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.
Quang Tri MapQuang Tri Province is located in the Central ViêtNam, immediately south of the former Demilitarised Zone that existed between North and South ViêtNam during the American War. It is bordered on the north by Quang Binh; on the south by Thua Thien Hué; on the east by the South China Sea coastline; on the west by Laos.
National Highway 1 intersects with National Highway 9 which dissects Quang Tri Province crossing the Laos border at Lao Bao. The Laos Highway 9 cuts right across that country, passing through Sepon, Muang Phina and Uthamphon, which when it crosses the Laos/Thai border becomes Thai Highway 212 to Ubon Ratchathani where it intersects with three other highways.
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.
RailThe 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.
RoadBus
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 ProvinceQuang 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)
HistoryQuang 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 divisionsThe 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 Murfin, Gary D., A. Terry Rambo, Le-Thi-Que, Why They Fled: Refugee Movement during the Spring 1975 Communist Offensive in South Vietnam Asian Survey, Vol. 16, No. 9. (Sep., 1976): 855-863 Pearson, Lieutenant General Willard. The War in the Northern Provinces: 1966-1968, Washington D. C.:U.S. Government Printing Office, (1975).Schulzinger, Robert D. A Time for War: The United States and Vietnam, 1941–1975 (1997).
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DMZ & Tunnels of Vinh Moc, Vinh Moc tunnels, DMZ Quang TriThe Vinh Moc tunnel complex was built to shelter the people of Son Trung and Son Ha communes in Vinh Linh county of Quang Tri Province and located deep in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. It was constructed in several stages beginning in 1966 and used until 1971. The complex grew to include wells, kitchens, rooms for each family and spaces for healthcare.
The tunnels were a success and no villagers lost their lives. The only direct hit was from a bomb that failed to explode, the resulting hole was utilized as a ventilation shaft.
GeographyThe tunnels lie on the South China Sea north of the Ben Hai River. The Vinh Moc tunnel complex, began in 1965-66 as interconnected bomb shelters, eventually included a conference hall, operating room and delivery room. The underground village had 13 entrances leading into a main trunk 768 meters long.
