North (Vietnam)
From World travel guide
Northern Vietnam gets fewer visitors than Saigon and the coastal cities in the south, but it's full of culture. Historically, and to this day, it has been significantly poorer than the southern part of the country. Cultural and political differences remain strong -- the language is pronounced differently in some ways, and there's definitely a more authoritarian feel in the cities.
The largest city in northern Vietnam is the capital of Hanoi, and it's the only attractive one. But there are numerous other sites, such as Ha Long Bay, the mountain resort of Sapa, and the historical battlefield of Dien Bien Phu.
Cities
Destinations
- Sapa - popular site for visiting indigenous tribes
Located in Vietnam’s remote north west mountains, Sapa is famous for both its fine, rugged scenery and also its rich cultural diversity. Sapa is an incredibly picturesque village that lies on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range near the Chinese border in NW Vietnam. It is called as "the Tonkinese Alps" You can see many hill tribe people, their villages, rice terraces, lush vegetation, and Fansipan, highest peak in Vietnam Some photos of Sapa
- Ha Long Bay - a world-famous natural wonder
History of the name "Halong" "Ha Long" is literally translated as "Bay of Descending Dragons." Prior to the 19th century, this name was not recorded in any document or archive. When mentioning the present-day Quang Ninh Sea or Ha Long Bay, old historical books often referred to them by the names of An Bang, Luc Thuy or Van Don. Not until the late 19th century did the name of Halong Bay appear on a French Marine Map. ?The Hai Phong News?, a French newspaper of the time, had an article, ?Dragon appears on Ha Long Bay?, reporting the following story: In 1898 a sub-lieutenant named Lagredin, captaining the ?Avalanse? reported seeing a huge sea snake on Ha Long Bay. This was also witnessed by many of the crews. Thus emerged the European image of the Asian dragon. Whether this appearance of a strange animal looking like a dragon resulted the name of Ha Long Bay is not known (Reference ?Quang Ninh: Art and Culture? published in 2002). Photo of Halong bay
- Dien Bien Phu - site of the French defeat in 1954
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