a0Buddhism<\/a> flourished and became the state religion.\u00a0Following the 1406\u20137\u00a0Ming\u2013H\u1ed3 War<\/a>, which overthrew the\u00a0H\u1ed3 dynasty<\/a>, Vietnamese independence was\u00a0interrupted briefly<\/a>\u00a0by the Chinese\u00a0Ming dynasty<\/a>, but was restored by\u00a0L\u00ea L\u1ee3i<\/a>, the founder of the\u00a0L\u00ea dynasty<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The Vietnamese dynasties reached their zenith in the L\u00ea dynasty of the 15th century, especially during the reign of Emperor\u00a0L\u00ea Th\u00e1nh T\u00f4ng<\/a>\u00a0(1460\u20131497).<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0Between the 11th and 18th centuries, Vietnam expanded southward in a process known as\u00a0Nam ti\u1ebfn<\/a><\/i>\u00a0(“Southward expansion”),<\/sup>\u00a0eventually conquering the kingdom of\u00a0Champa<\/a>\u00a0and part of the\u00a0Khmer Kingdom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Map<\/a>
Territorial expansion of Vietnam, 1009\u20131898<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

From the 16th century onward, civil strife and frequent political infighting engulfed much of Vietnam. First, the Chinese-supported\u00a0M\u1ea1c dynasty<\/a>\u00a0challenged the L\u00ea dynasty’s power.<\/sup>\u00a0After the M\u1ea1c dynasty was defeated, the L\u00ea dynasty was nominally reinstalled. Actual power, however, was divided between the northern\u00a0Tr\u1ecbnh lords<\/a>\u00a0and the southern\u00a0Nguy\u1ec5n lords<\/a>, who engaged in a\u00a0civil war<\/a>\u00a0for more than four decades before a truce was called in the 1670s.<\/sup>\u00a0During this period, the Nguy\u1ec5n expanded southern Vietnam into the\u00a0Mekong Delta<\/a>, annexing the\u00a0Central Highlands<\/a> and the Khmer lands in the Mekong Delta.\u00a0The division of the country ended a century later when the\u00a0T\u00e2y S\u01a1n<\/a>\u00a0brothers established a new dynasty. However, their rule did not last long, and they were defeated by the remnants of the Nguy\u1ec5n lords, led by\u00a0Nguy\u1ec5n \u00c1nh<\/a>, aided by the French.<\/sup>\u00a0Nguy\u1ec5n \u00c1nh unified Vietnam, and established the\u00a0Nguy\u1ec5n dynasty<\/a>, ruling under the name\u00a0Gia Long<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n

French Indochina:<\/span><\/h3>\n
In the 1500s, the <\/span>Portuguese<\/a>\u00a0became acquainted with the Vietnamese coast, where they reportedly erected a\u00a0<\/span>stele<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0<\/span>Ch\u00e0m Islands<\/a>\u00a0to mark their presence.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0By 1533, they began landing in the Vietnamese delta but were forced to leave because of local turmoil and fighting. They also had less interest in the territory than they did in China and Japan.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0After having successfully settled\u00a0<\/span>Macau<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Nagasaki<\/a>\u00a0to begin the profitable Macau\u2013Japan trade route, the Portuguese began to involve themselves in trade with\u00a0<\/span>H\u1ed9i An<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Portuguese traders and\u00a0<\/span>Jesuit<\/a>\u00a0missionaries under the\u00a0<\/span>Padroado<\/a><\/i>\u00a0system were active in both Vietnamese realms of\u00a0<\/span>\u0110\u00e0ng Trong<\/a><\/i>\u00a0(<\/span>Cochinchina<\/a>\u00a0or Quinan) and\u00a0<\/span>\u0110\u00e0ng Ngo\u00e0i<\/a><\/i>\u00a0(<\/span>Tonkin<\/a>) in the 17th century.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0<\/span>Dutch<\/a>\u00a0also tried to establish contact with Quinan in 1601 but failed to sustain a presence there after several violent encounters with the locals. The\u00a0<\/span>Dutch East India Company<\/a>\u00a0(VOC) only managed to establish official relations with Tonkin in the spring of 1637 after leaving\u00a0<\/span>Dejima<\/a>\u00a0in Japan to establish trade for\u00a0<\/span>silk<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Meanwhile, in 1613, the first\u00a0<\/span>English<\/a>\u00a0attempt to establish contact with H\u1ed9i An failed following a violent incident involving the\u00a0<\/span>Honourable East India Company<\/a>. By 1672 the English managed to establish relations with Tonkin and were allowed to reside in\u00a0<\/span>Ph\u1ed1 Hi\u1ebfn<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\"1933<\/a>
French Indochina circa 1933.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Between 1615 and 1753, French traders also engaged in trade in Vietnam.\u00a0The first French missionaries arrived in Vietnam in 1658, under the Portuguese\u00a0Padroado<\/i>. From its foundation, the\u00a0Paris Foreign Missions Society<\/a>\u00a0under\u00a0Propaganda Fide<\/i><\/a> actively sent missionaries to Vietnam, entering Cochinchina first in 1664 and Tonkin first in 1666. Spanish\u00a0Dominicans<\/a>\u00a0joined the Tonkin mission in 1676, and\u00a0Franciscans<\/a> were present in Cochinchina from 1719 to 1834. The Vietnamese authorities began\u00a0to feel threatened by continuous\u00a0Christianisation<\/a> activities.\u00a0<\/sup>Following the detention of several missionaries, the\u00a0French Navy<\/a>\u00a0received approval from their government to intervene in Vietnam in 1843, with the aim of freeing imprisoned Catholic missionaries from a kingdom that was perceived as\u00a0xenophobic<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Vietnam’s sovereignty was gradually\u00a0eroded by France<\/a>\u00a0in a series of military conquests between 1859 and 1885.<\/sup>\u00a0At the\u00a0Siege of Tourane<\/a>\u00a0in 1858, the French was aided by the\u00a0Spanish<\/a>\u00a0(Using Filipino and Spanish troops from the\u00a0Philippines<\/a>)<\/sup>\u00a0and perhaps some Tonkinese Catholics.<\/sup>\u00a0After the\u00a01862 Treaty<\/a>\u00a0and especially after the full conquest of\u00a0Lower Cochinchina<\/a>\u00a0by France in 1867, the\u00a0V\u0103n Th\u00e2n movement<\/a> of scholar-gentry class arose and committed violence against Catholics across central and northern Vietnam.<\/p>\n

