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Vietnam (or Viet Nam) is located in Southeast Asia, bordered by China, Cambodia, Laos, and the South China Sea. Its name means “southern extension.” Its capital city is Hanoi, while its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnamese is the only official language of Vietnam, which is a single party Communist state. Vietnam was originally established in 208 BC by Zhao Tuo, a Qin military official. It was originally called Nam Viet, and it consisted of Southern China and the Red River Delta. For roughly the next 1,200 years, Vietnam was ruled by a number of Chinese dynasties. Vietnam gained complete independence from the Chinese government around 1100, and continued its southward expansion, winning many military victories, for the next 700 years. France colonized Vietnam in the mid 1800s, ending its independence.

France kept control until Japan invaded and occupied Vietnam during World War II. At the conclusion of the war, France tried to regain control of Vietnam, but a Communist insurgency had arisen, and they engaged France in a long, bloody war, which ultimately ended in France’s defeat and retreat. The country was then split into North and South Vietnam.

This was followed by a theoretical civil war, with both territories desiring the other’s land. Both formed allies, with North Vietnam aligning with the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam aligned with the United States. In 1965, the United States sent troops to try to squelch a faction of Communists in South Vietnam, which proved to be a mistake. With support from the Soviet Union and China, the North Vietnam army engaged the United States in the Vietnam War, a war the United States eventually lost. After the war, the North eventually defeated the South and established the country under its own rule, as it is today, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Over the next twenty years the country suffered through a tough economy before establishing some changes which created solid economic growth and helped Vietnam return to power in an international sense. Since the days of the Vietnam War, the United States and Vietnam have renewed their friendly relationship.

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