A brief

introduction to

V ietnam
for 2007 cross-cultural group

Brought to you by Thomas’ Group

Copyright 2007, all rights reserved
No p ar t of thi s fil e ca n be repro duced in any kind
of resour ce
 Content
• General information
• Culture
• Language
• History
• Economy
• Festival
 General information
National Flag: a red flag with a yellow
star at the centre.
 General information
Population: 85,238,000 (7/2005)
Area: 331 689 km2
Capital: Hanoi
Largest City: Ho Chi Minh City
Government: Socialist Republic
Independence Day:2nd September
Currency: VND
 General information
Traffic transportation: Airplane, train,
bus, motorcycle-the most common
type, others.
 Language
86.2% of the population speak Vietnamese as a native language. In its early
history, Vietnamese writing used Chinese characters. In the 13rd century,
the Vietnamese developed their own set of characters called Chữ nôm.

During the 17th century, Roman Catholic missionaries introduced a Latin-based

orthography for Vietnamese, Quốc Ngữ (national language),which has been
used ever since. Until the early 20th century, Quốc Ngữ was used in parallel
with Chữ-nôm. Today only Quốc Ngữ is used.

Sound system of Vietnamese language: there are 6 tones

/ \ ? ~ . Unmarked
 History

Vietnam had been the colony of China for 1000 years.

The landmarks of Vietnamese history in the 20th century are
the two famous wars fighting against French and American
colonists.
 Culture
Religion: Buddhism, Christianity, Roman Catholic, Cao Dai, Hoa hao,
others.
• Buddhism have strongly influenced the religious and cultural life
of the people.
• About 86% of Vietnamese identify Buddhism even though they do
not practice on a regular basis.
• About 7% of the population is Roman Catholic. Christianity was
introduced by French colonists.
 Culture
Traditional costume: Ao Dai.
 Economy
• Rapidly developing country.
• GDP: $262.8 billion (2006 est.) - Per capita $726 in 2006
• APEC 2006
• 3 main sectors of economy:
Agriculture, Industry and Service.

Diamond Plaza, HCMC

 Economy
Agriculture: rice-main product
 Economy
Industry: heavy industry with the abundance of natural resources.

A dawn of hitech industry

 Economy
Service: tourism

Ba Dinh square

Mot Cot Pagoda

Ha Long Bay-the world’s heritage
 Tourism
The Citadel in Hue
( the forbidden city)
one of the five World
Culture Heritages in
Vietnam

Love valley
Da Lat,
( ”Little Paris” of Vietnam)
 Tourism

Dragon Harbour

Independence Palace
 Festival
• Vietnamese’s Lunar New Year
• Hung Kings’ Temple Festival
• Perfume Pagoda Festival
• Sea Festival Nha Trang
Vietnamese’s Lunar New Year

The most important time in

the Vietnamese calendar.

A fortnight-festival in the
middle of February
A colorful holiday
Two national flowers of
Vietnam

Mai flower Dao flower

 Banh Chung and Banh
Giay

Two
traditional
cakes
of
Vietnam
in
Tet holiday.
Banh Chung     Banh Giay
Lucky money!

I’m Lucky

(but not 
Lucky 
Luke!)
Hung Kings’ Temple Festival
“Gio to Hung Vuong”
A national event ……
….. A commemoration of our ancestor !
“Gio to Hung Vuong”
The time for all sons
and daughters of
Vietnamese…

To think of our proud

origin!

The 10th of the third

month of Lunar
calendar annually!...
Unique & unforgettable
Perfume Pagoda Festival
Row boat on YEN VI river
Sea Festival Nha Trang
• Time: every two years.
The first festival was hold
in 2003
• Nha Trang Bay has been
acknowledged as one of
the most beautiful bays
of the world.
Sea Festival Nha Trang
2007

The longest
The sea-
100 big pinwheels
Vietnamese crossing
are put along Nha
biggest bird telepheric
Trang coast to
built by dipper on the
welcome the
made of world-
tourists
coconut shell Vinpearl
Sea Festival Nha Trang
2007

During the closing ceremony, the festival sent a

message to people that “Do enjoy the sea and
join effort to better protect sea environment.
To be continued…

------Created by Vietnamese Group.