Da Nang

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This article is about the city of Đà Nẵng. For the Vietnam War era air base, see Đà Nẵng International Airport.

Da Nang (occasionally Danang; in Vietnamese: Đà Nẵng ) is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea. It is one of the five independent municipalities in Vietnam.

It was called Tourane during the French colonization of Vietnam.

Geography

Da Nang is one of major cities of Viet Nam. It has an area of 1.255,53km2. The population is 752.493 people (12-2003). Hoang Sa is an archipelago with 18 islands: Hoang Sa, Da Bac, Huu Nhat, Da Loi, Bach Quy, Tri Ton, Cay island, Bac island, Giua island, Nam island, Phu Lam, Linh Con, Quang Hoa, Bong Bay, Quan Sat, Cat Tay, Chim Yen Rock, and Thap Rock. The land area is 305 km2 Population:

History

According to Hỏi đáp về Quảng Nam-Đà Nẵng (Questions and Answers about Quảng Nam-Đà Nẵng) by Bùi Minh Quốc, Da Nang's name originated from the Cham word Da Nak, meaning "opening of big river."

In 1847, French vessels bombarded Đà Nẵng in response to persecution of Roman Catholic missionaries.

In August 1858, French troops landed under the orders of Napoleon III, beginning colonial occupation in the area. As a concession, it was renamed Tourane in French. It came to be considered one of Indochina’s five major cities. During the Vietnam War, the city was home to a major American air base. The population has since increased to over 1 million habitants, mostly refugees.

Before 1997, the city was part of Quảng Nam-Đà Nẵng province. On January 1, 1997, Đà Nẵng was separated from Quảng Nam province to become the fourth municipality of Vietnam.

Education

Đà Nẵng is home to 4 universities:

• Duy Tân University
• Đà Nẵng University (a regional university with member universities of Da Nang University of Economics, Danang University of Technology, Da Nang Foreign Languages University, Da Nang Pedagogy University, Da Nang College of Education and Da Nang College of Industry.
• Danang University of Architecture
• Da Nang Sports and Physical Exercises University

Đà Nẵng also has over ten other colleges, and numerous high schools.

Culture

Đà Nẵng’s cultural history dates back only approximately 300 years, so the area is historically new when compared to the 4,000 year existence of Vietnamese culture. It is home to the Museum of Cham Sculpture as well as the ancient pagodas of Hai Chau Pho Da Long Tho.

Economy

The city is classified as an industrial zone and has port facilities to handle container traffic. A number of light industries are located in the city. Since 1991, Đà Nẵng became one of the four independent municipalities in Vietnam (Vietnam now has five independent municipalities). After this, the city has had very fast economic growth.

The city’s economic output includes:

• Seafood export
• Furniture
• Household goods
• Clothing
• Tourism

Some 4,900 factories/production facilities are located in Đà Nẵng. In 1997, Đà Nẵng exported around US$55 million worth of goods.

Transportation

Đà Nẵng is on the end of the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) which stretches over Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

By air

Đà Nẵng International Airport, located at the center of the city is the third international airport in Vietnam. It is an important gateway to access central Vietnam. Before 1972, it was one of the busiest airports in the world due to the intensive military activities around the nearby seafront airbase. The airport has several domestic connections (connecting Hanoi, Hồ Chí Minh City, Quy Nhon), and limited number of international routes (Bangkok, Singapore).

By land

• National Highway 1
• National Highway 14B
• Future Đà Nẵng-Quảng Ngãi Express Way
• Hai Van Tunnel
• Han river bridge

The city is a major station of the Unification Train system.

By sea

• Tien Sa seaport

Sister cities

• Macau
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan
• Hai Phong, Vietnam
• Oakland, USA

Administration

The city is divided into 8 districts:

• Cẩm Lệ
• Hải Châu
• Hòa Vang
• Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands)
• Liên Chiểu
• Ngũ Hành Sơn
• Sơn Trà
• Thanh Khê

External links

• Da Nang Ex Pat Community website
• Danang People's Committee
• The University of Da Nang
• Duy Tan University
• Danang - Economy
• The DaNang Project

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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 23:14:16 PDT (GMT -0700)
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