Capital city:     Dong Ha
Area (sq km):     4,588
Population:     588,600
Average temp:     20 - 25°C
Ethnic data:     Viet/Kinh, Bru - Van Kieu, Nung, Paco,
Ta Oi, Xtieng, Xu Dang.
Districts/wards:     Cam Lo, Da Krong, Gio Linh, Hai Lang, Huong Hoa, Quang Tri, Trieu Phong, Vinh Linh.

Description:

Economy:
Agriculture, fishery and tourism.

Natural beauty sights:
Ben Tat suspension bridge (Gio Linh); Cua Tung Beach (Vinh Linh); Dak Rong suspension bridge (Dak Rong).

Historic sights:
Quang Tri citadel (2); La Vang Church (Hai Lang); Quang tri Ancient Citadel; Sac Tu Pagoda (Trieu Phong)

Bitter, violent battles took place in Quang Tri Province during the American War; these battles are marked by Hien Luong Bridge, Tung Gate, and Vinh Moc underground tunnels (1).

Festivals:
Back Jumping Festival (seventh moon of the lunar calendar); La Vang Festival; Van Kieu's Buffalo Stabbing Festival (Huong Hoa District)(late February to early March).

Transport:
Dong Ha is 617 kilometres south of Ha Noi; 94 kilometres south of Dong Hoi; 41 kilometres south of Vinh Moc; 12.5 kilometres north of Quang Tri Citadel; 74 kilometres north of Hue; 190 kilometres north of Da Nang; 1,169 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City; 65 kilometres west of Khe Sanh; 80 kilometres west of the Lao Bao border crossing. Dong has has rail and road links.

Rail
The Dong Ha Railway Station is 1 kilometre southeast from the Intersection of National Highways 1 and 9 - then 150 metres across a field. Express trains stop here regularly.

Road
Bus
Dong Ha Bus station is near the intersection of National Highways 1 and 9 at 122 Le Duan. Buses to Hué depart between 05.00H and17.00H, to Khe Sanh at 08.00H and 11.00H.

Quang Tri Province

Quang Tri (in Vietnamese Quảng Trị; pronunciation (help·info); Hán Tự: 廣治) is a province in the North Central Coast of Vietnam, next to the former capital of Huế. This is where the southernmost Chinese commandery of Rinan was centred during the Later Han dynasty (25-220 CE)

History

Quang Tri was the northernmost province of the former Republic of Vietnam(South Vietnam). Around 1964, the province became a center for American bases. In 1966, North Vietnamese forces began occupying the northern region heading their way deeper into the province.In The War in the Northern Provinces, Lieutenant General Willard Pearson writes that the Communists were moving into Quang Tri from the north and west. The U.S. Marines, U.S. Army, and the South Vietnamese were pushing north and west from the coast, thus “a major clash seemed inevitable.”

After the battle at Khe Sanh (1968), the North Vietnamese moved further into take the entire province. Offensives were issued, bases left by retreating Americans, and bridges such as the one in Dong Ha, were destroyed.

The most notable achievement of the North Vietnamese offensive in 1972 was capturing Quang Tri. With the incapability of holding its stand against General Vo Nguyen Giap's (commander of the North Vietnamese Army) Nguyen Hue Offensive,the province ultimately fell under the hands of the Communists where the Republic of Vietnam ceased to exist after the end of the Vietnam War.

After Quang Tri fell, the North Vietnamese Provisional Revolutionary Government laid their authority over the province. Collective farms were set up and strict rules instilled by the Viet Cong were forced on the villagers, many of whom eventually fled. According to Gary D. Murfin, one of the lead writers to have done a survey on Vietnamese refugees after 1975, the province was an area of particularly dense Catholic concentration, many of whom were anti- communist. He estimated that 41% fled the area in fear of Viet Cong reprisals, 37% feared fighting, shelling, and bombing, and others fled because they were a family related to a Nationalist soldier, or were at one point landowners.

Its capital is Dong Ha. Another notable city is Quang Tri.

In 2000, Clear Path International (CPI) was still working to remove unexploded ordnance left by the United States in Quang Tri Province. This was at the time the largest unexploded ordnance removal effort by an NGO in Vietnam's history.[2] CPI continues to operate in Quang Tri, providing victim assistance to those injured by landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).

In 2006, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) continues to operate in Quang Tri (and neighbouring Quang Binh) province, providing the only civilian staffed demining and UXO clearance operations in Vietnam.

Administrative divisions

The province comprises one city (Đông Hà), one town (Quảng Trị), and eight districts:

1. Cam Lộ
2. Cồn Cỏ
3. Đa Krông
4. Gio Linh
5. Hải Lăng
6. Hướng Hóa Lao Bao town,Khe Sanh town
7. Triệu Phong
8. Vĩnh Linh

Non Governmental Organizations

* Clear Path International

References

1. ^ de Crespigny, Rafe (1989): "SouthChina under the Later Han Dynasty."
2. ^ [1]

Other

• http://www.quangtritrade-tourism.gov.vn/
• http://www.quangtritrade-tourism.gov.vn/

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