About Vietnam
by : Travel articles
Vietnam, 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, and Cambodia to the southwest.
On the country's east coast lies the South China Sea. With a population of over ~87 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world.
The country is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies; according to government figures, GDP growth was 8.17% in 2006, the second fastest growth rate among countries in East Asia and the fastest in Southeast Asia.
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Through the centuries, Vietnam has been called by many different names: Van Lang during the Hung Vuong Dynasty, Au Lac during the An Duong Vuong dynasty, Van Xuan during the Anterior Ly Dynasty, Dai Co Viet during the Dinh dynasty and Anterior Le Dynasty. Starting in 1054, Vietnam was called Dai Viet (Great Viet). During the Ho Dynasty, Vietnam was called Dai Ngu. Then, in 1804, King Gia Long planned to use the name of Nam Viet for Vietnam but the Qing dynasty of China disagreed and changed it to Viet Nam. In English, the two syllables were written into one: Vietnam. From 1839 to 1945, king Minh Mang renamed Viet Nam to Dai Nam.
The name Viet Nam had been used for this country before it became the official name in "Du dia chi" of Nguyen Trai written in 1435 and perhaps even before. "Viet" is the name of the largest ethnic group in Vietnam: the Kinh (nguoi Kinh) and "Nam" means "the South", affirming Vietnam's sovereignty from China (usually called "North country" to Vietnamese people) |