Châu Đốc is a city in

An Giang Province An Giang () is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the Mekong Delta, in the southwestern part of the country. Geography An Giang occupies a position in the upper reaches of the Mekong Delta. The Hậu Giang and Tiền Giang branches ...

, bordering

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

, in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...

region of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. As of 2013, the city had a population of 157,298, and cover an area of . The city is located by the Hậu River (a branch of the Mekong River flowing through Vietnamese territory) and Vĩnh Tế canal. Châu Đốc is situated west of

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. It takes about six hours to travel by bus from Ho Chi Minh City.

History

The territory became Vietnam's around the 17th century. The town is near the picturesque Sam Mountain where the Sam Mountain Lady (Vietnamese: Bà Chúa Xứ Núi Sam) is worshipped. The Sam Mount Lady Ceremony is held every April of

lunar calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...

(May) every year. Floods caused devastation in the region, the one in late 1938 saw 125,000 hectares of ruined riceland due to floods. In 1957, the town was the site of the

Châu Đốc massacre The Châu Đốc massacre was the July 11, 1957 killing of 17 people in the small town of Châu Đốc in An Giang Province, near the border with Cambodia, in what was then known as South Vietnam. The killings were part of a low-level campaign ...

Climate

Châu Đốc has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of ...

( Köppen ''Aw'') with a lengthy though not extreme

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

from April to November and a

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

from December to March.

Landmarks

The Phước Điền Temple is located in Châu Đốc. It is an official historic monument of Vietnam. The Victoria Hotel is the only notable hotel in the area. There are also many hotels in the center near the main market area, where you can get good value for money accommodation. There are other hotels that are situated near Nui Sam. There are a couple of new hotels on the road to Sam mountain. A worthwhile option to consider is a night (or two) on one of the floating hotels (there are 2, one reachable via footbridge, the other via boat). Sam Mountain, being the highest mountain in Mekong Delta (284 m), is a famous mountain in Châu Đốc, about from the city. Tây An Temple, dating from 1847, is near the city.

Population

Vietnamese,

Cham Cham or CHAM may refer to: Ethnicities and languages *Chams, people in Vietnam and Cambodia **Cham language, the language of the Cham people ***Cham script *** Cham (Unicode block), a block of Unicode characters of the Cham script *Cham Albania ...

and Khmer live together in harmony. The three main religions in this region are

Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

(Kinh/Vietnamese);

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...

Buddhism (Khmer), and

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...

(

Chams The Cham ( Cham: ''Čaṃ'') or Champa people ( Cham: , ''Urang Campa''; vi, Người Chăm or ; km, ជនជាតិចាម, ) are an Austronesian ethnic group. From the 2nd century to 1832 the Cham populated Champa, a contiguous territ ...

). The total population is around 120,00

with a vast majority of Kinh (Viet). As of 2003 the district had a population of 112,155. The district covers an area of . In July 2013, the city had a population of 157,298.

Economy

Châu Đốc is famous for its variety of

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao ...

s (''nước mắm'') and mainly "mắm tai", a kind of anchovy. The local economy is based on culture of basa

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

export and on tourism. The town is a busy trading center due to its border position with

Administrative subdivisions

Châu Đốc is subdivided to 7 commune-level subdivisions, including the wards of: Châu Phú A, Châu Phú B, Núi Sam, Vĩnh Mỹ, Vĩnh Nguơn and the rural communes of Vĩnh Châu and Vĩnh Tế.

Gallery

File:Vietnam, Chau Doc, View from Sam Mountain.jpg, View from Sam Mountain File:Vietnam, Chau Doc, Houses on Bassac River.jpg, Houses on Bassac River File:Vietnam, Bassac River, Chau Doc, Mekong Delta.jpg, Floating village File:Vietnam, Chau Doc, Street market.jpg, Market File:Vietnam, Chau Doc, City streets.jpg, City street File:Vietnam, Chau Doc, Life on the streets.jpg, City street Image:Sắc phong trong đình Châu Phú.jpg, The honous paper in Châu Phú temple

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chau Doc Bassac River Districts of An Giang province An Giang province Populated places in An Giang province Populated places on the Mekong River Cities in Vietnam