Between 1862 and 1867, the southern third of the country became the\u00a0French colony of Cochinchina<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0By 1884, the entire country had come under French rule, with the central and northern parts of Vietnam separated into the two protectorates of\u00a0Annam<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Tonkin<\/a>. The three Vietnamese entities were formally integrated into the union of\u00a0French Indochina<\/a> in 1887.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The French administration imposed significant political and cultural changes on Vietnamese society.<\/sup>\u00a0A Western-style system of modern education introduced new\u00a0humanist<\/a>\u00a0values into Vietnam.<\/sup>\u00a0Most French settlers in Indochina were concentrated in Cochinchina, particularly in\u00a0Saigon<\/a>, and in\u00a0Hanoi<\/a>, the colony’s capital.<\/p>\n

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\"Photograph<\/a>
The Grand Palais built for the 1902\u20131903 world’s fair as Hanoi became French Indochina’s capital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Guerrillas of the royalist\u00a0C\u1ea7n V\u01b0\u01a1ng movement<\/a>\u00a0massacred around a third of Vietnam’s Christian population during the colonial period as part of their rebellion against French rule.<\/sup><\/sup> They were defeated in the 1890s after a decade of resistance by the Catholics in reprisal for their earlier massacres.\u00a0Another large-scale rebellion, the\u00a0Th\u00e1i Nguy\u00ean uprising<\/a>, was also suppressed heavily. <\/sup>The French developed a\u00a0plantation economy<\/a>\u00a0to promote the export of\u00a0tobacco<\/a>,\u00a0indigo<\/a>,\u00a0tea<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0coffee<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0However, they largely ignored the increasing demands for civil rights and\u00a0self-government<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"Photograph<\/a>
Hanoi Opera House, taken in the early 20th century<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A nationalist political movement soon emerged, with leaders like\u00a0<\/span>Phan B\u1ed9i Ch\u00e2u<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Phan Ch\u00e2u Trinh<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Phan \u0110\u00ecnh Ph\u00f9ng<\/a>, Emperor\u00a0<\/span>H\u00e0m Nghi<\/a>, and\u00a0<\/span>H\u1ed3 Ch\u00ed Minh<\/a>\u00a0fighting or calling for independence.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0This resulted in the 1930\u00a0<\/span>Y\u00ean B\u00e1i mutiny<\/a>\u00a0by the\u00a0<\/span>Vietnamese Nationalist Party<\/a> (VNQD\u0110), which the French quashed. The mutiny caused an irreparable split in the independence movement that resulted in many leading members of the organization becoming <\/span>communist<\/a> converts.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The French maintained full control over their colonies until World War II, when the\u00a0war in the Pacific<\/a>\u00a0led to the\u00a0Japanese invasion of French Indochina<\/a>\u00a0in 1940. Afterwards, the\u00a0Japanese Empire<\/a>\u00a0was allowed to station its troops in Vietnam while permitting the pro-Vichy French<\/a> colonial administration to continue.<\/sup>\u00a0Japan exploited Vietnam’s natural resources to support its military campaigns, culminating in a\u00a0full-scale takeover of the country<\/a>\u00a0in March 1945. This led to the\u00a0Vietnamese Famine of 1945<\/a>, which resulted in up to two million deaths.<\/sup><\/p>\n

