Lao Cai (in Vietnamese,
Lào Cai) is a
provinceVietnam is divided into 58 provinces . There are also 5 centrally-controlled municipalities existing at the same level as provinces ....
of
northeasternĐông Bắc is a regional subdivision of Vietnam, encompassing that nation's northeastern region. The northeast region encompasses the provinces are northeast of Hanoi, near the Vietnamese border with China....
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
.
Administration
Lào Cai is divided into one city (
Lào Cai Lào Cai is a city in northeastern Vietnam. It is the capital of the Lao Cai Province. The city borders the city of Hekou, in the Yunnan province of Southwest China....
) and eight districts:
- Bắc Hà
Bắc Hà is a district of Lao Cai Province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam.Bắc Hà is the location holding the famous contest on adventure sport "Raid Gauloises" in 2002....
- Bảo Thắng
Bao Thang, Lao Cai is a district of Lao Cai Province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 107,174. The district covers an area of 674 km². The district capital lies at Pho Lu ....
- Bảo Yên
Bao Yen is a district of Lao Cai Province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 73,924. The district covers an area of 821 km². The district capital lies at Pho Rang.-References:...
- Bát Xát
Bat Xat is a district of Lao Cai Province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 62,477. The district covers an area of 1,050 km². The district capital lies at Bat Xat....
- Mường Khương
Muong Khuong is a district of Lao Cai Province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 48,242. The district covers an area of 552 km². The district capital lies at Muong Khuong....
- Sa Pa
Sa Pa or Sapa is a frontier town and district in the Lào Cai province in northwest Vietnam. It is one of the main market towns in the area, where many ethnic minority groups such as H'mong, Dao and Tay live.-History:...
- Si Ma Cai
Si Ma Cai is a district of Lao Cai Province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 25,554. The district covers an area of 241 km². The district capital lies at Si Ma Cai....
- Văn Bàn
Van Ban is a district of Lao Cai Province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 73,183. The district covers an area of 1,444 km². The district capital lies at Khanh Yen .-References:...
Geography
Lào Cai Province is located in the north of the country. It borders the provinces of
Hà GiangHà Giang is a province of northeastern Vietnam. It is located in the far north of the country, and contains Vietnam’s northernmost point...
, Yên Bái,
Sơn LaSơn La Province is a province in northwestern Vietnam. It borders Laos to the south.-Districts:The province has one town and ten districts:#Quỳnh Nhai#Mường La#Thuận Châu#Phù Yên#Bắc Yên#Mai Sơn#Sông Mã#Yên Châu#Mộc Châu...
, and
Lai ChâuLai Chau is a province in northwestern Vietnam. Lai Chau province is the most scarcely populated in Vietnam. It shares a border with China...
, as well as the province of
YunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers . The capital of the province is Kunming...
in the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
.
Lào Cai is a mountainous region. In the northwest of the province is
Phan Xi PăngFansipan or Fan Si Pan is a mountain in Vietnam, the highest in Indochina, at 3 143 m. It is located in the Lào Cai province in Northwest Vietnam, 9 km southwest of Sa Pa Township in the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range...
(a.k.a. Fansipan), Vietnam's highest mountain. The province is bisected by the
Red RiverThe Red River, also known as the Hong - Red, Song Cai, Song Ca - Mother River , or Yuan River , is a river that flows from southwestern China through northern Vietnam to the Gulf of Tonkin....
, the most significant river of northern Vietnam, which flows out of China towards the capital
HanoiHanoi , estimated population 6.232.940 , is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, with a few brief interruptions, it was the political centre of an independent Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyen Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as...
. Much of the province is heavily forested. The temperature generally ranges between 18° and 28°, although lowland areas tend to have less variation than mountainous areas.
Economy
Like many provinces in the northern highlands, Lào Cai is one of the poorer provinces of Vietnam. The
GDPThe gross domestic product or gross domestic income is a basic measure of a country's economic performance and is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year...
per capita is generally given as being around US$185. Traditional economic activities such as
agricultureAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
and
forestryForestry is the art and science of managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. The main goal of forestry is to create and implement systems that allow forests to continue a sustainable continuation of environmental supplies and services...
remain important, but the province has also been attempting to develop foreign investment in the area. Cross-border trade with China is also a growing source of income, as is tourism centered around trekking up the peak of Fansipan, Vietnam's highest mountain. Ecotourism is gaining ground.
Demographics
The population of Lào Cai province includes a number of
Vietnam's ethnic minority groups, with the
HmongThe terms Mong and Hmong refer to an Asian ethnic group in the mountainous regions of southeast Asia. Hmong are also one of the largest sub-groups in the Miao minzu population in southern China. Hmong groups began a gradual southward migration in the 18th century due to political unrest and to...
, Tay, and Dao being the most noticeable.
External links