About Vietnam

Going back to the first millennium BCE, people have lived in and settled land in present-day Vietnam. Until its independence in 939 CE and the establishment of the first Vietnamese dynasty, Vietnam was under Chinese rule. From that time until the early 19th century, Vietnam slowly expanded southward until it stretched from the northern Red River Delta to the southern Mekong Delta.

 In the second half of the 19th century, European colonialism took hold, and France ruled over the territory until Vietnam regained independence in 1945, in the aftermath of World War II. As a result of subsequent hostilities between France and Vietnam, the country was divided in two. In the context of the Cold War, the ideological divide between the communist north and the anti-communist south provided the backdrop for a proxy war between the USSR and the US in the Vietnam War until the early 1970s. After US withdrawal and the North Vietnamese victory in 1975, the country reunified into the territory known today as Vietnam. 

 Today, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Vietnam is located along the eastern side of the Southeast Asian peninsula, bordered by China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, and the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea to the east. The country also shares a number of maritime borders, including with Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

 Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the second-largest city by population, home to nearly 8.5 million people. The city has long served as the capital of Vietnam, going back to the third century BCE, and now reflects that extended history mixed with relics of French colonialism and the modern city of today. With a wide range of cultural, entertainment, and historical activities, Hanoi attracts people from around the world to visit each year. Hanoi theaters are home to performances of water puppetry, a traditional form of entertainment developed in the north of Vietnam. 

Characterized by a humid subtropical climate, Hanoi has four distinct seasons. Hot and wet summers give way to warm but mild falls and cooler and dryer winters. Vietnamese is the sole national language of Vietnam, but French remains in use for many due to colonial legacy. Hanoi is home to many universities and was designated a “City for Peace” by UNESCO in 1999.