Châu Đốc is a city in An Giang Province, bordering

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, in the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

region of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. As of 2019, the city had a population of 101,765, and cover an area of . The city is located by the Hậu River (a branch of the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

flowing through Vietnamese territory) and Vĩnh Tế Canal. Châu Đốc is situated west of

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. It takes about 5 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 on the solar year, and lunisolar calendars, whose lunar months are br ...

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

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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Aw'') with a long though not extreme

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

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 t ...

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

Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...

(Kinh/Vietnamese);

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

Buddhism (Khmer), and

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

( Chams). The total population is around 120,000 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 April 2019, the city had a population of 101,765.

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, L ...

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

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

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

. Local people also buy, sell, and exchange goods on boats on the river. It's called a floating market.

Administrative subdivisions

Châu Đốc is subdivided into 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