Lào Cai province
Lào Cai | |
|---|---|
Fansipan aerial tramway • Phan Xi Păng • Topas tourist area • Bảo An Temple • Lào Cai Mountain • Lào Cai City • Hoàng A Tưởng House • Sa Pa Terrace • Sa Pa Mountain • Stone church in Sa Pa • Bạc Waterfall • snowfall at Sa Pa | |
Location of Lào Cai within Vietnam | |
| Coordinates: 22°20′N 104°0′E / 22.333°N 104.000°E | |
| Country | Vietnam |
| Region | Northwest |
| Capital | Lào Cai |
| Subdivision | 1 city, 7 rural districts and one town |
| Government | |
| • Type | Province |
| • Body | Lào Cai Provincial People's Council |
| • Chairman of People's Council | Nguyễn Văn Vịnh |
| • Chairman of People's Committee | Trịnh Xuân Trường |
| Area | |
| 6,364.25 km2 (2,457.25 sq mi) | |
| Population (2024) | |
| 799,900 | |
| • Density | 130/km2 (330/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 190,000 |
| Ethnic groups | |
| • Vietnamese | 33.78% |
| • Mông | 25.08% |
| • Tày | 14.83% |
| • Dao | 14.24% |
| • Giáy | 4.53% |
| • Others | 7.54% |
| GDP | |
| • Province | VND 43.634 trillion US$ 1.895 billion |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (ICT) |
| Postal code | 31xxx |
| Area codes | 214 |
| ISO 3166 code | VN-02 |
| HDI (2020) | 0.687 (47th) |
| Website | www |
Lào Cai is a province of the mountainous Northwest region of Vietnam bordering the province of Yunnan in China. The province covers an area of about 6,364 km2 (2,457 sq mi) and as of 2024 it had a population of 799,900 people. With 190,000 people living in urban areas and 609,900 living in rural areas.
Lào Cai and Sa Pa are two important cities within the province at the border with China; the former is well known as key trading post and the latter is hill station famous for tourism, in the Northwest region of Vietnam. Lào Cai is also the capital of Lào Cai province and shares border with the city of Hekou, in the Yunnan province of Southwest China. This border town was closed after the 1979 war with China, since reopened in 1993, has become a major tourist centre between Hanoi, Sa Pa and Kunming (China). Sa Pa is notable as a hill resort and market centre for the local ethnic Hmong, including the Red, Black, Green and Flower Hmong. Located across the Muong Hoa Valley from Vietnam's highest mountain, Fansipan, the city is sometimes referred to as the "queen of mountains".
Lào Cai has many historical sites, natural caves and produces agricultural specialties such as Bắc Hà plums.
In a 1929 survey conducted in the area, the vegetation (flora) and fauna (mammals) recorded by the French biologist Delacour who accompanied Theodore Roosevelt were unique to the region in northern Vietnam.