Kien Giang

Area: 6,348.3 sq. km

Population: 1,684.6 thousand habitants (2006)

Capital: Rach Gia City

Administrative divisions:

- Town: Ha Tien.

- Districts: Kien Luong, Hon Dat, Tan Hiep, Chau Thanh, Giong Rieng, Go Quao, An Bien, An Minh, Vinh Thuan, Phu Quoc, Kien Hai, U Minh Thuong.

Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Khmer, Hoa, Cham...

Geography

Kien Giang has 200km of coastline with large fishing grounds, consisting of 105 big and small islands, of which 43 islands have residents. This creates favorable conditions and good environment for raising many sorts of aquaculture.

Climate: Kien Giang locates on humid monsoon tropical area. The weather is always warm with few natural calamities and abundant of sunshine. The average temperature is 27ºC. It is highest in April (29ºC) and lowest in January (25.6ºC). There are two separated seasons: the rainy season is from April to November, the dry season is from December to April.

Tourism and Economy

Kien Giang has plains, fertile rice fields, forests of cajuput and mangrove. Kien Giang coastal area has been determined as a key fishing ground. The sea here is rich in types of good fish such as mackerel, shark, blue fish, carp, shrimp. Phu Quoc's high quality fish sauce is well-known in Vietnam and abroad. This fish sauce smells particularly good since it is made from a small fish, ca com, with a high level of protein.

Kien Giang is proud of historic sites in U Minh Forest, Hon Dat, Ha Tien, Phu Quoc. The province is favored by nature with landscapes like Ha Tien, and Phu Quoc, in which Ha Tien is plentiful attractive sites of caves, pagodas, tombs, islets along the coast and offshore.

Other famous sites include the Temple and Tomb of national hero Nguyen Trung Truc in Rach Gia, Tam Bao Pagoda, the Bird Sanctuary, Tan Hoi Pagoda, and Mac Cuu Tomb.

Transportation

Road: Rach Gia is 92km from Ha Tien, 116km from Cantho, 182km from My Tho, and 250km from Ho Chi Minh City.

Air: The province owns 3 airports: Rach Gia, Phu Quoc, and Ha Tien. From Ho Chi Minh City, there are daily flights connecting to Rach Gia, and 28 flights a week linking to Phu Quoc.

Hydrofoil boats daily connects Rach Gia and Phu Quoc and vice versa.

Interesting information about Phu Quoc Phu - hidden charm

Vietnam's Phu Quoc Island has been ranked as one of the leading five most beautiful "hidden beaches" in the world by Concierge.com.

Concierge.com said the Bai Dai (Long Beach), on the Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang, is an excellent place for travellers to rest and relax from October through March.

The other beaches to follow Bai Dai are the Wildcat Beach in California, Pink Beach on Barbuda, Cayo Costa State Park in Floria's southern Gulf Coast and Majahuitas Cove of Mexico.

An untapped pearl in the Gulf of Thailand about 120km from Rach Gia Town, Phu Quoc Island is a mixing pot of flavours, history and beauty that is sure to be dazzle even the most travelled person.

There are 99 mountains on the 22-island archipelago, all low and covered by a canopy of green that evokes travellers with a refreshing feeling.

Phu Quoc is also well-known for its Cay Dua (Coconut Tree) Prison, the erstwhile detainment centre familiar to tens of thousands of Vietnamese liberation fighters and civilians.

Built by the French just before World War II, during the American War, it became a notoriously vile detention camp spread over 40ha. Now it's a certified national historic relic complete with a magnificent commemorative monument built on the nearby hill.

Being the largest fishing port in the archipelago. An Thoi houses hundreds of fishing and passenger boats from Rach Gia and Ha Tien. And its kaleidoscopic seafood market offers big and ruddy prawns, fish crabs, squid and the island speciality, the renowned and savoury Phu Quoc fish-sauce is served up by charming and chatty young women.

Diversed fauna, flora

Phu Quoc's forests, blanketing 70% of the island, are criss-crossed by rivers and streams with plenty of fresh water.

And unlike many other places in Vietnam, in and around those forests you're hard pressed to find a restaurant dishing up wild and endangered animal meat.

You could think of Phu Quoc National Park as a Vietnamese forest museum, given its rich flora of thousands of tropical plants and an equally rich fauna of 150 kinds of wild animals.

Phu Quoc National Park is a good destination for tourists as it offers a wide range of activities such as camping and trekking. It's also ideal for those who want to study the tropical forest. As Phu Quoc develops into Vietnam's eco-tourism capital, the jewel in its crown, the park will become ever more attractive to visitors from around the world.

Only two-hour flight from almost any Southeast Asian metropolis, Phu Quoc has in recent years been dubbed the next big Vietnamese thing. And like places such as Sa Pa - the north-west ethnic group hill town - where hotels will soon outnumber houses, you had better get there quick while you can.