Vĩnh Long

Vĩnh Long Thành phố Vĩnh Long
City
Cityscape of Vĩnh Long Cityscape of Vĩnh Long
Vĩnh Long Location of Vĩnh Long in Vietnam
Coordinates:
Country	Vietnam
Province	Vĩnh Long Province

Vĩnh Long (<phonos file="Vinh Long.ogg">listen</phonos>) is a city and the capital of Vĩnh Long Province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Vĩnh Long covers 48.1 kilometres (29.89 mi) and has a population of 147,039 (as of 2009).

File:Bridge crossing canal, Vietnam.jpg

Narrow bridge over canal on the island of An Binh.

Location

Vĩnh Long is on the Cổ Chiên River, which branches out from the Mekong River at the narrows of Mỹ Thuận about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) upstream, only to meet it later downstream. Across the Cổ Chiên river from Vĩnh Long are the An Binh and Bình Hòa Phước islands, some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) across, with the Mekong River on the other side. A number of canals run through Vĩnh Long, with tall vehicular bridges crossing them. Transport by boat is possible, although parts of the town, particularly An Binh, become unreachable at low tide.

File:IMG 3780 market-top-view.jpg

Fruit stalls along the street in Vĩnh Long market, selling ripe and green mangos, plums, and milk apples.

Vĩnh Long is about two hours from the large city of Cần Thơ in the adjacent Hậu Giang Province, and about three hours from Saigon. The floating market town of Cái Bè is on the other side of the An Binh island and is the frequent destination for tourist boats from Vĩnh Long.