Cần Thơ

Cần Thơ ( listen) is the fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city in the Mekong Delta.

It is noted for its floating market, rice paper-making village, and picturesque rural canals. It had a population of 1.2 million as of 2011, and is located on the south bank of the Hau River, a branch of the Mekong. In 2007, about 50 people died when the Cần Thơ Bridge collapsed, causing Vietnam's worst engineering disaster. In 2011, Can Tho International Airport opened.

The city is nicknamed the "western capital" (Tây Đô), and is located 169 kilometres (105 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City. Cần Thơ's climate is tropical and monsoonal with two seasons: rainy, from May to November; and dry, from December to April. Average annual humidity is 83%, rainfall 1,635 mm (64 in) and temperature 27 °C (81 °F).

Administrative system

The city is an independent municipality at the same level as provinces of Vietnam. It was created in the beginning of 2004 by a split of the former Cần Thơ Province into two new administrative units: Cần Thơ City and Hậu Giang Province.