Da Lat, city (1989 pop. 87,136), S Vietnam, in the central highlands, alt. c.5,000 ft (1,520 m). Developed by the French as a health resort and hunting center, it is a modern city surrounded by mountains that rise to 7,380 ft (2,249 m). Coffee, tea, tobacco, and temperate-zone vegetables are commercially grown. Da Lat is linked by highway with Ho Chi Minh City and is on a branch rail line from the coastal city of Phan Rang. It has an airport. In the city are a college (founded 1976) and the Ethnic Minority Museum.