Phú Thọ

PHU THO PROVINCE

Square: 3,528.4 km2.
Population: 1322,100 people (2009)
City: Viet Tri City.
Districts: Ha Hoa, Thanh Ba, Doan Hung, Lam Thao, Thanh Son, Yen Lap, Tam Nong, Thanh Thuy, Phu Ninh, Cam Khe, Tan Son.

OVERVIEW

Phú Thọ Province is a province in northeastern Vietnam. The province's name derives from and its capital is Viet Tri City, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) away from Hanoi and50 kilometres (31 mi) from the Noi Bai International Airport.The province covers an area of 3528.1 square kilometres and as of 2008 it had a population of 1,364,700 people.

HISTORY

The history of the area is traced to Den Hung (Hung Temple), located on the Nghia Linh Mountain, which is taken as evidence of the historicity of the province and the 18 Hung Kings who are credited with building the nation of Van Lang. Hence, the province is considered the first state of Vietnam, with Phong Chau as its capital. This historical lineage has made this province the ancestral land of Vietnam. There are many festivals in the province linked to this history.

In December 1999, Nguyen Thi Thuy, the leader of an unregistered Protestant house church in the province, was sentenced to one year in prison for "interfering with an officer doing his duty", which caused some religious controversy in the province.

GEOGRAPHY

Located in the Plains and Midland in the North of Vietnam, Phu Tho shares border with Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai provinces on the north, Vinh Phuc, Ha Tay provinces on the east, Son La Province on the west and Hoa Binh Province on the south.
The terrain is mainly made up by hills. There are also three big rivers namely Red, Da and Lo rivers running through Phu Tho.

CLIMATE

Phu Tho has a monsoon tropical climate with a cold winter and hot summer, annual average temperature of 23ºC, annual average rainfall of 1600-1800mm and annual average humidity of 85-87%.

TOURISM

Phu Tho is consider as ancestral land of Vietnam. Den Hung (Hung Temple) Remains is tied to the legend about 18 Kings Hung who built Van Lang State, the first one of Vietnam, with Phong Chau as the capital.
Phu Tho has bright culture. Archaeological sites like Son Vi, Dong Dau, Lang Ca and many pagodas, temples, tombs around Nghia Linh Mountain prove that Phong Chau used to be cultural center of ancient Vietnamese.
Xuan Son National Park and Ao Chau Pond are famous beauty spots of Phu Tho. Every year, Xuan Son attracts many tourists to come for recreation and discovery diversified flora and fauna. Heading for Ao Chau, tourists can enjoy the fresh air and taste local specialties like fruits, carps, turtles, crabs, snails and so on.

Phu Tho is home of many festivals including Bach Hac, Chu Hoa, and most honorable one is Den Hung Festival. This festival is on 10th day of the 3rd lunar month annually corresponding to the anniversary of the Kings Hung. Now, it becomes a great ceremonial festival of the Vietnamese nation.
Beside of these, the people here preserve some traditional songs: xec bua, vi, dum, xoan, gheo songs.

TRANSPORT

Viet Tri City is 80km from Hanoi. It is on National Highway No.2 linking Hanoi with Ha Giang Province and China Border. The train from Hanoi to Lao Cai stops at Viet Tri