First Indochina War<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n

In 1941, the\u00a0Vi\u1ec7t Minh<\/a>, a nationalist liberation movement based on a\u00a0Communist Ideology<\/a>, emerged under the Vietnamese revolutionary leader\u00a0H\u1ed3 Ch\u00ed Minh<\/a>. The Vi\u1ec7t Minh sought independence for Vietnam from France and the end of the\u00a0Japanese occupation<\/a>.\u00a0Following the military defeat of Japan and the fall of its puppet\u00a0Empire of Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0in August 1945, anarchy, rioting, and murder were widespread, as Saigon’s administrative services had collapsed.<\/sup>\u00a0The Vi\u1ec7t Minh occupied\u00a0Hanoi<\/a> and proclaimed a provisional government, which asserted national independence on 2 September.<\/p>\n

In July 1945, the\u00a0Allies<\/a>\u00a0had decided to divide Indochina at the\u00a016th parallel<\/a>\u00a0to allow\u00a0Chiang Kai-shek<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Republic of China<\/a>\u00a0to receive the Japanese surrender in the north while Britain’s\u00a0Lord Louis Mountbatten<\/a> received their surrender in the south. The Allies agreed that Indochina still belonged to France.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Map<\/a>
Situation of the First Indochina War at the end of 1954.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

But as the French were weakened by the\u00a0German occupation<\/a>,\u00a0British-Indian<\/a>\u00a0forces and the remaining Japanese\u00a0Southern Expeditionary Army Group<\/a>\u00a0were used to maintain order and to help France reestablish control through the\u00a01945\u20131946 War in Vietnam<\/a>.\u00a0H\u1ed3 initially chose to take a moderate stance to avoid military conflict with France, asking the French to withdraw their colonial administrators and for French professors and engineers to help build a modern independent Vietnam.<\/sup>\u00a0But the\u00a0Provisional Government of the French Republic<\/a>\u00a0did not act on these requests, including the idea of independence, and dispatched the\u00a0French Far East Expeditionary Corps<\/a> to restore colonial rule. This resulted in the Vi\u1ec7t Minh launching a guerrilla campaign against the French in late 1946.\u00a0The resulting\u00a0First Indochina War<\/a>\u00a0lasted until July 1954. The defeat of French colonialists and\u00a0Vietnamese loyalists<\/a>\u00a0in the 1954\u00a0battle of \u0110i\u1ec7n Bi\u00ean Ph\u1ee7<\/a> allowed H\u1ed3 to negotiate a ceasefire from a favorable position at the subsequent\u00a0Geneva Conference<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n

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\"Map<\/a>
Partition of French Indochina after the 1954 Geneva Conference<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The colonial administration was thereby ended and French Indochina was dissolved under the Geneva Accords of 1954 into three countries\u2014Vietnam, and the kingdoms of\u00a0Cambodia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Laos<\/a>. Vietnam was further divided into North and South administrative regions at the\u00a0Demilitarised Zone<\/a>, roughly along the\u00a017th parallel north<\/a>, pending elections scheduled for July 1956.<\/sup>\u00a0A 300-day period of free movement was permitted, during which almost a million northerners, mainly Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the communists. This migration was in large part aided by the United States military through\u00a0Operation Passage to Freedom<\/a>. The\u00a0partition of Vietnam<\/a> by the Geneva Accords was not intended to be permanent, and stipulated that Vietnam would be reunited after the elections. But in 1955, the southern State of Vietnam’s prime minister,\u00a0Ng\u00f4 \u0110\u00ecnh Di\u1ec7m<\/a>, toppled\u00a0B\u1ea3o \u0110\u1ea1i<\/a>\u00a0in a fraudulent\u00a0referendum<\/a> organized by his brother\u00a0Ng\u00f4 \u0110\u00ecnh Nhu<\/a>, and proclaimed himself president of the\u00a0Republic of Vietnam<\/a>. At that point the internationally recognized\u00a0State of Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0effectively ceased to exist and was replaced by the\u00a0Republic of Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0in the south\u2014supported by the United States, France,\u00a0Laos<\/a>,\u00a0Republic of China<\/a>\u00a0and Thailand\u2014and H\u1ed3’s\u00a0Democratic Republic of Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0in the north, supported by the\u00a0Soviet Union<\/a>, Sweden,<\/sup>\u00a0Khmer Rouge<\/a>, and the\u00a0People’s Republic of China<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vietnam War:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted various\u00a0agrarian<\/a>\u00a0reforms, including “rent reduction<\/a>” and “land reform<\/a>“, which resulted in significant\u00a0political repression<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0During the land reform, testimony from North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolated across all of Vietnam would indicate nearly 100,000 executions.<\/sup>\u00a0Because the campaign was concentrated mainly in the\u00a0Red River Delta<\/a> area, a lower estimate of 50,000 executions became widely accepted by scholars at the time,\u00a0but declassified documents from the Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate that the number of executions was much lower, although likely greater than 13,500.<\/sup> In the South, Di\u1ec7m countered North Vietnamese subversion (including the assassination of over 450 South Vietnamese officials in 1956) by detaining tens of thousands of suspected communists in “political reeducation centers”.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0This program incarcerated many non-communists, but was successful at curtailing communist activity in the country, if only for a time.<\/sup>\u00a0The North Vietnamese government claimed that 2,148 people were killed in the process by November 1957.<\/sup>\u00a0The pro-Hanoi\u00a0Vi\u1ec7t C\u1ed9ng<\/a>\u00a0began a guerrilla campaign in South Vietnam in the late 1950s to overthrow Di\u1ec7m’s government.<\/sup>\u00a0From 1960, the\u00a0Soviet Union<\/a> and North Vietnam signed treaties providing for further Soviet military support.<\/sup><\/p>\n

