Can Tho City

Cần Thơ is the fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city in the Mekong Delta.

It is noted for its floating market, rice paper-making village, and picturesque rural canals. It had a population of 1.2 million as of 2011, and is located on the south bank of the Hau River, adistributary of the Mekong river. In 2007, about 50 people died when the Cần Thơ Bridge collapsed, causing Vietnam's worst engineering disaster. In 2011, Can Tho International Airport opened.

The city is nicknamed the "western capital" (Tây Đô), and is located 169 kilometres (105 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City. Cần Thơ's climate is tropical and monsoonal with two seasons: rainy, from May to November; and dry, from December to April. Average annual humidity is 83%, rainfall 1,635 mm (64 in) and temperature 27 °C (81 °F).

The Mekong Delta is considered to be the "rice basket of Vietnam", contributing more than half of the nation's rice production.

Tourism

Cần Thơ is famous for its floating markets, where people sell and buy things on the river, as well as the bird gardens and the port of Ninh Kiều. The city offers a wide range of tropical fruits such as pomelo, longan, jackfruit, mango and durian. The Cần Thơ City Museum has exhibits on the city's history.