HANG SON DOONG A group of hikers explores Hang Son Doong The cave rests in the middle of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park The hikers pass wide underground rivers and wander through huge caverns filled with soft mist Dark limestone walls rise over them 4
OTHER TOP SITES HA LONG BAY HOI AN ANCIENT TOWN HUE IMPERIAL CITY SAPA TERRACES Up ahead the hikers see a faint light They walk carefully toward it Soon they discover a vast bright space open to the sky Years ago the roof of the cave fell in at that spot Now towering trees and climbing vines grow there It is a thick beautiful jungle This is Vietnam 5
LOCATION Vietnam is a narrow S-shaped country It covers 127,881 miles 331,210 square kilometers of southeastern Asia Hanoi its capital sits in the north Cambodia and Laos curve along Vietnam’s western border To the north rests China In the northeast the Gulf of Tonkin washes onto Vietnam’s shores The waters of the South China Sea are to the southeast The Gulf of Thailand forms the country’s southwestern border Thousands of islands many in Ha Long Bay to the northeast dot Vietnam’s coast 6
CHINA HANOI HAIPHONG HA LONG BAY GULF OF TONKIN VIETNAM CAMBODIA SOUTH CHINA SEA HO CHI MINH CITY CAN THO 7 LAOS THAILAND GULF OF THAILAND