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\"Three<\/a>
Three US Fairchild UC-123B aircraft spraying Agent Orange during the Operation Ranch Hand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 1963, Buddhist discontent with Di\u1ec7m’s Catholic regime erupted into\u00a0mass demonstrations<\/a>, leading to a violent government crackdown.<\/sup>\u00a0This led to the\u00a0collapse of Di\u1ec7m’s relationship with the United States<\/a>, and ultimately to a\u00a01963 coup<\/a>\u00a0in which\u00a0he and Nhu were assassinated<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The Di\u1ec7m era was followed by more than a dozen successive military governments, before the pairing of Air Marshal\u00a0Nguy\u1ec5n Cao K\u1ef3<\/a>\u00a0and General\u00a0Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0103n Thi\u1ec7u<\/a>\u00a0took control in mid-1965.<\/sup> Thi\u1ec7u gradually outmaneuvered K\u1ef3 and cemented his grip on power in fraudulent elections in 1967 and 1971.\u00a0During this political instability, the communists began to gain ground. To support South Vietnam’s struggle against the communist insurgency, the United States began increasing its contribution of military advisers, using the 1964\u00a0Gulf of Tonkin incident<\/a>\u00a0as a pretext for such intervention.<\/sup> US forces became involved in ground combat operations by 1965, and at their peak several years later, numbered more than 500,000.\u00a0The US also engaged in\u00a0a sustained aerial bombing campaign<\/a>. Meanwhile,\u00a0China<\/a> and the Soviet Union provided North Vietnam with significant material aid and 15,000 combat advisers.\u00a0Communist forces supplying the Vi\u1ec7t C\u1ed9ng carried supplies along the\u00a0H\u1ed3 Ch\u00ed Minh trail<\/a>, which passed through\u00a0Laos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Ho Chi Minh Trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The communists attacked South Vietnamese targets during the 1968\u00a0T\u1ebft Offensive<\/a>. The campaign failed militarily, but shocked the American establishment and turned US public opinion against the war.<\/sup>\u00a0During the offensive, communist troops\u00a0massacred over 3,000 civilians<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Hu\u1ebf<\/a>.\u00a0Facing an increasing casualty count,\u00a0rising domestic opposition<\/a>\u00a0to the war, and growing international condemnation, the US began\u00a0withdrawing from ground combat roles<\/a>\u00a0in the early 1970s. This also entailed an unsuccessful effort to\u00a0strengthen and stabilize South Vietnam<\/a>. <\/sup>Following the\u00a0Paris Peace Accords<\/a>\u00a0of 27 January 1973, all American combat troops were withdrawn by 29 March 1973.<\/sup>\u00a0In December 1974, North Vietnam\u00a0captured<\/a>\u00a0the province of\u00a0Ph\u01b0\u1edbc Long<\/a>\u00a0and started a\u00a0full-scale offensive<\/a>, culminating in the\u00a0fall of Saigon<\/a>\u00a0on 30 April 1975.<\/sup>\u00a0South Vietnam was ruled by a\u00a0provisional government<\/a> for almost eight years while under North Vietnamese military occupation.<\/p>\n

