Lạng Sán () is a mountainous province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam, bordering China.
From four chronicles An Nam chàlðợc, ', ' and ÃÂại Viá»Ât sá» ký toàn thð, its name Lạng Sán (, Nungz: Phja-lủng) was originated from Tlủng-san in ancient Annamese language, which means "valleys (là ©ng) + mountains (sán)" in modern Vietnamese.
From the end of the 19th century to the present, the name of the province has been written in international documents as Langson (English), Lang-Son (French), or sometimes Langland (in general literature and tourist posters). Besides, in some cases of Vietnamese spelling before 1977, it was often written as Lạng-sán (Kinh) or LaÃÂng-xán (Mðá»Âng).
The history of the province is considered as the history of Lạng Sán town.
Ancient history is traced to the Bronze Age. This period is marked by the trade route that existed between China and India that passed from the Red River Delta through Nanning to Guangzhou. 7,000âÂÂ9,000 years ago the limestone caves of the province were inhabited by early settlers of the Bac Son culture.
The ÃÂinh emperors (968-980) encouraged the growth of trade in the region and requested the Sung emperors of China that they establish trade relations at Yong Zhou. The Chinese Annals have revealed that the Annamese traded perfumes, elephant ivories, rhinoceros horns, gold, silver and salt in return for Chinese fabrics. Later, under the Lý dynasty an extensive market was established at Vénh Bình on the Kỳ Cùng River.
On 4 April 1406, as a Chinese Ming envoy crossed the border into Lạng Sán, Há» Quý Ly's forces ambushed them and killed the Trần prince that the Ming were escorting back. Consequently, the Yongle Emperor (of Ming China) launched a punitive expedition against him due to this hostile act. During the reign of the Ming dynasty, during the period 1527 and 1592, Lạng Sán was vastly fortified in view of its strategic importance at the border, which is seen even now; a citadel of this dynasty is located to the west of the Lạng Sán town on a limestone rock outcrop.
Lạng Sán was one of the 13 original provinces in the Northern Annam that were created under the reign of Emperor Minh Má»Ânh in 1831; since the establishment of the Nguyá» n dynasty in 1802 until then, northern Vietnam had been under the rule of a viceroy.
In late September 1884, large detachments of the Guangxi Army advanced from Lạng Sán and probed into the Luc Nam valley, announcing their presence by ambushing the French river gunboats Hache and Massue (of the Tonkin Flotilla) on 2 October. General Louis Brière de l'Isle, the French commander-in-chief, responded immediately, transporting nearly 3,000 French soldiers to the Luc Nam valley aboard a flotilla of gunboats and attacking the Chinese detachments before they could concentrate. In the Kép campaign (2 to 15 October 1884), three French columns under the overall command of General François de Négrier fell upon the separated detachments of the Guangxi Army and successively defeated them in engagements at Lam (6 October), Kép (8 October) and Chu (10 October).
In the wake of these French victories, the Chinese fell back to Bắc Lá» and Dong Song, and de Négrier established important forward positions at Kép and Chu, which threatened the Guangxi Army's base at Lạng Sán. Chu was only a few miles southwest of the Guangxi Army's advanced posts at Dong Song, and on 16 December 1884 a strong Chinese raiding detachment ambushed two companies of the Foreign Legion just to the east of Chu, at Ha Ho. The legionnaires fought their way out of the Chinese encirclement, but suffered a number of casualties and had to abandon their dead on the battlefield. De Négrier immediately brought up reinforcements and pursued the Chinese, but the raiders made good their retreat to Dong Song.
Although the Guangxi Army had been forced to retreat in the October battles, its commanders had not given up all hope of breaking into the Delta. Driven partly by sheer hunger and partly by the knowledge that the French would sooner or later move against Lạng Sán, the Chinese renewed their efforts to gain a foothold in the Luc Nam valley in December. The action at Ha Ho was the first indication that a major move was afoot. A week after this engagement a force of 12,000 Chinese troops from the Guangxi Army occupied the distinctive conical hill of Phja Pò, to the east of Chu, and began to lay out a large fortified camp. The Chinese force was under the command of Wang Debang, one of the Guangxi Army's more competent generals, who had defeated a French column in June 1884 in the Bắc Lá» ambush.
The famished Chinese soldiers plundered all the villages in the area for food, earning the hatred and resentment of the Tonkinese farmers. On 23 December the villagers of Lien Son came to the French headquarters at Chu and alerted Lieutenant-Colonel Donnier to the presence of a large Chinese force around Núi Bóp.
The French could not allow a force of 12,000 Chinese to remain at Núi Bop, uncomfortably close to their main base at Chu and threatening the flank of the expeditionary corps when it eventually set off for Lạng Sán. Brière de l'Isle reinforced the Chu garrison in late December, and in early January 1885 de Négrier was ordered to take the offensive against the Chinese.
