Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Local people with their boats.

The Mekong River, at over 4,000 km (2,485 mi), is the twelfth longest river in the world. It rises high up on the Tibetan plateau, flows down through south-western China, around Myanmar, down through Thailand and Laos, where it forms a border, through Cambodia and finally into Vietnam where its fertile delta forms the country’s agricultural heartland. The rich nutrients provided by the alluvial sediment enable about 40 per cent of Vietnam’s food to be produced from an area that covers only 10 per cent of the country.

Known to the Vietnamese as Cuu Long (Nine Dragons) because of the nine tributaries that spread out across the floodplain, the area has been criss-crossed with canals to channel the excess flood water in the most practical fashion. It was not until the French colonized Vietnam in the nineteenth century that the agricultural potential of the area was understood. Ironically the boggy marshlands and rice fields subsequently provided excellent cover for Vietnamese resistance fighters against the French and later the Americans.

Boat full of loads.

Local boats.

The river, with its network of tributaries and canals, is what makes the region so beautiful. It is essential for travel and transport and thousands of boats ply up and down these waterways, from tiny rowing boats to cargo boats carrying rice, fruit and sugarcane. All life is there to be seen on the water: colourful floating markets, river villages and Khmer pagodas can all be seen, and the areas not given over to farmland are rich with wildlife. Thousands of birds nest in colonies, and there are five species of dolphin to be found, including the rare Irrawaddy dolphin.

The Mekong River is very important to every people all along the river. From up above north in China until down here in the Mekong Delta, it’s provide important food source such as fish, irrigate the farmland, transportation and also many dams were built to provide electricity. 

Busy waterway.

Rice fields surround the Mekong Delta.