Reunification and reforms<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n

On 2 July 1976, North and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vi\u1ec7t Nam. The war left Vietnam devastated, with the total death toll between 966,000 and 3.8\u00a0million.\u00a0A 1974 US Senate subcommittee estimated nearly 1.4\u00a0million\u00a0Vietnamese civilians<\/a> were killed or wounded between 1965 and 1974\u2014including 415,000 killed.\u00a0In its aftermath, under\u00a0L\u00ea Du\u1ea9n<\/a>‘s administration, there were no mass executions of South Vietnamese who had collaborated with the US or the defunct South Vietnamese government, confounding Western fears,<\/sup>\u00a0but up to 300,000 South Vietnamese were sent to\u00a0reeducation camps<\/a>, where many endured torture, starvation, and disease while being forced to perform hard labor.<\/sup>\u00a0The government embarked on a mass campaign of\u00a0collectivization<\/a> of farms and factories.\u00a0In 1978, in response to the\u00a0Khmer Rouge<\/a>\u00a0government of Cambodia ordering massacres of Vietnamese residents in the border villages in the districts of\u00a0An Giang<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ki\u00ean Giang<\/a>,\u00a0the Vietnamese military\u00a0invaded Cambodia<\/a>\u00a0and removed them from power after occupying\u00a0Phnom Penh<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The intervention was a success, resulting in the establishment of a new, pro-Vietnam socialist government, the\u00a0People’s Republic of Kampuchea<\/a>, which ruled until 1989.<\/sup>\u00a0This, however, worsened relations with China, which had supported the Khmer Rouge. China later launched a\u00a0brief incursion into northern Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0in 1979, causing Vietnam to rely even more heavily on Soviet economic and military aid, while mistrust of the\u00a0Chinese government<\/a> began to escalate.<\/p>\n

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Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0103n Linh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the\u00a0Sixth National Congress<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Communist Party of Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0(CPV) in December 1986, reformist politicians replaced the “old guard” government with new leadership.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The reformers were led by 71-year-old\u00a0Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0103n Linh<\/a>, who became the party’s new general secretary.<\/sup>\u00a0He and the reformers implemented a series of\u00a0free-market<\/a>\u00a0reforms known as\u00a0\u0110\u1ed5i M\u1edbi<\/a><\/i>\u00a0(“Renovation”) that carefully managed the transition from a\u00a0planned economy<\/a>\u00a0to a “socialist-oriented market economy<\/a>“.\u00a0Though the authority of the state remained unchallenged under\u00a0\u0110\u1ed5i M\u1edbi<\/i>, the government encouraged\u00a0private ownership<\/a> of farms and factories, economic deregulation, and foreign investment, while maintaining control over strategic industries. The Vietnamese economy subsequently achieved strong growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction, exports, and foreign investment, although these reforms also caused a rise in income inequality and gender disparities.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Geography<\/span><\/h2>\n
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\"Images<\/a>
Nature attractions in Vietnam, clockwise from top:\u00a0H\u1ea1 Long Bay, Y\u1ebfn River and\u00a0B\u1ea3n-Gi\u1ed1c Waterfalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Vietnam is located on the eastern <\/span>Indochinese Peninsula<\/a>\u00a0between the latitudes\u00a0<\/span>8\u00b0<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>24\u00b0N<\/a>, and the longitudes\u00a0<\/span>102\u00b0<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>110\u00b0E<\/a>. It covers a total area of approximately 331,212\u00a0km<\/span>2<\/sup> (127,882\u00a0sq\u00a0mi).<\/span>\u00a0The combined length of the country’s land boundaries is 4,639\u00a0km (2,883\u00a0mi), and its coastline is 3,444\u00a0km (2,140\u00a0mi) long.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0At its narrowest point in the central\u00a0<\/span>Qu\u1ea3ng B\u00ecnh Province<\/a>, the country is as little as 50 kilometres (31\u00a0mi) across, though it widens to around 600 kilometres (370\u00a0mi) in the north.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Vietnam’s land is mostly hilly and densely forested, with level land covering no more than 20%. Mountains account for 40% of the country’s land area,<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0and tropical forests cover around 42%.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The Red River Delta in the north, a flat, roughly triangular region covering 15,000\u00a0km<\/span>2<\/sup>\u00a0(5,792\u00a0sq\u00a0mi),<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0is smaller but more intensely developed and more densely populated than the\u00a0<\/span>Mekong River Delta<\/a>\u00a0in the south. Once an inlet of the\u00a0<\/span>Gulf of Tonkin<\/a>, it has been filled in over the millennia by riverine\u00a0<\/span>alluvial deposits<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The delta, covering about 40,000\u00a0km<\/span>2<\/sup>\u00a0(15,444\u00a0sq\u00a0mi), is a low-level plain no more than 3 meters\u00a0(9.8\u00a0ft)\u00a0above sea level<\/a>\u00a0at any point. It is crisscrossed by a maze of rivers and canals, which carry so much sediment that the delta advances 60 to 80 meters (196.9 to 262.5 ft) into the sea every year.\u00a0The\u00a0<\/span>exclusive economic zone of Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0covers 417,663\u00a0km<\/span>2<\/sup>\u00a0(161,261\u00a0sq\u00a0mi) in the\u00a0<\/span>South China Sea<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Vietnam Topography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Southern Vietnam is divided into coastal lowlands, the mountains of the Annamite Range<\/a>, and extensive forests. Comprising five relatively flat plateaus of\u00a0basalt<\/a>\u00a0soil, the highlands account for 16% of the country’s\u00a0arable land<\/a>\u00a0and 22% of its total forested land.<\/sup> The soil in much of the southern part of Vietnam is relatively low in nutrients as a result of intense cultivation.\u00a0Several minor\u00a0earthquakes<\/a>\u00a0have been recorded in the past. Most have occurred near the northern Vietnamese border in the provinces of\u00a0\u0110i\u1ec7n Bi\u00ean<\/a>, L\u00e0o Cai and\u00a0S\u01a1n La<\/a>, while some have been recorded offshore of the central part of the country.\u00a0The northern part of the country consists mostly of highlands and the Red River Delta.\u00a0Fansipan<\/a>\u00a0(also known as Phan Xi P\u0103ng), which is located in\u00a0L\u00e0o Cai Province<\/a>, is the highest mountain in Vietnam, standing 3,143\u00a0m (10,312\u00a0ft) high.<\/sup>\u00a0From north to south Vietnam, the country also has\u00a0numerous islands<\/a>;\u00a0Ph\u00fa Qu\u1ed1c<\/a>\u00a0is the largest.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Hang S\u01a1n \u0110o\u00f2ng<\/a>\u00a0Cave is considered the largest known cave passage in the world since its discovery in 2009. The\u00a0Ba B\u1ec3 Lake<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Mekong<\/a> River are the largest lake and longest river in the country.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Economy:<\/h2>\n

