Travel Guide Mong Cai

In the northeast of the country, in the province of Quang Ninh, Mong Cai is a border town, home to intense trade with China. It is also a crossing point through which travellers are allowed to enter or leave Vietnam to or from China. Of course, you must have the necessary visa.The Mong Cai Free Trade Area has been booming for several years, but it should be borne in mind that, until 1990, the border remained sealed following the Chinese invasion in February 1979. Chinese troops withdrew after 17 days, with estimated losses of 20,000 fighters. Mong Cai, a martyred city of the Sino-Vietnamese war, is now an important economic centre for trade between the two countries.No less than six major markets occupy the city centre and the volume of trade between China and Vietnam is constantly increasing. Of all the border gateways between the two countries, Mong Cai is the one through which the largest volume of goods transit.Mong Cai, the future economic hub of the Gulf of Tonkin. In the summer of 2009, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyên Tan Dung approved the Mong Cai development project to become an economic development hub for the economic belt on the Gulf of Tonkin coast, in order to promote the development of the entire northeast region. The city will have to contribute to building "a border region of peace, friendship and common development" with a local economy that will be based essentially on trade, services, tourism and international communication.And as nothing is forgotten, in addition to being an urban centre that respects environmental protection standards, the city of Mong Cai must be built in such a way as to ensure national defence and security...By 2020, Mong Cai is expected to have a population of about 175,000 people.