Vietnam, whose national name is the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a socialist country located at the eastern tip of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia, bordering Laos, Cambodia, China, and the sea. East and Gulf of Thailand. The territory of Vietnam has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era, starting with the states of Van Lang and Au Lac. Au Lac was annexed by the Trieu Dynasty in the North in the early 2nd century BC, followed by a period of Northern domination lasting more than a millennium. The independent monarchy was re-established after Ngo Quyen's victory over the Southern Han dynasty. This event paved the way for independent dynasties to succeed and then repeatedly win against wars of invasion from the North as well as gradually expanding to the south. The final period of Northern domination ended after the Lam Son insurgent army's victory over the Ming Dynasty.
Vietnam has an area of 331,212 km², a land border of 4,639 km, a coastline of 3,260 km, and shares a maritime border with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand and with China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia through the East Sea. Vietnam claims sovereignty over two disputed geographical entities in the East Sea, the Hoang Sa archipelagos (which has lost control in reality) and Truong Sa
The Vietnam National Gene Bank preserves 12,300 varieties of 115 species. The Vietnamese government spent US$497 million to maintain biodiversity in 2004 and has established 126 protected areas including 28 national parks. Vietnam has 2 world natural heritage sites: Ha Long Bay and Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park and 6 biosphere reserves including Can Gio, Cat Tien, Cat Ba, Kien Giang, and River Delta mangrove forests. Hong and Tay Nghe An.
Vietnamese culture is one of the oldest cultures in the Pacific region. Although located next to two major cultures, Chinese and Indian culture, Vietnam still preserves many of its own cultural features, expressed in many aspects such as traditional customs that still exist today. Nowadays, Vietnamese people's life and folk literature are rich and unique. It can be said that Vietnamese culture is a special blend of many ancient cultures along with the indigenous culture of the Vietnamese people. In addition to the greatest influence of China, there is also the influence of Indian and Cham culture. , and later the great influence of Western culture (France, Russia, America).