The Mekong Delta ( “Nine Dragon river delta”) is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southeastern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.

Geography

Provinces

Major cities

The most renowned places in the Mekong Delta are Mỹ Tho and Caí Bè near Ho Chi Minh City, then, more to the heart of the region, Vĩnh Long, Sa Đéc, and Cần Thơ, from whence it is possible to reach the remotest confines of the delta, South towards the mangroves and the South China Sea, North towards Châu Đốc, or West towards the island of Phú Quốc.

History

Archaeological discoveries at Oc Eo and other Funan sites shows that the area has been an important part of the Funan Kingdom, bustling with trading ports and canals as early as in the first century C.E. and extensive human settlement in the region may have gone back as far as the 4th century B.C.E.

The region, originally known as Khmer Krom was mainly inhabited by the Khmer people prior to the 17th century with some Chinese and Vietnamese outposts. During late 17th century, Mac Cuu, a Chinese anti-Qing general, began to expand Vietnamese and Chinese settlements deeper into Khmer lands. In 1698, the Nguyen Lords ordered Nguyen Huu Canh to invade Cambodia. During the Tay Son wars and the subsequent Nguyen dynasty, Vietnam's boundaries were pushed as far as Ca Mau Cape. The area became Cochinchina, France's first colony in Vietnam in 1867 and later, part of French Indochina.

Following independence from France, the Mekong Delta was part of the Republic of Vietnam and eventually the country of Vietnam.

Vietnam War

During French colonialism in Cochinchina, and followed by the First Indochina War, the French patrolled and fought on waterways with their “Dinassaut” and was copied later by the US Navy Mobile Riverine Force.

During the Vietnam War, the Delta region saw fighting between Viet Cong (NLF) guerrillas and units of the United States Navy's swift boats and hovercrafts (PACVs).

Economy

The region is famous as a large rice growing area. It produces about half of the total of Vietnam's rice output. Vietnam is the second largest exporter of rice globally after Thailand. . In fact, the delta produces more rice than Korea and Japan altogether.

Additionally, the region is home to large aquacultural industry of basa fish, Tra catfish and shrimp, much of which is exported.

The Mekong Delta has recently been dubbed as a 'biological treasure trove'. Over 1,000 new species have been discovered in previously unexplored areas of Mekong Delta, including a species of rat thought to be extinct.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the Mekong Delta region are largely ethnic Viet, with Khmer minority populations living primarily in the Trà Vinh, Sóc Trăng, and Muslim Chăm in Tan Chau, by An Giang provinces. There are also sizeable Hoa (ethnic Chinese) populations in the Kiên Giang and Trà Vinh provinces.

Culture

Life in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the river, and many of the villages are often accessible by rivers and canals rather than by road.

The region is home to cai luong, a form of Vietnamese folk opera.

Sea level rise concerns