De Négrier's column was drawn from both the 1st and 2nd brigades of the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps. It included a marine infantry battalion under the command of chef de bataillon Mahias, de Mibielle's Turco battalion and two companies of Tonkinese riflemen. The column also included the 111th and 143rd line battalions and Jourdy and de Saxcé's batteries.
Lạng Sán town was occupied by the French in 1885 when it was a very prosperous municipality.
The French converted it into a military base considered as important to their other base in Cao Bằng. In 1906, archaeologist Henri Mansuy discovered the Tham Kanh cave near Pho Binh Gia which he named the Ho Binh Gia. He unearthed unique stone implements and human remains. In 1922âÂÂ25 M. Coloni extensively explored Lạng Sán province and identified 43 sites related to the ancient Bac Son culture in the mountains.
During World War II, even though the Japanese had signed an agreement with Vichy Indo China, they soon reneged on the Agreement, without waiting for the ink to dry on the accord, and launched an offensive on Vietnam by withdrawing their troops from China. They crossed the Sino-Vietnamese border and entered inside, very close to the Lạng Sán railway station. The Japanese attacked on 22 September 1940 and by the 25th they captured Lạng Sán. However, Vichy had lodged a protest with Emperor Hirohito for the breach of the agreement signed between the two countries, which resulted in a ceasefire to the hostilities by the evening of 26 September, and soon Lạng Sán was reoccupied by the Vichy forces.
After Ho Chi Minh's communist government was established in September 1945, Japanese had surrendered to the British and Indian Army, under the terms of the Potsdam Conference, to the south of the 16th parallel, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (the Kuomintang). As strategy, Ho Chi Minh entered into an agreement with the French so that he could face any threat from the Chinese and a Franco-Vietnamese agreement was signed. This provided for a free Vietnam within the French Union and the Indochinese federation. However, the French launched an offensive against the Viet Minh in October 1947 with Lạng Sán as their base. However, the Viet Minh managed to thwart the French Offensive and forced the French to withdraw to Lạng Sán. However, the Viet Minh pursue the French Army, they had a very decisive victory on Highway 4 and they had to finally withdraw from Lạng Sán. This marked the beginning of First Indochina War
In 1950 the Viet Minh took control of the province and the town. During February 1979, the Chinese invaded Vietnam through the border town of Don Dong ( to the north of Long Son town). In this war, which lasted for five days, 600,000 soldiers had descended on Vietnam; Lạng Sán town was the major town that received the major thrust of 200,000 soldiers from China and occupied the capital city of the Northern Province. However, the Vietnamese had the last say as the Vietnamese army was successful in defeating the Chinese army, which bid a hasty retreat. This has achieved the status of a folk lore in the province. The frontier village, which became famous during the war with China, has remnants of the war on display to the visitors. However the border has been rebuilt and brisk trade flourishes between Vietnam and China through this town. During the Chinese invasion in 1959 the Lan Son town was also severely damaged, however, it has been rebuilt since then. The old part of the town, near the Kyu Kung River has some interesting historical sites.
On June 7, 1949, the district of Lá»Âc Bình was transferred from Hải Ninh province into Lạng Sán. During the First Indochina War, Lạng Sán was a part of Liên khu Viá»Ât Bắc. In 1950 the province had 10 districts: Bằng Mạc, Bắc Sán, Bình Gia, Cao Lá»Âc, ÃÂiá»Âm He, Lá»Âc Bình, ÃÂn Châu, Thoát Lãng, Tràng ÃÂá»Ânh and VÃÂn Uyên. On July 1, 1956, the district of Hữu Là ©ng of Bắc Giang province was transferred into Lạng Sán, which was placed in the Khu tá»± trá» Viá»Ât Bắc (Region of Northern Vietnam), which was formed the same day. The RNV lasted until December 27, 1975. In 1963 agricultural cooperativization began between the nationalities of the province. On December 16, 1964, the district of ÃÂiá»Âm He and six communes of Bằng Mạc were merged to form the new district of VÃÂn Quan; at the same time, the district of ÃÂn Châu and eight communes of Bằng Mạc district came together to form the new district of Chi LÃÂng. From December 27, 1975, until December 29, 1978, Lạng Sán and Cao Bằng provinces were merged to form Cao Lạng Province, before being re-partitioned. At the same time, the district of ÃÂình LáºÂp in Quảng Ninh province was transferred to Lạng Sán, and since then it has had its current 10 districts. In 1979, a Chinese attack on the border was defended.
Currently, Lạng Sán's capital is also called Lạng Sán (city), which is a strategically important town at the border with China and is northeast of Hanoi connected by rail and road. Lạng Sán province is bordered by Cao Bằng province, Bắc Giang province, Bắc Kạn province, Quảng Ninh province, Thái Nguyên province, and China's Guangxi province. The province covers an area of and as of 2023 it had a population of 807,300.
