Vietnam Today

[Music] [Applause] [Music] the country of Vietnam stretches for over 2,000 kilometers along the east coast of the Indo Chinese Peninsula in the tropical belt north of the equator it shares its borders with China Laos and Cambodia and its shores lie on the South China Sea three-quarters of the country is made up of mountains and hills with Peaks that reach a height of 3,000 meters in the northern regions the area is slightly bigger than that of Italy and with a population of 80 million it's the 13th most populated country in the world Vietnam is located in the Indo Chinese monsoon region and due to its particular north-south position has a remarkable quantity of different climates the winter monsoon comes from the Northeast between October and March bringing cool and rainy winters to the northern regions and a hot dry climate to the south [Music] from April to October the southwestern monsoon conveys hot and humid air to most of the country thanks to the ample precipitations and the great quantity of rivers the lives of the people have always been linked to water the main product of Vietnamese agriculture is rice of which the country has become the world's second-greatest exporter since the mid 90s as a result of the political and economical openings of the last 15 years foreign industries have developed a growing interest towards investment in the country consequently the tourist and industrial sectors have seen important growth in recent years [Music] Hanoi the peaceful capital city of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam still conveys a small-town feeling in spite of its population of 3.5 million [Music] it lies on the banks of the Red River after which it's named Hanoi in fact means the city on the Riverbend in Vietnamese in the past century Hanoi was the capital city of French Indochina and the buildings in the old quarter are reminiscent of 1930s French architecture the public places such as squares parks and lakes which are spread throughout the city are where people meet and engage in recreational activities among employees in their lunch break and couples of lovers there are young people dancing hip-hop and others still practicing the antique art of tae Kuk Wien this form of physical exercise is still practiced all over the country at dawn and sunset to maintain the body young and healthy [Music] the traffic which was made up mainly of bicycles only 15 years ago has today become a flowing river of scooters amongst these traditional rickshaw cycles still offer rides in the city center [Music] following the political opening of the country foreign businesses are showing an interest in Hanoi today which a few years ago was reserved only for the more dynamic Ho Chi Minh City shopping centers offering luxury products and high-tech shops live side-by-side with traditional style businesses [Music] the city is full of monuments dedicated to Ho Chi Minh the founder of the Communist Party in Vietnam he is still respected as a national hero and regarded as the father of the nation born in 1890 he travelled the world and in the 1920s was educated in a communist doctrine in Europe during World War two he returned to his home country to organize resistance to foreign domination but after the Japanese surrender in 1945 Vietnam once again became part of the 100-year old French protectorate of Indochina Ho Chi Minh continued his fight for liberation from the French until their defeat in 1954 finally in power he led North Vietnam until his death in 1969 from his ascent to power until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 Vietnam maintained economic relationships mainly with the other communist countries [Music] the Vietnamese political system nowadays is still communist but the party's presidency has remained vacant since Ho Chi Minh's death [Laughter] the most impressive and well known natural marvel of Vietnam is the immense halong bay only a few hours drive from Hanoi it is one of the main tourist attractions of the country millions of years ago the region was a vast limestone plateau which was gradually submerged leaving only the tips of the mountains to emerge from the turquoise sea the bay has over 3,000 islands which have been modeled by the winds and the waves for thousands of years creating cavities and caves of remarkable dimension where the morphology of the ground has allowed it small forests have grown in 1994 the region was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO how long means the place where the dragon enters the sea according to legend a dragon descended from the mountains and created halong bay this legend fed the imagination of the people and some fishermen still tell tales of a mysterious marine creature roaming around the bay [Music] how long is also the location of one of the James Bond movies but as the Vietnamese government didn't release the necessary permits the shooting was done in southern Thailand [Music] throughout the centuries how long's locals have adapted to the unfriendly nature of the region by choosing to live on the water in big floating villages which survived to the present day recently large hotels have been built on the main islands of the