| An Giang province Tỉnh An Giang |
|
|---|---|
| — Province — | |
| Nickname(s): Peaceful River | |
| Location of An Giang within Vietnam | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Vietnam |
| Region | Mekong Delta |
| Capital | Long Xuyên |
| Government | |
| • People's Council Chair | Võ Thanh Khiết |
| • People's Committee Chair | Nguyễn Hoàng Việt |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3,406.2 km2 (1,315.1 sq mi) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 2,170,100 |
| • Density | 637.1/km2 (1,650.1/sq mi) |
| Demographics | |
| • Ethnicities | Vietnamese, Khmer, Chăm, Hoa |
| Time zone | ICT (UTC+7) |
| Calling code | 76 |
| ISO 3166 code | VN-44 |
| Website | www.angiang.gov.vn |
An Giang () is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the Mekong Delta, in the southwestern part of the country, sharing a border with Cambodia to the northwest.
Contents |
An Giang occupies a position in the upper reaches of the Mekong Delta. The Hau Giang and Tien Giang branches of the Mekong are the dominant geographical features of the province. With the exception of the west, most of An Giang is fairly flat, and is criss-crossed by many canals and small rivers. This terrain has led to An Giang being a significant agricultural centre, producing significant quantities of rice. The Cam Mountains, also known as the Thất Sơn range or the "Seven Mountains", are located in the western Tịnh Biên District. Followers of the Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương tradition, founded in An Giang in 1849, refer to these mountains as Bửu Sơn, "Precious Mountains".
Politically, An Giang is divided into nine districts:
An Giang includes 156 rural communes, wards and towns.
The cities of Long Xuyên (the provincial capital) and Châu Đốc, both of which are located on the Hau Giang branch of the Mekong, exist as independent municipalities.
An Giang first became a province in 1832, having been settled by ethnically Vietnamese migrants moving southwards in search of new land. It is believed that An Giang was once an important centre of the vanished Óc Eo culture, presumably owing to its position on the river. Traditionally, An Giang has been known for its silk industry.
An Giang is home to a sizable number of people from Vietnam's ethnic minorities. Due to the province's proximity to Cambodia, the Khmer Krom are the largest non-Vietnamese group. Other groups, such as the Cham and ethnic Chinese (Hoa), are also found in An Giang.
The Ba Chuc massacre of April 1978, in that border province with Cambodia. On the day the Khmer Rouge began its series of border raids, April 15, 1978, Ba Chuc was a quiet little village of about 3,500 people. For two weeks, ending April 30, 1978, the Khmer Rouge tore through Ba Chuc slicing to bits anything that breathed, literally ripping apart young children limb from limb and hacking the adults to pieces with machetes. When the raids ceased the population of Ba Chuc had been reduced to 2.[1]
The province's name is derived from the Sino-Vietnamese word: 安江, meaning "peaceful river".[2]
| Takeo Province, Cambodia | Kandal Province, Cambodia | |||
| Dong Thap province | ||||
| An Giang province | ||||
| Kien Giang province | Can Tho |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||