A Handy Guide to Vietnam Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ho Chi Minh City

Tan Son Nhat International Airport is located in the Tan Binh district of the Ho Chi Minh City, about 6.5 km (4 miles) north of the centre. It was originally constructed in the 1920s by the French Colonial government, although it remained an unpaved airfield until the mid-1950s. The site was used as a US Air Force base during the Vietnam War and afterwards continued as a military base in addition to handling tens of thousands of civil flights every year.

Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) is located in the far south of the country and served as the capital of the former Republic of Vietnam (aka South Vietnam). The city dates back to the late 17th century when Vietnamese nobles began an organised settlement of what is now southern Vietnam, taking control of the area from the Khmer Empire. It was renamed after the influential Vietnamese Communist leader Ho Chi Minh in 1976 (a statue of whom is shown in the picture clue).

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam; Haiphong and Da Nang are both important port cities.

Answer: Indochina

Indochina, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Mainland Southeast Asia, is (as the name might suggest) the south-east section of the Asian continent with China to its north and north-east and India to the west. It includes territory belonging to six different countries - Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand and Vietnam - and has coastlines on both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. More specifically, Vietnam has coastlines on the Gulf of Tonkin, Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea.

Vietnam has a total land area of around 310,000 square kilometres (120,000 square miles), but this is spread out in a narrow ribbon that at its narrowest point is only around 50km (31 miles) wide. The wide range of latitudes covered by the country also means that the climate varies considerably. The north generally experiences a humid sub-tropical climate while the south has more tropical wet and dry seasons.

The incorrect options are all other Asian peninsulas: the Sinai Peninsula is the Asian section of the otherwise African nation of Egypt; the Arabian Peninsula contains several Middle East countries, with Saudi Arabia accounting for most of the land area; and the Macau Peninsula is part of an autonomous region of China. The picture clue shows an old map of the area from 1886.

Answer: China

The area that is now modern-day Vietnam came under the control of Imperial China in 111 BC after the Han-Nanyue War. China's control over the area then lasted for over a thousand years until a Vietnamese lord and military general named Ngo Quyen fought an inspired battle against Chinese forces on the Bach-Dang River. Ngo Quyen won both independence for the country that he swiftly renamed 'Dai Viet' and the title of 'King' for himself.

The battle itself employed the interesting tactic of planting sharpened iron-tipped poles into the river bed, which were obscured by the water level at high tide. Ngo Quyen's forces, in shallow-draft boats, passed over the poles and lured the Chinese forces to follow them. Unfortunately, the Chinese had much heavier boats that got stuck on the poles - this left them as sitting ducks and they were then easily attacked and defeated.

Of the incorrect options, both France and Cambodia (as the Khmer Empire) have previously ruled over territory that forms part of modern-day Vietnam. Japan also occupied what was then French Indochina during the Second World War. The picture clue shows the Chinese flag.

Answer: Mekong

The Mekong flows through a total of six countries on its route from the mountains of China (via Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Thailand and Cambodia) to the massive delta it forms in southern Vietnam. It has provided an important trade route for people living alongside its banks for thousands of years, despite the fact that it is actually quite difficult to navigate in places thanks to both narrow and turbulent sections on its upper reaches and because the water level fluctuates considerably during the year.

The Mekong Delta area covers around 39,000 square kilometres (15,000 square miles) and is generally low-level flat land, rich in biodiversity, and an important area for both agriculture and fishery. It is criss-crossed with both distributaries and canals - meaning that boats are often the only form of transport. The main product of the area is rice (a good thing since it is a flood plain and areas are regularly waterlogged).

The Mekong is the seventh longest river of Asia, estimated at around 4,350 km (2,700 miles) in length (the picture clue shows a diagram of the river with its main tributaries). The incorrect options are also in the top ten longest rivers of Asia.

Answer: Limestone

Ha Long Bay covers around 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles) in the north-east of the country, close to the border with China, and is home to around 2,000 islands or islets. The geology of the bay is amazing, with the large number of rocky islets showing the scale of the formations of limestone in the area. As well as the limestone islets, the bay also has dramatic limestone karsts - where the rock has been eroded over time, leaving sinkholes and fissures alongside outcrops, ridges and peaks.

Ha Long Bay translates into English as "Descending Dragon Bay". It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 and has become a popular tourist resort. The wider area has benefited from the influx of income, with the service industry and tourism being key components of the economy of nearby Ha Long City.

The picture clue shows a view of Ha Long Bay. Limestone is a sedimentary rock - the incorrect options are all types of igneous rock.

