Chau Doc
Area: 3,406 sq. km.
Population: 2,146,800 habitants (2003)
Regional code: 096
Capital: Long Xuyen City.
Town: Chau Doc.
Districts: An Phu, Tan Chau, Phu Tan, Chau Phu, Tinh Bien, Tri Ton, Cho Moi, Chau Thanh, Thoai Son.
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Khmer, Cham, Hoa.
Châu Đốc is a district and town in An Giang Province, bordering Cambodia, in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 112,155. The district covers an area of 100 km².
The town is located by the Hâu River (a branch of the Mekong River flowing through Vietnamese territory) and Vinh Te canal. Châu Đốc is situated 250 km west of Hồ Chí Minh City. It takes about six hours to travel by bus from Hồ Chí Minh City.
History
The site of Châu Đốc was long in history a territory of the Kingdom of Funan (Vietnamese: Vương quốc Phù Nam). The territory became Vietnam’s about 300 years ago. The town is near the picturesque mount of Sam 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 (May) every year.
"Mort Chrouk"(Khmer) was the Cambodian name Vietnamized in Chau Doc.
In 1957 the town was the site of the Chau Doc massacre.
Population
Vietnamese, Champa and Khmer live together in harmony. The three main religions in this region are Mahayana Buddhism (Kinh/Vietnamese, Hoa/Chinese); Theravada Buddhism (Khmer/Cambodian), and Sunni Islam (Cham).
Climate
Geography: An Giang Province is located to the west of the Mekong Delta between the Tien and Hau rivers and shares a 100km border with Cambodia in the north – west. It also shares border with Dong Thap Province in the east, Cantho City in the south – east, and Kien Giang Province in the south – west.
An Giang has two main types of topography: midland areas and low mountains. The low mountains is Bay Nui (Seven Mountains) in Tinh Bien and Tri Ton districts. Vinh Te Canal runs along with the province’s border in the west, which connects from Chau Doc to Ha Tien.
Climate: An Giang is divided into two seasons: the rain (from May to November), and the dry (from December to April next year). The annual average temperature varies 27ºC. The highest temperature is 35ºC – 37ºC from April to May and the lowest ones is 20ºC – 21ºC from December to January next year. The annual rainfall is 1,400 – 1,500mm.
Landmarks
The Phuoc Dien Temple is located in Chau Doc. It is an official historic monument of Vietnam. The Victoria Hotel is the only notable hotel in the area. 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 is a famous mountain in Chau Doc, about 7km from the city. Its summit is about 1000 meters above sea level.
