Lào Cai Province

Lào Cai ( listen), is a province of the mountainous Northwest region of Vietnam bordering the province of Yunnan in China. The province covers an area of 6383.9 square kilometres and as of 2008 it had a population of 602,300 people.

Lào Cai and Sa Pa are two important cities within the province at the border with China; the former is well known as key trading post and the latter is hill station famous for tourism, in the Northwest region of Vietnam. Lào Cai is also the capital of Lào Cai Province and shares border with the city of Hekou, in the Yunnan province of Southwest China. This border town was closed after the 1979 war with China, since reopened in 1993, has become a major tourist centre between Hanoi, Sapa and Kunming (China). Sapa (or Sa Pa) is notable as a hill resort and market centre for the local ethnic Hmong, including the Red, Black, Green and Flower Hmong. Located across the Muong Hoa Valley from Vietnam's highest mountain, Fansipan, the city is sometimes referred to as the "queen of mountains"

Lào Cai

Lào Cai ( listen) is a city in the north-east region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Lào Cai Province. The city borders the city of Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in the Yunnan province of south-west China. It lies at the junction of the Red River (Sông Hồng) and the Nanxi River (Yunnan) approximately 160 miles (260 km) north-west of Hanoi.

It is a market town for timber, and the Lào Cai Railway Station is located on the Hải Phòng railway to Yunnan Province in China.

History

The town was invaded by the Chinese in 1979 and the border was closed and not reopened until 1993. The town has a carbide factory. As of 2003 the district had a population of 86,855. The district covers an area of 223 km².

Climate

References

External links

Template:Districts of north-east Vietnam

Coordinates: 22°29′N 103°57′E / 22.483°N 103.950°E / 22.483; 103.950