Vĩnh Long

Vĩnh Long ( listen) is a city and the capital of Vĩnh Long Province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Vĩnh Long covers 48.1 kilometres (29.89 mi) and has a population of 147,039 (as of 2009).

Location

Vĩnh Long is on the Cổ Chiên River, which branches out from the Mekong River at the narrows of Mỹ Thuận about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) upstream, only to meet it later downstream. Across the Cổ Chiên river from Vĩnh Long are the An Binh and Bình Hòa Phước islands, some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) across, with the Mekong River on the other side. A number of canals run through Vĩnh Long, with tall vehicular bridges crossing them. Transport by boat is possible, although parts of the town, particularly An Binh, become unreachable at low tide.

Vĩnh Long is about two hours from the large city of Cần Thơ in the adjacent Hậu Giang Province, and about three hours from Saigon. The floating market town of Cái Bè is on the other side of the An Binh island and is the frequent destination for tourist boats from Vĩnh Long.

Vinh

Vinh ( listen) is the biggest city and economic and cultural center of the North Central Coast of Vietnam. Vinh is the capital of Nghệ An Province, and is a key point in the East-West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The city is situated in the south-east of the province, alongside the Lam River (Song Lam) and is located on the main north-south transportation route of Vietnam, easily accessible by highway, railroad, boat and air. The recently expanded Vinh International Airport is served daily by three carriers: Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air, and Jetstar Pacific. On September 5, 2008, it was upgraded from Grade-II city to Grade-I city, the fifth Grade-I city of Vietnam after Hai Phong, Đà Nẵng and Huế. Vinh is the most populous city in the North Central Coastal region, with over 490,000 residents (2015 estimate). The city is bordered by Nghi Loc district to the north and east, Hung Nguyen district to the west, and Nghi Xuan district in Ha Tinh Province to the south. Vinh is about 300 kilometres (190 mi) south of Hanoi and 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) north of Ho Chi Minh City. The total area of Vinh city is 104.97 square kilometres (40.53 sq mi), and includes 16 urban wards and 9 suburban communes.