Đồng Tháp Province

Đồng Tháp ( listen) is a province in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. Đồng Tháp is 165 km away from Ho Chi Minh City, bordered by Pray Veng Province (Cambodia) in the north with a length of more than 48 km; Vĩnh Long and Cần Thơ in the south; An Giang in the west; and Long An and Tiền Giang in the east.

History

Đồng Tháp is a newly cultivated area in about 17th and 18th century, under the Nguyễn lords. Foundation of this area adhered to powerful struggling history against nature, dangerous animals and aggressors.

The south of Đồng Tháp province whose center is Sa Đéc plays a very significant role. Many researches have shown that overseas Vietnamese got to come to Sa Đéc area for reclaiming and setting up hamlets at least at the end of 17th century or at the beginning of 18th century. Sa Đéc is a Khmer word meaning "iron market". Does this market sell agricultural tools made of iron or was the frame of this market made of iron? There has not had any reasonable explanations for these concerns however Sa Dec is probably considered the newest area on the way to develop the country in 1757 led by Nguyễn Cư Trinh, a mandarin who was known for his achievement in reassuring people in Quảng Ngãi.

After the civil war between Nguyễn Ánh and Tây Sơn siblings, Gia Long was on the throne to help stabilize Sa Đéc and made it become a part of Vĩnh An district. Sa Đéc then with a favorable geographical location, did become the most crowded trading center of Mekong delta at that time, only smaller than Saigon, Cholon.

Cao Lãnh located in the north of Tiền river also has a glorious history. It is recorded in historical books that at the end of 17th century, or early of 18th century, some overseas Vietnamese at Ba Canh hamlet (currently belonging to Đập Đá commune, Đập Đá town, Bình Định province) came to cultivate, settled down near Cái Sao Thượng rivulet, forming Bả Canh commune. Nguyễn Tú was accredited with having gathered people, cultivated and set up hamlets. He was elevated to the status of Tiền Hiền - an anciently righteous person - of the village. Nowadays, that stele has been found near Đình Trung bridge, ward 2, Cao Lãnh city.

Cao Lãnh used to be the stopover of many patriots such as Trần Chánh Chiếu, Nguyễn Sinh Sắc...People in Cao Lãnh consistently struggled, tremendously contributing to the absolute victory of South of Vietnam in historical campaign Ho Chi Minh, united the whole country, and Cao Lãnh, since April 30, 1975, was merged with Sa Đéc to become Đồng Tháp nowadays.

Geography

Topography

The topography of the province is quite flat with a sloping tendency from north to south and west to east; separating into 2 large regions: one in the north of Tiền River (having an area of 250,731ha, in Đồng Tháp Muoi area) and one in the south of Tiền River (having an area of 73,074ha, lying between Tiền River and Hau River). Đồng Tháp benefits from a large river, channel and spring system, frequently silt-aggraded soil, and permanently fresh and non-saline water source.

Climate

Đồng Tháp is in the tropical climate zone, consistently in the whole province. There are two main seasons; rainy season from May to Nov, and dried season from Dec to Apr of the following year. Average rainfall ranges from 1,682-2,005mm, mostly in rainy season which accounts for 90-95% of annual rainfall. Such climate is fairly advantageous for agricultural development. The average temperature is 27C, of which the highest is 34.3C, and lowest is 21.8C. The hydrology of the province is under the influence of 3 factors: floodwater from upper Mekong River, in-field rain and tides of the South East Asia Sea. The hydrologic regime is divided into 2 seasons: exhausted season from December to June of the following year and flood season from July to November.

Administrative divisions

Đồng Tháp is subdivided into 12 district-level sub-divisions:

9 districts:

- Cao Lãnh
- Châu Thành
- Hồng Ngự
- Lai Vung
- Lấp Vò
- Tam Nông
- Tân Hồng
- Thanh Bình
- Tháp Mười

1 district-level town:
- Hồng Ngự
2 provincial cities:

- Cao Lãnh (capital)
- Sa Đéc

They are further subdivided into 9 commune-level towns (or townlets), 129 communes, and 14 wards.