Friendship Gate, the historical land link between China and Vietnam, links Lạng Sán and Guangxi, China. Being a border province, it is important for trade between the two countries. It is accessible by road and rail from Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, and it is the northernmost point on National Route 1.
Lạng Sán's economy is 80% based on agriculture and forestry. However, in recent years economic development has received full attention to exploit its rich mineral resources.
The most important tree grown in the province is the star anise (Illicium verum, Hooker), an important spice; an evergreen tree which has aromatic lanceolate leaves.
Besides, important historical places of interest in the province are the war-ravaged ÃÂá»Âng ÃÂÃÂng border town, which has rich war history and attracts visitors, two large limestone caves within a short distance from the Lạng Sán town, and a 16th-century citadel of the Ming dynasty.
Lạng Sán is subdivided into 11 district-level sub-divisions and 200 commune-level sub-divisions :
The province is set in karstic limestone mountains and valleys. Mountains and forests comprise 80% of the province's area. The province measures approximately 123 kilometres from north to south and 126 kilometres from west to east. The average altitude of the province is above sea level. The lowest point in the province is towards the south of Hữu Là ©ng District and the highest point is at Mount Mẫu Sán, which is . Mẫu Sán is to the east of the town of Lạng Sán by , and is surrounded by a series of small peaks; snow sometimes falls on these peaks in winter. The Bac Son Mountains are located in the province and are calcareous in nature. Fertile valleys are framed by high mountain ridges, creating a scenic landscape.
The north of the province adjoins Cao Bằng province. The Kỳ or Kyu River flows through Lạng Sán town and alluvial plains are formed in the valley that is surrounded by high mountains of about height. The Kỳ has a basin area of , and has its source in the mountainous area of Bắc Xa at an altitude of in the district of ÃÂình LáºÂp. The river is part of the Tây Giang River basin in China. The Bản ThÃÂn River, a tributary of the Kỳ Cùng, which is long with a catchment area of , has its source in a mountainous region in Guangxi in China, and empties into the Kỳ Cùng in the commune of Khuất Xá in Lá»Âc Bình Province. Other tributaries of the Kỳ include the Bắc Giang River, which is 114 km long with a catchment area of and the Bắc Khê River, which is long with a catchment area of . Other rivers of note in the province include the Thðáng LàRiver, which is the second largest in the province, sourced from the Na Pa Phðá»Âc range in the district of Chi LÃÂng and is 157 km long with a basin area of , the Hoá ÃÂá» River, which is in length with a catchment area of and the Trung River, which is 35 km in length with a catchment area of.
Lạng Sán has two international border crossings. The most accessed is the Friendship Gate called the Hữu Nghá» Quan crossing at ÃÂá»Âng ÃÂÃÂng connecting to Pingxiang town in China. This is the historical first land link in the north between China and Vietnam that connects Lạng Sán and Guangxi, China. The border is open daily, from 07:00 to 17:00, and involves a walk of 500 m through the no man's territory between Vietnam and China. There is an international train service, an express route, opened in 1996 from Hanoi to Beijing (China), which operates twice a week on Tuesday and Friday that passes through Lạng Sán Town and ÃÂá»Âng ÃÂÃÂng through this gate which has three-hour stop at the border town to complete formalities of entry from one country to the other. Passengers are not allowed to board the train at any intermediate station between Hanoi and Beijing.
Lạng Sán is to the northwest of Hanoi and National Highways 1 and 1 A and passes the Chi LÃÂng pass (the site of Lê Lợi's victory over 100,000 Ming invaders from China in 1427) and Bắc Giang on National Highway 1A. Lạng Sán is 135 km from Cao Bằng on the National Highway no 4.
Lạng Sán province has an average annual temperature of 17âÂÂ22 ðC and an average annual rainfall of . The average temperature in the summer is and in the winter, It has an average humidity of 80âÂÂ85% and an average of 1600 hours of sunlight a year.
According to the General Statistics Office of the Government of Vietnam, the population of Lạng Sán Province, as of 2019, was 781,655 with a density of 94 persons per km<sup>2</sup> over a total land area of . The male population during this period was 399,410 while the female population was 382,245. The rural population was 621,841 against an urban population of 159,814 (about 26% of the rural population).
There are about 40 ethnic groups in Lạng Sán recognized by the Vietnamese government. Each ethnicity has their own language, traditions, and subculture. Nùng comprised 42.90% of the population, followed by Tày at 36.08% and Kinh at 16.09%. The remainder are mostly Yao, Tanka, Sán Chay and Hmoob. Nungz dialects include Nùng Phan Slinh in eastern Lạng Sán, Nùng Cháo around Lạng Sán city, and Nùng Inh in western Lạng Sán.