archipelago but the inhabitants of the floating villages still live off fishing and the sale of local products to visitors the hills of Tam Kok situated south of Hanoi have similar origins to Holland's islands here rock formations rise from the rice fields instead of emerging from the sea thus giving life to an enchanting mystical atmosphere the morphology of the land is such the chains of rocky hills create closed valleys inaccessible by land tom caulk means three caves in fact the only way to reach some of the valleys is through passages created by the stream underneath the rocky formations [Music] every Valley is cultivated with rice the basic element of the Vietnamese diet and every day the farmers reach their fields along the streams in small rowing boats [Music] since large supermarkets are not always at hand traditional markets are still the place where people buy their food and necessities some of the food may not always look appetizing to the tourists to the eye of the stranger these pictures could look like a reptile show in fact it is a restaurant whose specialty is snake once the unlucky reptile has been chosen tradition requires that the blood and the bile be drunk first followed by the consumption of its freshly extracted heart every part of the body is then used to cook a wide choice of dishes the meat of reptiles is in great demand from Chinese tourists for the aphrodisiac qualities which it is believed to have another byproduct of the snake is a liqueur commonly called snake wine in the same way bee wine gecko wine iguana wine and many others are made [Music] Buddhism has molded the culture of the peoples of Vietnam for thousands of years introduced through Chinese and Indian colonization it has merged with Taoism and Confucianism down through the centuries to become the triple religion Tom Jiao [Music] religious practices are still part of the life of the Vietnamese mass pilgrimages to sites of particular religious importance take place on a regular basis [Music] the temples are often located inside natural caves where believers assemble to pray the physical contact with the humidity on cave walls and the water dropping from the cave ceiling is said to bring good luck in spite of its atheist doctrine communism doesn't seem to have destroyed these ancient traditions [Applause] since the arrival of the Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century there has also been a notable Christian community which accounts for about 10% of the population the Latin alphabet which is used today originates from them there are also small communities of Muslims and Hindus for thousands of years China strongly influenced all aspects of Vietnamese culture the Imperial tombs of the yin dynasty near the city of hue reveal the historical relationships between these two populations the Chinese conquest of the north dates back to the second century AD the Chinese colonizers introduced the construction of irrigation systems to implement the production of the rice fields as well as the use of metal plows towed by animals but the Chinese colonization was also characterized by tyranny slavery and endless demands for tributes thus causing repeated rebellions and revolts by the Vietnamese in the 10th century AD a final revolt brought an end to 1,000 years of Chinese domination the first independent realm of Vietnam was thus established during the following centuries disputes continue to take place with periods during which China took renewed control of the country the tombs at hue are among the most significant traces of the heritage left by Chinese colonialism [Music] more recently another chapter of history has been written in this area during the Geneva Conference of 1954 after the defeat of the French by Ho Chi Minh it was decided that the country was to be split into two parts the measure should have been transitional but became a reality for 20 years [Music] Ho Chi Minh's communist North backed by the Soviet Union and the capitalist South allied to the u.s. were divided by a five kilometer wide Demilitarized Zone the DMZ fearing the communist threat in 1963 the u.s. stepped up their military support of the south and a year later started to bomb targets in the north the DMZ witnessed the most vicious fights of the war for years the Americans bombed the enemy destroying cities villages bridges and public infrastructure without ever obtaining the surrender of a noise government evidence of the resistance and obstinacy of the Vietnamese people are miles of tunnels dug by civilian residents of the DMZ in order to protect themselves from the bombings a similar tunnel system with military purposes was dug near Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon as it was called from the 220 kilometers of tunnels the Vietcong launched guerrilla attacks against the American army the Americans found themselves fighting an invisible enemy which attacked them by surprise and then suddenly disappeared in the trap-filled jungle despair brought them to extreme remedies most of the hottest areas were sprayed with chemical agents and defoliants referred to as Agent Orange the consequences of these operations were frightening and are still