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.
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.
According to the ups and downs of the nation's history, Vietnamese customs and practices are constantly being innovated according to social trends. One of the oldest and most influential customs in history is the custom of chewing betel. This is a custom that dates back to the Hung King period and originates from the legend of Trau Areca and this custom has become a typical image of the brotherhood and love between husband and wife of Vietnamese people. Not only the custom of chewing betel, Vietnam also has another custom that was born in ancient times, which is the custom of welcoming the new year, also known as Tet - traditional Tet.
Religion in Vietnam is quite diverse, including Buddhism (both Mahayana, Theravada and some modified groups such as Hoa Hao, Tu An Hieu Nghia); Christianity (including Catholicism and Protestantism); endogenous religions such as Cao Dai; and some other religions (Hinduism and Islam). Different types of folk beliefs also have a lot of influence. The majority of Vietnamese people consider themselves non-religious, even though they still go to religious sites several times a year...