Spreading along the eastern edge of the Indochinese Peninsula, Vietnam covers a land area of 330,900 sq.km of fascinating contrasts, from basaltic, fertile plateaus in the central part to the misty beauty of Halong Bay, and from the flat, watery land of the Mekong Delta in the south to the rugged Fansipan mountain range (3,143 m) in the north.

The country boasts a marvelous coastline of 3,260km dotted with white sandy beaches, tranquil bays and colourful coral reefs, providing an easily accessible and favourite destination for cruise liners sailing from Hong Kong or China to Singapore or Thailand. Vietnam also shares land borders of 3,700km with Laos, Cambodia and China, along which visitors can find an increasing number of crossings for their trans-Indochinese exploration.

Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate that varies significantly from place to place. Each region has its best time for visiting: Hanoi from September to May with a pleasant winter, Hue from March to August with a sunny summer and Ho Chi Minh City with warm weather the whole year round.

The current population of Vietnam is 83.5 million with the vast majority being the Viet ethnic group. There are 54 minority ethnic groups which make up 14% of the population, with their ancestral origins coming from southern China, Tibet, Malaysia and the Polynesian Islands.

During the late Neolithic Age, the ancient civilizations of Dong Son (northern Vietnam), Sa Huynh (central Vietnam) and Dong Nai (southern Vietnam) were predominant in Vietnam.

Early history shows the first Vietnamese settled in the Red River Delta and developed a feudal society during the Bronze Age. In the 2nd century BC, Chinese invaders from the north conquered the Vietnamese kingdom, then called Au Lac, beginning 1,000 years of Chinese domination.

In 938, with the victory on the Bach Dang River, Ngo Quyen turned a new page in Vietnamese history, establishing independent feudal dynasties for nearly 10 centuries. The defeat of the Mongolian invasions in the 13th century is a great landmark of this period.

In 1858, French troops attacked Danang, opening a colonial period for nearly 100 years. After World War II, President Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam’s independence on September 2nd, 1945.

In 1954, the Dien Bien Phu victory ended French colonialism in Indochina and was ensued by the Geneva Agreement, under which the country was temporarily divided pending a general election that never came about.

From 1956, American involvement in South Vietnam’s politics became deeper and deeper, exacerbating the conflict between the North and the South and gradually leading to the Vietnam War. In 1973, the Paris Agreement ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam was signed, and US troops were withdrawn. The country was reunified on April 30th, 1975.

Since then, Vietnam has enjoyed independence and peace and entered a new era of reconstruction, development and global economic integration.

A multi-cultural country with a long and proud history of 4,000 years, Vietnam is a fascinating blend of the Orient and the Occident, the old and the new.

Despite the modernization process taking place day and night, villages with traditional customs, festivals, farming methods, folk arts and ancient monuments still play an important role in Vietnam’s present-day society. Visitors can discover the idyllic charm of varied scenes of everyday life, from simple peasants in conical hats tilling their paddy fields with rudimentary tools to innocent children riding and tending water buffaloes at sunset or sunrise.

For visitors seeking hill tribe cultures, the presence of different minority groups, e.g. the H’mong, the Thai, the Dao, the Tay, the Nung... in the northern highlands or the K’ho, the Edeh, the M’nong, the J’rai, the Bahnar… in the central highlands will bring amazement at their simple life style, from primitive villages clinging to mountain sides to traditional customs being kept intact. In addition, the Cham ethnic group in the coastal plains has made its complex of countless brick towers in My Son a World Heritage.

For the gourmet, Vietnamese culinary art, acknowledged a superb cuisine worldwide, is a wonderful balance of yin and yang featured in the harmonious formula of green vegetables and fresh meat seasoned with mild spices.

Apart from their rich culture, the warm friendliness of the gentle Vietnamese people also makes travels to Vietnam a well of joy beyond compare.