A satellite view of Vietnam

Geography China in the North India not-too-far West Impact: both Buddhism and Confucius flourish. –Buddhism: popular in 10 th, 11 th. –Confucius: from 12 th, still very strong now.

Geography A very long coast, so commercial interactions with Westerners started very early. Impact: western missionaries came to Vietnam to propagate Catholic, Protestant, Muslim… –Current Vietnamese alphabet was invented by missionaries to teach the Bible.

Geography North: –Delta of the Red River: small and having regular floods almost every year. –Hilly regions, surrounded by mountains. Impact: –Hard to make a living, need a lot of past experiences. –Hard to interact with outsiders: keep going with traditions.

Geography South: –Delta of the Mekong River: much better farms than the delta of the Red River. –Surrounded by people from the North, Cambodia, Indonesia… Impact: –Easy to make a living, can take risk. –Immigrants: open-minded, dynamic…

Geography Hilly in the South, Coast and plateau in the Central, (Mekong) Delta in the South Impact: diversity in geography results in diversity in religions, traditions, ethnics…

Questions we will answer Why Vietnam is small geographically, but so diverse in religions, traditions, ethnics…

Vietnamese History in Brief Kinh Duong Vuong, Lac Long Quan, Au Co, Vua Hung (?), Chinese control (111 BC – 938 AD), Ngo Quyen earned independence (938), Ly Dynasty chose Hanoi as capital (1010), Tran Dynasty fought against the Mongols 3 times, Quang Trung: unified Vietnam (1789), French control ( ), Socialist Republic of Vietnam

How Vietnam Started (Legend) Vietnam was rumored to be started by a Dragon Lord named Lạc Long Quân who married a Immortal Fairy named Âu Co. They had 100 children, 50 went with the Dragon Lord and 50 went with the Immortal Fairy. The oldest son became the first Vietnamese King.

History of Vietnam Vietnam began over 2,700 years ago. China ruled Vietnam between 207 BC to 938 AD. Vietnam regained it’s independence in 938 AD. China invaded Vietnam while the Mongols had three invasions at Vietnam

History of Vietnam During WWII imperial Japan told the French to occupy Vietnam. Partition led to the Vietnam War. Soviet Union supported the North while the United States supported the South. After millions of Vietnamese deaths, it ended with the fall of Saigon.

History of Vietnam Nguyễn Kim revolted against Mạc and helped Lê Trang Tông. Then a civil war began between the Northern court (Mạc) and the Southern court (Lê Trang Tông). Later in 1545, Nguyễn Kim got assassinated.

History of Vietnam The Lê dynasty was overthrown by a general named Mạc Đăng Dung. He killed Lê emperor and made himself emperor. Mạc Đăng Dung started the Mạc dynasty. He ceded his thrown to his son, named Mạc Đăng Doanh.

History of Vietnam In 1600, Nguyễn Hoàng declared himself Lord of Vietnam (he was already emperor). In 1613, Nguyễn Hoàng died after ruling for 55 years. He was succeeded by his 6 th son, Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên.

Why was French spoken in Vietnam and why was America in Vietnam in the 1960’s? Vietnam was the colony of the France, The French came first to Vietnam in 1858 and occupied in Vietnam nearly 100 years. until 1954 after the famous battle called Dien Bien Phu finished. During that time many Vietnamese people could speak French. Now, French is still spoken in Vietnam but just for working. The French was in Vietnam because they were helping the North side with the Vietnam war and the US was with the South side.

What system of government was used? Before the Vietnam war the south was a democratic and the north was communist. Then the North wanted the whole country to be communist but the United States didn’t want the South to become communist. After the Vietnam war the government became communist.

Ho Chi Minh Foreign occupation Chinese French colonialism Ho Chi Minh Dien Bien Phu, 1954 French expelled Peasant Warfare

U.S. Involvement Rejected Ho-Chi Minh Divided Vietnam in half Democratic Elections Nation building Ngo Din Diem “Ziem” years

History Hanoi: –Capital since 1010, –Through almost all dynasties. Impact: strong Confucius culture –Order in the family, school,… –Strong traditions.

History Hue: –Capital of the last Dynasty (Nguyen, since 1802) Impact: –Preserve many material or immaterial cultural heritages of Vietnam and the World.

Thanh Noi - Hue

History Ho Chi Minh City: –Established about 300 years ago. –Mostly immigrants from other parts of the country –Much interactions with foreigners. Impact: –Open-minded, dynamic,…

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam Today Vietnam’s population is around 87 million even though it’s about the size of New Mexico. Vietnam is starting to look like America in many ways, such as indoor air- conditioning. It is also advancing in transportation, such as modern airports, cars, and motorcycles.

Vietnam Today Transportation is also advancing. There are modern airports that you would see in America today. Most people in Vietnam use motorcycles or taxi cabs. The motorcycles are not very common in the United States.

Vietnam Today Vietnam is advancing in technology everyday! There is American TV shows for little children who live there. There is also a KFC Fast-Food Restaurant at Saigon for people who like chicken. There is also fast-foods you would find in America that is in Vietnam.

Vietnam Today Not every place in Vietnam is modern. There are still some people who live in mud brick houses. They have sinks and everything though, except a TV. They would grow a garden with rice, fruits, and vegetables. They would also fish for their food.

Pho: beef noodle soup Culture of the Vietnamese !!!!

What food is popular? Vietnamese cuisine is well known for it’s use of fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. There is also lots of vegetarian dishes influenced by Buddhist beliefs. The most common meats to be used are pork, chicken, shrimp, cockles and lots of types of seafood. Beef is used less but lamb and goat are used even less widely.

What is the traditional dress? Nowadays many people wear light weight cotton. In Vietnam they mainly wear westernised clothes like for women a white t-shirt and a skirt but some people still wear the traditional tunic called an ao dai. Men wear western clothes too including simple shirts and trousers.

Examples of art and temples.

What's the climate like? The north has a cool and dry season from November to April and a hot rainy season from May to October. The south is hot and humid all year round, especially from February to May. The rainy season lasts from May to November.

What is the capital city, where is it and what's the big city in the South? The capital city of Vietnam is Hanoi and it is in north Vietnam. The biggest city in south Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh City, which was called Sai Gon.

Thank you for your attention