visible today over thirty five years after the war vegetation is still not growing in vast areas regions that had luxuriant vegetation before the war were destroyed and still appear barren today despite attempts to reforest them the American troops left the country in 1973 exhausted without achieving the goal of suppressing the Communist enemy [Music] Vietnam was unified again two years later under the Communist Party which has governed the country up to the present day interestingly the majority of the people don't appear to bear resentment the consequences of that terrible war [Music] a little south of hue the mountain chains descend to the sea determining the climatic border between the Northeast Monsoon influenced area and the drier hotter south of Vietnam it was in this area that around the second century AD the Hindu kingdom of Champa was established the charms adopted Hinduism and used Sanskrit as a religious language and the influence of Indian architecture is still apparent in the temples that remain from this culture [Music] hidden in the rain forest in a lush Valley surrounded by Hills lies Nissan the most important site of chums civilization for the duration of this kingdom Nissan was the main cultural religious and intellectual center it is considered to be the chompers equivalent to the other great cultures of Indian influence in Southeast Asia Angkor in Cambodia began in Myanmar ayutthaya in Thailand and borobudur on Java Island Misun was a religious center from the 4th to the 13th century AD most of the temples were dedicated to deities [Music] since many ornamental works were not completed it is believed that the chums first built the temples and the decorations on the brick walls were carved later [Music] during the war suspecting that the Vietcong were using the site as a hiding place the Americans bombed it of the 68 structures which have been discovered after Chinese and Vietnamese plundering American bombings only 20 still remain around 1100 AD the kingdom of champa covered all of the central parts of today's Vietnam as well as some of the south but following the frequent disputes and Wars with the other empires of the Indo Chinese Peninsula the CIAM gradually lost power until their final destruction in the 19th century besides the monuments and a few villages of CIAM origin traditional dances are still performed which the girl dancers practice in this ancient site of worship [Music] [Music] site of one of the hundreds of American military bases in the war Natron has lately become the main coastal resort of the country the granite hills that surround the town along with the turquoise waters of the South China Sea give the whole area a Mediterranean feel [Music] the town attracts a growing number of tourists every year and is experiencing a notable property development despite the fact that the big hotel chains haven't settled yet it offers all the recreational activities of a respectable beach resort from long walks along six kilometres of beach to excursions to the region's islands like Ho Chi Minh City NHA trang reflects the present trend of economic expansion that Vietnam is experiencing and promises to become an international tourist destination within a few years similar to the more well-known destinations in Thailand [Music] Natron is also a holiday place for Vietnamese people since they culturally consider white skin to be more beautiful women often cover their head and face to avoid the tan [Music] in heavy contrast to the growing tourist based economy of not Truong and inland from the coast are the Central Highlands the rural life still relies on the cultivation of coffee plants which bloom in the winter mushrooms grown in straw greenhouses livestock and silkworm breeding the region is also home to hill tribes and ethnic minorities Vietnam has over 50 ethno-linguistic minority groups and their number is estimated to be around 6 to 8 million people physical features as well as the traditions of these groups are noticeably different from those of the Vietnamese coastal people the central highlands have a cool and temperate climate with beautiful mountain landscapes streams lakes rivers and all inspiring waterfalls [Music] the vast western area of the highlands is a very fertile region thanks to its volcanic soil for this reason in the past the government moved farmers from the north into these territories with the resulting loss of natural habitants [Music] some forests survive but the majority of the trees have been destroyed either by the defoliants sprayed by the Americans or by deforestation in favor of agriculture [Music] due to the scarce control of the Vietnamese government over this region the area was inaccessible to foreigners until 1992 but nowadays almost all of it can be visited in the southern territories of the highlands pine trees grow alongside tropical forests thanks to its cooler climate the city of dalat is an important tourist center for the Vietnamese the French during their occupation used to go to dalat to escape the heat of Saigon at about a hundred kilometers from the pine tree forests lies the peaceful beach of Monet compared to not wrong this area has seen little tourist