The northern mountainous province is rich in biodiversity of flora and fauna in its rich forest. In the karstic limestone formations (also known as carbonate karst), which occupy 5% of the natural forest area of Vietnam Long Son and Cai Bang have an important place in the floral and faunal wealth of the forests. Northeast Viet Nam has 36% of the country's 1.15 million hectares of rocky mountains out of which Lạng Sán and Cao Bằng provinces account for a substantial part of limestone formations. According to forest statistics of Vietnam these limestone formations have 69 mammal species; five of them are endemic and 26 are rare species. Village people value these formations as they are sources of water for agriculture. They also are sources of fuel wood, medicinal plants and housing materials for the villagers. In Lạng Sán province they are rich source of water for irrigation of paddy crops. The limestone formations also permit growth of annona trees which provide substantial revenue to the villagers in Lạng Sán; the average annual net yield from annona is reported to be about 12 million ÃÂá»Ângs (US$775).
The most important tree grown in Vietnam (and also in China) is the star anise (illicium verum, Hooker), an important spice; an evergreen tree which has aromatic lanceolate leaves. The Lạng Sán province is the leading province with this tree species growth reported to cover 9000 ha, mostly in its VÃÂn Quan District. Other provinces also have this species of trees but the coverage is very limited. Initially the tree belonged to the state farm enterprises under collective farming. However, since the 1990s, it has decontrolled and given the trees to village families to manage. There are plans to enhance the plantation area under this species of tree to . The commercial production of star anise spice, which was 9,896 tonnes in 1997, has recorded a fall to 5,000 tonnes in 1999.
Apart from the war-ravaged ÃÂá»Âng ÃÂÃÂng Border town, which has a rich war history that attracts many visitors, the other historical places of interest in the province are two large limestone caves located a short distance from Lạng Sán town, and a 16th-century citadel of the Ming dynasty.
The two caves contain Buddhist altars, are well illuminated and are called the Tam Thanh Cave and the Nhi Thanh Cave. The Tam Thanh Cave is very large with three chambers, a water pond, and has a window opening which provides scenic views of vast rice fields outside. The outer chamber of the cave on the right contains the Tam Giao Pagoda (built in 1777) with six shrines. The second chamber of the cave on the left also has shrines. The Ngoc Tuyen River flows through this cave into the mountain, an unusual feature which is described as "a dramatic sight." The Nhi Thanh Cave, about 700 m away from and Tam Thanh Cave, were discovered in the 18th century by Ngô Thin Sy, a military commander at the Lạng Sán garrison. His poems have been inscribed at the entrance to the cave. A plaque erected near the cave depicts a French resident of Lạng Sán in full European dress. The Ngoc Tuyen River flows through the cave.
The Ming dynasty citadel, a 16th-century monument located in a desolate area on a rock outcrop, is bounded by the eastâÂÂwest facing walls and can be accessed using the Tam Tinh road from Lạng Sán city. A series of steps from the roadside lead to the ruins of the citadel.
Lạng Sán is known for its mountainous landscapes, limestone caves, and historical sites. Notable attractions include Mẫu Sán; Tam Thanh Cave and Nhi Thanh Cave, and ÃÂá»Âng ÃÂÃÂng Temple. Lạng Sán city also has ancient walls built in the 18th century.
Lạng Sán's economy is 80% based on agriculture and forestry. The province has significant mining reserves of bauxite, phosphate and coal. It also has notable reserves of gold, silver and lead. Main crops include rice, which accounted for 40,000 hectares out of a total of 55,000 hectares grown in 1986, and sweet potato, maize and manioc. It is also known for its commodities of tea and yellow tobacco. These crops are generally grown in the valleys of the Bac Son Mountains, Binh Gia Mountains and the Van Quan Mountains and along the rivers plains of the Kỳ Cùng River and the Thuong River. Some of the districts such as Hữu Là ©ng District have sugar cane plantations and grow oranges and pineapples, others grow tea and plums. Animal husbandry is developed in Lạng Sán Province; in 1986, 140,000 buffalo and oxen were recorded in the province and 150,000 pigs. The province is also noted for its That Khe duck speciality.
As against the national figure of 273 agriculture, forestry and fishery cooperatives, 15 are agricultural cooperatives and four are fisheries cooperatives. The number of cooperatives is 32 as against 7,592 cooperatives in the country. There are only 26 farms as against the national number of 120699.
The output value of agriculture produce at constant 1994 prices in the province was 1,076.5 billion ÃÂá»Ângs against the national value of 156,681.9 billion dongs.
In 2018, Lạng Sán ranked 51st out of 63 provinces in terms of GDP, ranked 47th in GDP per capita, and ranked 20th in terms of growth.