Answer: Cashew

Cashew 'nuts', often just referred to as cashews, are actually the seeds of the cashew tree, Anacardium occidentale. The cashew grows at the end of the cashew apple, which is a yellow or red pseudocarp (as shown in picture clue) that itself is often eaten as it has a very sweet flavour.

The cashew tree is actually native to Brazil, but is now grown around the world, with Vietnam being a major commercial producer of cashews (along with Nigeria and India). It is widely used in South Asian cuisine as a thickener for soups and stews - in Indian cookery particularly it is often used in the base sauce for many curries and in various sweets and desserts. The 'nuts' can also be eaten roasted or salted as a snack, or ground up and used in cakes. The only thing to be careful about it is that the shell of the cashew is highly toxic - so it's definitely not a good idea to eat that bit.

The incorrect options are all other foods that are often referred to as nuts but that cannot actually claim this name botanically.

Answer: Water puppetry

Water puppetry is believed to date back almost a thousand years in the history of the Red River Delta area. Wooden puppets (like those shown in the picture clue) were attached to bamboo poles and placed in waterlogged paddy fields with the puppeteers hidden out of sight. The water then provided the stage for the puppeteers to act out old folk stories, particularly those with traditional rural themes such as the harvest. Modern day water puppetry shows take place in a pool staged in front of the audience with the puppetry mechanism hidden underwater and the puppeteers hidden in a pagoda. Performances are accompanied by a traditional Vietnamese orchestra with the story being told by chèo, a form of Vietnamese opera.

The Red River flows for about 1,150 km (700 miles) across southern China and northern Vietnam to the Gulf of Tonkin. Its delta is an important rice-growing area.

Culturally, rain dances (or rainmaking) are particularly associated with Native Americans, but are also found in other cultures such as in China and Eastern Europe. Mummers' plays are a British tradition and often involve comedic performances, while Noh is a traditional musical drama from Japan.

Answer: Vietnam partridge

If you visited Vietnam at Christmas time you might be tempted to go looking for Arborophila merlini in a fruit-bearing tree of the genus Pyrus (as shown in the picture clue). However, as the Vietnam partridge is classified as an endangered species, thanks to deforestation in its key habitats, it's pretty unlikely that you would ever spot one. Just in case though, you should know that you would be looking for a fairly small, squat brown and grey bird with distinctive barring on its back and dark arrow-like markings on its lower body. It is classified as a type of hill partridge, all species of which are native to South and East Asia and generally found in heavily forested areas.

The Annamite mountain range extends through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam - it also gives its name to the Vietnam Partridge which is alternatively known as the Annam partridge or Annam hill partridge.

The incorrect options are all other birds that feature in the popular song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' - but these ones don't have a specifically Vietnamese species and aren't associated with pear trees.

Answer: Northwest

If you wanted to go climb the mountain known as Fansipan, then you would need to travel to the relatively scarcely populated mountainous areas in the far north-west of the country - which have (unsurprisingly) been included in the Tay Bac or Northwest region of the country. Fansipan, at 3,143 metres (10,312 feet) high, is located in the Lao-Cai Province, which shares a border with China to the north. It is not just the highest mountain in Vietnam but is also higher than any mountain in neighbouring Cambodia or Laos.

Tourists can arrange to go on treks up the mountain that generally last two to three days with a stop at either the small village about half-way up or at an overnight campsite nearer the summit. Hiking up and down in one day is possible, but not generally recommended for the average tourist!

The picture clue shows a compass handily pointing north-west (you might need one of these if you do decide to hike up Fansipan). The incorrect options are all other regions of Vietnam.

Answer: Caves

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park can be found in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam and is a popular tourist attraction. One of the key sights is the massive system of caves and grottoes (consisting of over 300 separate spaces) which contain some of the largest caves in the world and are still partly unexplored. The large cave that gives its name to the national park - Phong Nha Cave - is a spectacular system containing an underground river, sandy beaches and amazing stalactites and stalagmites. The 'Ke Bang' part of the name comes from the Ke Bang forest which is a tropical evergreen forest growing on mountainous limestone slopes. It is rich in biodiversity and is home to many species of primate, bears, large deer species, reptiles and hundreds of different bird species.

The area was declared a national park in 2001 in order to protect the area and recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. Options for tourists include guided tours of the caves, visiting the forest to see the plant and animal life, boating on the Chay river or heading off on mountain treks and mountain climbing expeditions.

The picture clue shows a nice cave. The park is located inland so is not noted for its islands or coral reefs; it is also in a relatively humid tropical area which is not conducive for desert formation.