Bạc Liêu Province

Bac Lieu Province Tỉnh Bạc Liêu
—  Province  —
Location of Bạc Liêu within Vietnam
Coordinates: 9°15′N 105°45′E / 9.250°N 105.750°E / 9.250; 105.750Coordinates: 9°15′N 105°45′E / 9.250°N 105.750°E / 9.250; 105.750
Country	Vietnam
Region	Mekong Delta
Capital	Bạc Liêu
Government
• People's Council Chair
• People's Committee Chair
Area
• Total	2,525.7 km2 (975.2 sq mi)
Population (2004)
• Total	786,200
• Density	Bad rounding here310/km2 (Bad rounding here810/sq mi)
Demographics
• Ethnicities	Vietnamese, Khmer, Hoa, Chăm
Time zone	ICT (UTC+7)
Calling code	781
ISO 3166 code	VN-55
Website	www.baclieu.gov.vn

Bạc Liêu Province ( listen) is a province of Vietnam. It is a coastal province, and is situated in the Mekong Delta region of the southern part of the country.

Name [edit]

Formerly a territory of Cambodia, the name Bac Lieu is believed to derive from the Khmer language. The Khmer name for this province is Pol Leav.

Administration [edit]

The province is divided into six districts:

• Đông Hải
• Giá Rai
• Hòa Binh
• Hồng Dân
• Phước Long
• Vĩnh Lợi

The provincial capital, which is also known as Bac Lieu, is a separate municipality.

Geography [edit]

Bạc Liêu is generally thought of as being in the Mekong Delta, although it is actually located slightly to the south of the Mekong's main outflows. Bạc Liêu is around 100 km south of Cần Thơ, the largest city in the Mekong Delta.

Economy [edit]

The most important parts of Bạc Liêu's economy are rice farming, fishing, food processing, and clothing manufacturing.

History [edit]

After the Fall of Saigon, 30 April 1975, Bạc Liêu Province and Cà Mau Province were merged into one new entity called Minh Hai Province. Although it is located in Vietnam, many years ago this land was a part of the Khmer Empire which ruled most of Indochina many centuries ago. It is still home to many ethnic Khmer people. In 1996, Minh Hai Province was split into two, with the northeast becoming Bac Lieu Province and the southwest becoming Ca Mau Province.

Culture [edit]

Vọng cổ, an important song in the traditional music of southern Vietnam, was composed in Bac Lieu around 1918 or 1919.

	Kien Giang Province	Hau Giang Province	Soc Trang Province
	Ca Mau Province
		Bac Lieu Province
			East Sea