Throughout the history of Vietnam, its economy has been based largely on\u00a0agriculture<\/a>\u2014primarily\u00a0wet rice cultivation<\/a>. Bauxite<\/a>, an important material in the production of\u00a0aluminum<\/a>, is mined in central Vietnam.<\/sup>\u00a0Since reunification, the country’s economy is shaped primarily by the CPV through\u00a0Five Year Plans<\/a>\u00a0decided upon at the plenary sessions of the Central Committee and national congresses.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0collectivization<\/a>\u00a0of farms, factories, and capital goods was carried out as part of the establishment of central planning, with millions of people working for state enterprises. Under strict state control, Vietnam’s economy continued to be plagued by inefficiency,\u00a0corruption in state-owned enterprises<\/a>, poor quality and underproduction.\u00a0With the decline in economic aid from its main trading partner, the Soviet Union, following the erosion of the\u00a0Eastern bloc<\/a>\u00a0in the late 1980s, and the subsequent\u00a0collapse of the Soviet Union<\/a>, as well as the negative impacts of the post-war\u00a0trade embargo<\/a> imposed by the United States, Vietnam began to liberalize its trade by devaluing<\/a> its exchange rate to increase exports and embarked on a policy of economic development.<\/p>\n

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Tree map\u00a0showing Vietnam’s exports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1986, the\u00a0Sixth National Congress<\/a>\u00a0of the CPV introduced\u00a0socialist-oriented market<\/a>\u00a0economic reforms as part of the\u00a0\u0110\u1ed5i M\u1edbi<\/a><\/i>\u00a0reform program.\u00a0Private ownership<\/a>\u00a0began to be encouraged in industry, commerce and agriculture and state enterprises were\u00a0restructured<\/a> to operate under market constraints.\u00a0This led to the five-year economic plans being replaced by the socialist-oriented market mechanism.<\/sup>\u00a0As a result of these reforms, Vietnam achieved approximately 8% annual\u00a0gross domestic product<\/a>\u00a0(GDP) growth between 1990 and 1997.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The United States ended its economic embargo against Vietnam in early 1994.<\/sup>\u00a0Despite the\u00a01997 Asian financial crisis<\/a>\u00a0affecting Vietnam by causing an economic slowdown to 4\u20135% growth per annum, its economy began to recover in 1999,<\/sup>\u00a0with growth at an annual rate of around 7% from 2000 to 2005 making it one of the world’s fastest growing economies.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0According to the\u00a0General Statistics Office of Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0(GSO), growth remained strong even in the face of the\u00a0late-2000s global recession<\/a>, holding at 6.8% in 2010, although Vietnam’s year-on-year inflation rate hit 11.8% in December 2010 with the country’s currency, the\u00a0Vietnamese \u0111\u1ed3ng<\/a> being devalued three times.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Deep\u00a0poverty<\/a>, defined as the percentage of the population living on less than $1 per day, has declined significantly in Vietnam and the relative poverty rate is now less than that of China, India and the\u00a0Philippines<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0This decline can be attributed to\u00a0equitable economic policies<\/a>\u00a0aimed at improving\u00a0living standards<\/a>\u00a0and preventing the rise of\u00a0inequality<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0These policies have included egalitarian land distribution during the initial stages of the\u00a0\u0110\u1ed5i M\u1edbi<\/i> program, investment in poorer remote areas, and subsidizing of education and healthcare. Since the early 2000s, Vietnam has applied sequenced trade liberalization, a two-track approach opening some sectors of the economy to international markets.\u00a0Manufacturing,\u00a0information technology<\/a>\u00a0and high-tech industries now form a large and fast-growing part of the national economy. Though Vietnam is a relative newcomer to the\u00a0oil industry<\/a>, it is currently the third-largest oil producer in Southeast Asia with a total 2011 output of 318,000 barrels per day (50,600\u00a0m3<\/sup>\/d).<\/sup>\u00a0In 2010, Vietnam was ranked as the eighth-largest crude\u00a0petroleum<\/a>\u00a0producer in the Asia and Pacific region.<\/sup> The United States purchased the highest amount of Vietnam’s exports,\u00a0while\u00a0goods<\/a> from China were the most popular Vietnamese import.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Photograph<\/a>
Vietnam’s tallest skyscraper, the Landmark 81 located in B\u00ecnh Th\u1ea1nh, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

