The Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a sovereign and reunified independent country, has a high percentage of territorial waters. Looking at the map, Vietnam is located in the center of the Southeast Asia, and shaped like the letter "S". The country lies in the eastern part of the Indochina peninsula, bordered by China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west and the East Sea and Pacific Ocean to the southeast. Vietnam's coast line is 3,260km long and its inland border measures 4,510km.
The country's total length, from the northernmost point to the southernmost point, is 1,650km. Its width, stretching from east to west, is 600km at the widest point in the north, 400km in the south, and 50km at the narrowest part in the Quang Binh province on the central coast. Vietnam is also a transport junction from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Vietnam is a country most people have heard of but until recently few had had the opportunity to visit. It was not until the early 1990s that the first intrepid travellers started arriving. Things have come a long way in the past decade and visitors from all over the world are now discovering what a hidden gem of a country Vietnam is. Brilliant green rice fields, bustling city streets, thatched bamboo huts, grand colonial buildings, exotic temples and pagodas, deserted sandy beaches, breathtaking mountain scenery, conical straw hats, colourful ethnic minorities, graceful women in ao dai tunics, delicious cuisine, luxurious hotels and resorts and more, much more, it’s all here in Vietnam.
Capital city: HANOI. "Hanoi" means the "inside of the river". Placed amongst a mosaic of lakes, Hanoi, the capital, still retains the red-tile-roofed French provincial ambience of years gone by amidst the surging urbane energy of a modern metropolis fused to a thousand-year history of Chinese cultural influence. A city to stroll in, to gawk at its market offerings, munch tropical fruits, sip delicate teas, Hanoi also has places to ponder ancient verities: the Temple of Literature, the One-Pillar Pagoda, the Lake of the Restored Sword. 
 
Three quarters of Vietnam's territory consist of mountains and hills.Vietnam is divided into four distinct mountainous zones.
The Northeastern Zone (Viet Bac)
This zone stretches from the Red River Valley to the Gulf of Tonkon. The mountainous area of Viet Bac is scattered with famous sights: Dong Nhat Grotto, Dong Nhi Grotto, and Tam Thanh Grotto in Lang Son Province; Bac Bo Grotto and Ban Gioc Waterfall in Cao Bang; Ba Be Lake in Bac Kan; Yen Tu Mountain and Halong Bay in Quang Ninh; and Tay Con Linh, the highest mountain peak in the region reaching 2,341 meters above sea level.

The Northwestern Zone
This zone comprises of mountains that run from the north of the Sino-Vietnamese border to the west of Thanh Hoa Province. This magnificent mountain range is nationally known for its resort town of Sapa in Lao Cai Province, which is perched 1,500 meters above sea level. Several ethnic groups such as the H'mong, Dao, Kinh, Tay, Giay, Hoa, and Xa Pho, still reside in this region.
The northwestern zone is also famous for the historical site of Dien Bien Phu and Fansipan Mountain, which measures 3,143 meters above sea level at the peak.
The North Truong Son Zone
This zone runs from the western part of Thanh Hoa Province to the Quang Nam-Da Nang Mountains. This region is known locally for its picturesque Phong Nha Grotto and its two breathtaking passes, the Ngang Pass and the Hai Van Pass. It is also known worldwide for being the location of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail constructed during the second great resistance war.

The South Truong Son Zone
This zone is located to the west of the south central coast provinces. Behind these huge mountains is a vast area of red soil known locally as "Tay Nguyen" (the Central Highlands). There are numerous legendary accounts of the flora and fauna and of the lives of several different ethnic minorities living in the Central Highlands. Dalat, established during the 19th century, is a popular resort town in this part of Vietnam.
Vietnam has two major deltas including the Red River Delta in the North and the Mekong River Delta in the South. 
 
The Red River Delta or Northern Delta
The Red River Delta, a flat, triangular region of 3,000 square kilometres, is smaller but more intensely developed and more densely populated than the Mekong River Delta.
Once an inlet of the Gulf of Tonkin, it has been filled in by the enormous alluvial deposits of the rivers, over a period of millennia, and it advances one hundred metres into the gulf annually.
The ancestral home of the ethnic Viêtnamese, the delta accounted for almost 70% of the agriculture and 80% of the industry of North ViêtNam before 1975. 
The Red River (Song Hong in Viêtnamese), rising in China's Yunnan Province, is about 1,200 kilometres long.
Its two main tributaries, the Song Lo (also called the Lo River, the Riviere Claire, or the Clear River) and the Song Da (also called the Black River or Riviere Noire), contribute to its high water volume, which averages 500 million cubic metres per second, but may increase by more than 60 times at the peak of the rainy season.
The entire delta region, backed by the steep rises of the forested highlands, is no more than three metres above sea level, and much of it is one metre or less.
The area is subject to frequent flooding; at some places the high-water mark of floods is fourteen metres above the surrounding countryside. For centuries flood control has been an integral part of the delta's culture and economy. An extensive system of dikes and canals has been built to contain the Red River and to irrigate the rich rice-growing delta.
Modeled on that of China, this ancient system has sustained a highly concentrated population and has made double-cropping wet-rice cultivation possible throughout about half the region.
The Red River valley is a tectonic transform.

The Mekong River Delta or Southern Delta
The Mekong Delta is the bottom half of Vietnam's two rice baskets, the other being the Red River Delta in the North . This vast delta is formed by the deposition of the multiple tentacles and tributaries of the mighty Mekong River which has its origin in the Tibetan highland plateau 2,800 miles away. From its source, the river makes its way through China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam before flowing out into the South China Sea. The Mekong's Vietnamese name, Cuu Long, means Nine Dragons for the nine mouths that terminate the flow of this great river as it is absorbed by the sea.
The people of south Vietnam are often very proud of the richness and vastness of this land. When referring to the rice fields in this area, they often say, "co bay thang canh", meaning the land is so large that the cranes can stretch their wings as they fly. Today, the region is one of Vietnam's highest producer of rice crops, vegetables and fruits.
The Mekong Delta was an ancient Khmer territory. The area was mostly marshland and forest. When the Nguyen Lords took control of this region, a series of canals were built and a system of transportation was implemented in the maze of water ways in the area.
The Mekong Delta is divided into 9 provinces: Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Dong Thap, An Giang, Vinh Long, Kien Giang, Hau Giang and Minh Hai. The people in this region are made up of Vietnamese and some people of Khmer, Chinese and Cham origin. This accounts for the variety of religions that add to the cultural diversity of this area. Among the religions practiced here are: Buddhism, Catholicism, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao and Islam.
The southwest region of Vietnam is known for the vast rice fields and the huge plantations that make up the core of this region's economy. The region is also known for the many miles of waterways criss-crossing the land making this area both fertile and unique.
The majority of Vietnam's fruits come from the many orchards of the Mekong Delta. On any given season, one can find a variety of tropical fruits that are produced by farmers of this region in the markets of Saigon, Hue, and Ha Noi.