development and the main commercial activity is fishery whene'er is famous for its enormous sand dunes which were one of the favorite subjects of Vietnamese photographers the region has a unique microclimate with only half the rainfall of the cities that are only a short distance away it is one of the least populated areas of the country and it's amazing to see these little deserts only a few hundred kilometers away from the rainforest [Music] the dunes draw fair amount of tourists and Vietnamese boys of the area have found new occupations as guides to visitors and also offer sledge rides on the dunes there's a button [Music] thanks to strong wind and waves moines a is a good place for water sports like windsurfing and kitesurfing one of the most appealing images to the visitors eye is to see local girls wearing the owl dye this traditional tight-fitting silken garment with flaps that open on the sides to show baggy trousers is still worn by girls as a school uniform as well as a working uniform in many public services during school opening hours hundreds of girls travel by bicycle wearing the AL die [Music] in the extreme south majestic and impressive flows the country's most important waterway with its incredible size the Mekong River offers breathtaking panoramas also called the river of the nine Dragons it flows into the sea through a lush and luxuriant Delta which is nearly as large as Switzerland and hosts 18 million people for millennia this immense waterway has United and divided the people who lived along its banks the Mekong is one of the main rivers of the planet 12th in rank for its length and 10th for its water volume from its springs in Tibet it flows over 4200 kilometres through China Myanmar Laos Thailand and Cambodia to finally emerge into the South China Sea the rich soil of this Delta is cultivated on over half of its area and produces more rice than the whole of the nation's needs frequent floods have forced the locals to build their houses on poles or even on floating rafts water is still the main means of transport with an extensive creative canals built over the centuries life for the locals seems to flow on peacefully and relies mainly on the resources the river and its Delta have to offer lately however the industrial sector has experienced a notable growth [Applause] [Music] Ho Chi Minh City is the largest urban settlement in Vietnam tourist bars and cafes high-tech shops and big hotels have taken over the city center and the general impression is that the city is trying to catch up with other large business capitals of Southeast Asia like Bangkok and Singapore green parks and numerous colonial style buildings recall past relationships with the Western world located along the banks of the Saigon River the city officially counts six point three million people even though a more precise estimate allows up to seven to eight million although some of the citizens still prefer to call it Saigon since 1975 the name of the city is Ho Chi Minh City after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent opening to international markets the city has seen an influx of foreign businesses and has become the industrial and commercial heart of the nation in July 2000 the first stock exchange market was opened and the average income of the citizens is generally higher than anywhere else in the country due to this extraordinary development thousands of Vietnamese moved to the city yearly hoping to improve their living standards it is here that the big social and economic changes that are shaking Vietnam are most clearly visible Vietnam appears today as a welcoming and relatively peaceful country thanks to its strong sense of identity the clouds of war have been blown away and have been replaced by a new opening to the world around it [Music] the people today have a strong will to change the partial isolation they have experienced for decades and to become full members of the international community modernity and Oriental tradition paired with the extraordinary variety natural beauty of the country give Vietnam a charm that enchants the visitor [Music] the great economical leap that Vietnam has experienced has improved the people's living standards and has at the same time confronted them with the risk of trading in their old traditions for the western lifestyle life in the countryside remains vastly undisturbed as if time had stopped centuries ago and gives us hope for a future where the positive aspects of progress and ancient folk customs will coexist harmoniously [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Mirko Kulig

Views: 18,013

Rating: 4.7080293 out of 5

Keywords: Documentary, vietnam, viet nam, travel, asia, south-east asia, war, war in vietnam, travel documentary, Vietnam, Viet Nam, Vietnam Today, Travel, Travel footage, Mirko Kulig, Patrick Kulig, Vietnam Culture, Vietnam Territory, Vietnam Food, Ha Long, Tam Coc, Nha Trang, My Son, Myson, Ho Chi Minh City, ho chi minh city, nha trang, vietnam war, ho chi minh, vietnam (country), vietnam today facts, vietnam today youtube, travel footage free

Id: 3wGcUE_yzKM

Length: 38min 42sec (2322 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 16 2016