Table of local government divisions

List of Đồng Tháp administrative units
Name	Sub-division units	Area (km²)	Population (2004)	Population density (Pop. per km²)
Cities and towns
Cao Lãnh	8 wards, 7 communes	107.2	149,837	1398
Sa Đéc	6 wards, 3 communes	57.86	110,646	1912
Hồng Ngự	3 wards, 4 communes	122.1616	74,488	610
Districts
Cao Lãnh	17 communes, 1 township	491	206,220	420
Châu Thành	11 communes, 1 township	234	156,000	667
Hồng Ngự	11 communes	325	211,000	649
Lai Vung	11 communes, 1 township	219	154,000	703
Lấp Vò	12 communes, 1 township	244	178,989	734
Tam Nông	11 communes, 1 township	459	93,000	202
Tân Hồng	8 communes, 1 township	291.5	79,300	272
Thanh Bình	11 communes, 1 township	329	151,000	459
Tháp Mười	12 communes, 1 township	525.44	165,408	315
Whole province	14 wards, 129 communes and 9 township	3.283	1,639,400	500

Transport

Cao Lãnh is 162 kilometres southwest of Mien Tay Bus Station in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon. There are direct buses from Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, Mỹ Tho, Cần Thơ, Vĩnh Long, Long Xuyen. There is only road transport. Sa Đéc City is 143 km from Ho Chi Minh City, midway between Vĩnh Long and Long Xuyen.

Economy

Growth of agriculture and aquaculture

Enjoying a temperate climate, wide irrigation system, permanent fresh-water source supplied by Tien River and Hau River, and rich river deposit, the agriculture of Đồng Tháp keeps growing well. At present, Đồng Tháp is the 3rd largest rice paddy in Vietnam with a planted area of 462,042ha and paddy output of more than 2.8 million tons. Apart from rice, the province also has more than 38,000ha of area for secondary and annual industrial crops. Some farm produce zones across Tien River and Hau River have been built up as specializing areas which supply agricultural products to serve the need of processing and export.

The Sa Đéc flower village – one of the largest flower villages in Vietnam which is nearly 300ha wide – provides more than 12 million types of flowers and ornamental plants both locally and overseas every year, taking a significant proportion in the economic growth target of the province. The village has been further invested to enhance its quality, preserve and develop particular local flowers, and applied with advanced biological technology in breeding to raise floriculture as a potential line of production and develop it to be one of the major ecotourism sites of the province.

Đồng Tháp is also well known for fruits, specifically as Cao Lãnh mango, Lai Vung mandarin, Chau Thanh longan and Phong Hoa grapefruit (fruit-able during the year), etc. which bring about high economic values for gardeners. Of all the total area of 30,000ha, fruit-trees reach an output of more than 150,000 tons per annum. Within the province, there are various typical orchards having been specialized to produce consistent quality fruits, which aims at building up brand-name and meeting export requirements.

With a large river body, fishery stand after rice to become the 2nd advantage of the province. Aquaculture is widely developed all over the region, especially catfish and blue-legged prawn. The water surface area for aquatic breeding reaches 5,285ha, where farmers focus on breeding prawns in rice fields and fish in warps along Tien River and Hau River. Each year, Đồng Tháp supplies over 290,000 tons of fish and thousand tons of blue-legged prawns for export processing, accomplishing an export turnover of hundred millions of US dollars.

Culture

Buddhism

Đồng Tháp has, since December 22, 2008, the largest Buddha statue of the Mekong Delta, built in Quan Âm Pagoda, abbot Venerable Thich Giac An. "The sculpture, 32 meters long and weighing 100 tons, is that of Buddha lying on his side on a lotus petal, his right arm supporting his head and his left arm lying along his body. Buddhist scriptures say the Buddha assumed this position when he attained Nirvana, the release from the cycle of death and rebirth of an enlightened person. Thich Giac An of Quan Âm Pagoda, which from today will be home to the statue, said many Buddhists and locals contributed the 2,000 sacks of cement, five tons of iron and many other necessary materials worth VND1.6 billion (US$94,000) needed to build the statue. Quan Âm Pagoda, founded 200 years ago by a mandarin named Tran Quy Tanh, receives many devotees from across the country for major Buddhist festivals."^[1]

Tourism

Generous natural conditions and submerged in-land ecosystem have awarded Đồng Tháp with multiple valuable ecotourism resources. The first which should be mentioned is Tram Chim National Park, known both locally and internationally. This is a miniature ecological model of Đồng Tháp Muoi and the habitat of red-head cranes – a precious bird species protected by the world. Tram Chim National Park also achieves 7 out of 9 criteria in the Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance. Next is Gao Giong ecotourism site. This is a 2,000ha complex of cajeput forest where more than 15 species of precious birds live, nest and lay eggs. Besides, the site offers a rich variety of aquatic resources, etc.

