Lào Cai


Lào Cai is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Lào Cai Province. The city borders the city of Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in Yunnan province of southwest China. It lies at the junction of the Red River and the Nanxi River approximately 160 miles northwest of Hanoi.
It is a market town for timber, and the Lào Cai Railway Station is located on the Hải Phòng railway to Yunnan Province in China.

History

The town was invaded by China in 1979 and the border was closed until 1993. The town has a carbide factory. As of 2003 the district had a population of 86,855. The district covers an area of 223 km².
Ethnic minorities in Lào Cai used to speak Southwestern Mandarin and Vietnamese to each other when their languages were not mutually intelligible.

Climate

Lào Cai has a dry-winter humid subtropical climate, similar to most of Northern Vietnam.