According to a December 2005 forecast by\u00a0Goldman Sachs<\/a>, the Vietnamese economy will become the\u00a0world’s 21st-largest by 2025<\/a>,<\/sup>\u00a0with an estimated nominal GDP of $436\u00a0billion and a nominal GDP per capita of $4,357.<\/sup>\u00a0Based on findings by the\u00a0International Monetary Fund<\/a>\u00a0(IMF) in 2012, the\u00a0unemployment<\/a> rate in Vietnam stood at 4.46%. That same year, Vietnam’s\u00a0nominal GDP<\/a>\u00a0reached US$138\u00a0billion, with a nominal\u00a0GDP per capita<\/a>\u00a0of $1,527.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0HSBC<\/a>\u00a0also predicted that Vietnam’s total GDP would surpass those of\u00a0Norway<\/a>, Singapore and\u00a0Portugal<\/a>\u00a0by 2050.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0Another forecast by\u00a0PricewaterhouseCoopers<\/a>\u00a0in 2008 stated Vietnam could be the fastest-growing of the world’s emerging economies by 2025, with a potential growth rate of almost 10% per annum in real dollar terms.<\/sup>\u00a0Apart from the\u00a0primary sector economy<\/a>,\u00a0tourism<\/a>\u00a0has contributed significantly to Vietnam’s economic growth with 7.94\u00a0million foreign visitors recorded in 2015.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Transportation:<\/h2>\n

Much of Vietnam’s modern transportation network can trace its roots to the French colonial era when it was used to facilitate the transportation of\u00a0raw materials<\/a> to its main ports. It was extensively expanded and modernized following the partition of Vietnam. Vietnam’s road system includes national roads administered at the central level, provincial roads managed at the provincial level, district roads managed at the district level, urban roads managed by cities and towns and commune roads managed at the commune level.<\/sup> In 2010, Vietnam’s road system had a total length of about 188,744 kilometers (117,280 mi) of which 93,535 kilometers (58,120 mi) are\u00a0asphalt<\/a>\u00a0roads comprising national, provincial and district roads.<\/sup> The length of the national road system is about 15,370 kilometers (9,550 mi) with 15,085 kilometers (9,373 mi) of its length paved. The provincial road system has around 27,976 kilometers (17,383 mi) of paved roads while 50,474 kilometers (31,363 mi) district roads are paved.<\/p>\n