Situated by the bank of annually windy Tien River of fertility and sun, the flower village of Sa Đéc is the homeland of hundreds "uncanny flowers and strange herbs". The village – one of the flower centers in the South – covers an area of around 300ha for planting flowers and ornamental trees. Here, you can see scarce and priceless bonsai of hundreds of years old. In addition to economic importance shown in high incomes brought to the regional economy, Sa Đéc flowers also include cultural, art, esthetic and environmental-protecting values. Having been planned for construction, the Sa Đéc flower village will soon become an interesting tourist site bearing original particularities of the Mekong Delta.

Đồng Tháp also has a long-term history with different cultural and historical relics. Go Thap historic site is a national cultural and historic site with a complex of 5 typical relics: Go Thap Muoi, Co Tu Towel, tomb and monument of Doc Binh Kieu, Go Minh Su and Ba Chua Xu Temple. Especially, archaeologists have discovered Oc Eo cultural relics of Phu Nam Kingdom which was around 1,500 years ago. Besides, Go Thap, in the centre of the vast Đồng Tháp Muoi, still maintains wide ecological environment and beautiful landscapes. The Ministry of Culture – Sports and Tourism has approved the project of constructing an ecotourism site in Go Thap with recreational areas; the project of 10-storey Lotus culinary tower; Tháp Muoi wildlife conservation and showroom site; historical and religious relics preservation and introduction site; and ecological site with various lotus ponds, cajuput forests and bird grounds and fishing. The South regional committee relic is anticipated to be built and restored. Moreover, Go Thap festival (lunar March and November each year) with cultural and art activities and folk festive atmosphere has become a remarkable event in Southern provinces that attracts hundred thousands of visitors. Meeting spiritual needs of all levels, religious and cultural tourism in Go Thap is an interesting and particular form of tourism which is potential to grow. Xeo Quyt relic – the revolutionary base during the US resistance war of wetlands – is covered with 20ha of primary cajeput forest and contains relics restoring part of the historical period of previous Kien Phong provincial committee.

The revered Nguyễn Sinh Sắc historical site with an extended area of nearly 11ha located in Cao Lãnh city is a construction work to commemorate Nguyễn Sinh Sắc – the father of the greatest-ever leader of Vietnam's people - President Ho Chi Minh. Within the site, ancient Hoa An traditional village is also restored with Cai Tom canal, garden, coconut trees, plum trees, mango trees, monkey bridge, bamboo bridge, village wandering paths along the site, especially ancient houses such as "Dinh"-like (a Chinese character) house, Bat Dan house, San house, Noc Ngua house, etc.

In Đồng Tháp, tourists can listen to sweet and tormenting Đồng Tháp chantey on borderless lotus fields or rice fields, visit the ancient architecture remains of Kien An Cung Pagoda (Ong Quach pagoda), Go Quan Cung – Giong Thi Dam monument, Doc Binh Vang Palace worshipping Tran Van Nang famous general, or My An crane garden, etc.

Traditional trade villages is one of the strengths to develop tourism in Đồng Tháp such as: Dinh Yen mat, Rach Ba Dai building yard village, Long Thuan towel weaving village, Hong Ngu fish breeding village, etc. speciality such as Lai Vung mandarin, Chau Thanh longan, Cao Lãnh mango, Phong Hoa grapefruit, Lai Vung nem (fermented pork), Hoa An plum, Sa Giang shrimp cracker, and Sa Dec noodle; and folk dishes such as grilled field mice, "dien dien" flower sour soup, braised anabas fish in clay pot, grilled snakehead fish in young lotus leaf, snakes, frogs, and pickled mud fish, etc. are also advantages for tourism that attract visitors to come and enjoy.

Lotus has long been a particular plant of Đồng Tháp Muoi, which is now invested to plant in centralization to take seeds for export.

Large-scale tourism investment projects are being implemented such as Bau Dong tourism site near Dinh Ba border gate, Mekong tourism site – Hong Ngu town, Wet rice culture tourism rite of Lap Vo district, etc., which will create a difference for Đồng Tháp tourism products from others in the Mekong Delta once they are completed.

References

↑ Giao Huong, Thanh Nien News, Dec 21, 2008

External links

dongthap.gov.vn

Đồng Tháp Province

Cần Thơ

Vĩnh Long Province

Template:Vietnam

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