- published: 26 Apr 2015
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Lai Châu ( listen) is a province in northwestern Vietnam. Lai Chau province is the most sparsely populated in Vietnam. It shares a border with China. It once was a province of the Lan Xang kingdom, then switched ownership to Vietnam during the French Colonial period. It became part of the Northwest Autonomous Area of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975, when Lai Châu province is formed. Điện Biên province is carved out of Lai Châu in 2004.
Lai Châu is divided into one town (Lai Châu) and five districts:
Lai Châu has long been the poorest province in Vietnam. It is also the least industrialised province. In 1974, the industrial output of Hanoi - the richest province in North Vietnam at that time - was 47 times as high as that of Lai Châu. The province became even more backward after the more industrialised south was separated to become Điện Biên Province. In 2007, Hanoi’s industrial output (before its merger with Hà Tây Province) was 93 times that of Lai Châu. Industrial output has, however, grown rapidly in recent years, more than tripling between 2000 and 2007, making the fastest growing sector in the province compared to an agriculture and forestry sector that has grown by less than 50% and a service sector that has more than doubled in the same time. Industrial products include liquor, bricks, cement and electricity. Industrial output in 2007 was 476.6bn VND, accounting for 28.9% of the province's economy, compared to only 16.5% in 2000.