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HCMC\u2013LT\u2013DG\u00a0section of the\u00a0North\u2013South Expressway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Bicycles<\/a>,\u00a0motorcycles<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0motor scooters<\/a>\u00a0remain the most popular forms of road transport in the country, a legacy of the French, though the number of privately owned\u00a0cars<\/a>\u00a0has been increasing in recent years.<\/sup>\u00a0Public buses operated by private companies are the main mode of long-distance travel for much of the population.\u00a0Road accidents<\/a>\u00a0remain the major safety issue of Vietnamese transportation with an average of 30 people losing their lives daily.<\/sup>\u00a0Traffic congestion<\/a> is a growing problem in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City especially with the growth of individual car ownership.\u00a0Vietnam’s primary cross-country rail service is the\u00a0Reunification Express<\/a>\u00a0from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, a distance of nearly 1,726 kilometres (1,072\u00a0mi).<\/sup>\u00a0From Hanoi, railway lines branch out to the northeast, north, and west; the eastbound line runs from Hanoi to H\u1ea1 Long Bay, the northbound line from Hanoi to\u00a0Th\u00e1i Nguy\u00ean<\/a>, and the northeast line from Hanoi to L\u00e0o Cai. In 2009, Vietnam and Japan signed a deal to build a\u00a0high-speed railway<\/a>\u2014shinkansen<\/a>\u00a0(bullet train)\u2014using Japanese technology.<\/sup>\u00a0Vietnamese engineers were sent to Japan to receive training in the operation and maintenance of high-speed trains.<\/sup> The planned railway will be a 1,545 kilometers (960 mi)-long express route serving a total of 23 stations, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with 70% of its route running on bridges and through tunnels. The trains will travel at a maximum speed of 350 kilometers (220 mi) per hour. Plans for the high-speed rail line, however, have been postponed after the Vietnamese government decided to prioritize the development of both the Hanoi<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ho Chi Minh City<\/a> metros and expand road networks instead.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tan Son Nhat International Airport is the busiest airport in the country.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Vietnam operates 20 major civil airports, including three international gateways: <\/span>Noi Bai<\/a>\u00a0in Hanoi,\u00a0<\/span>Da Nang International Airport<\/a>\u00a0in \u0110\u00e0 N\u1eb5ng and\u00a0<\/span>Tan Son Nhat<\/a>\u00a0in Ho Chi Minh City. Tan Son Nhat is the country’s largest airport handling the majority of international passenger traffic.<\/span>\u00a0According to a government-approved plan, Vietnam will have another seven international airports by 2025, including\u00a0<\/span>Vinh International Airport<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Phu Bai International Airport<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Cam Ranh International Airport<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Phu Quoc International Airport<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Cat Bi International Airport<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Can Tho International Airport<\/a>, and\u00a0<\/span>Long Thanh International Airport<\/a>. The planned Long Thanh International Airport will have an annual service capacity of 100\u00a0million passengers once it becomes fully operational in 2025.<\/span>Vietnam Airlines<\/a>, the state-owned national airline, maintains a fleet of 86 passenger aircraft and aims to operate 170 by 2020.<\/span>]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Several private airlines also operate in Vietnam, including\u00a0<\/span>Air Mekong<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Bamboo Airways<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Jetstar Pacific Airlines<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>VASCO<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>VietJet Air<\/a>. As a coastal country, Vietnam has many major sea ports, including\u00a0<\/span>Cam Ranh<\/a>, \u0110\u00e0 N\u1eb5ng,\u00a0<\/span>H\u1ea3i Ph\u00f2ng<\/a>, Ho Chi Minh City,\u00a0<\/span>H\u1ea1 Long<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Qui Nh\u01a1n<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>V\u0169ng T\u00e0u<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>C\u1eeda L\u00f2<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Nha Trang<\/a>. Further inland, the country’s extensive network of rivers plays a key role in rural transportation with over 47,130 kilometers\u00a0(29,290\u00a0mi) of navigable\u00a0waterways<\/a>\u00a0carrying ferries, barges and\u00a0<\/span>water taxis<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Flag of Vietnam:<\/h2>\n
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The\u00a0flag of the\u00a0Socialist Republic of Vietnam<\/a>, was designed in 1940 and used during an uprising against the French in\u00a0southern Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0that year.<\/sup>\u00a0The red background symbolizes bloodshed, revolution and struggle. The yellow star represents the five main classes in Vietnamese society \u2014 workers, farmers, soldiers, intellectuals, and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Flag of Vietnam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The flag was used by the\u00a0Viet Minh<\/a>, a communist-led organization created in 1941 to oppose Japanese occupation. At the end of\u00a0World War II<\/a>, Viet Minh leader\u00a0Ho Chi Minh<\/a>\u00a0proclaimed Vietnam independent and signed a decree on 5 September 1945 adopting the flag as the flag of the\u00a0North Vietnam<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0DRV<\/a>\u00a0became the government of North Vietnam in 1954 following the\u00a0Geneva Accords<\/a>. The flag was modified on 30 November 1955 to make the rays of the star pointier.<\/sup>\u00a0Until the\u00a0end of the Vietnam War<\/a>\u00a0in 1975,\u00a0South Vietnam<\/a>\u00a0used a\u00a0yellow flag<\/a>\u00a0with three red stripes. The red flag of North Vietnam was later adopted as the flag of the unified Vietnam in 1976.<\/sup> The flag of Vietnam is the only flag amongst South East Asian nations that does not contain the color white, with red and yellow\/gold being its historical national colors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, was designed in 1940 and used during an uprising against the French in southern Vietnam that year. The red background symbolizes bloodshed, revolution and struggle. The yellow star represents the five main classes in Vietnamese society \u2014 workers, farmers, soldiers, intellectuals, and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9716,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[36,59,5,6,7,18,76,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9717,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9211\/revisions\/9717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}