Quảng Ngãi () is ảngNgãa northern coastal province in the South Central Coast region, the Central of Vietnam. It borders Quảng Nam to the north, Bình Định to the south, Kon Tum to the west, Gia Lai to the southwest and the East Sea to the east.
Quảng Ngãi is located south of Hanoi and north of Hồ Chí Minh City. The province has been historically populated with H're people and ethnic Kinh, and located on the coast.
History
The ancient Sa Huỳnh culture inhabited what is now Quảng Ngãi. Remains of it were found in Sa Huỳnh, Đức Phổ District. Within Champa, the region that is now Quảng Ngãi was less significant than Quảng Nam province and Vijaya. There are only a few Cham remains in the province. The area became part of Vietnam along with Vijaya (Bình Định province) in 1471. In the early 19th century the Long Wall of Quảng Ngãi was constructed in the province. It improved security among the Vietnamese and H're people and facilitated trade. The province had become a center for religious activity, in particular with the construction of a mountain-top monastery, the Thien An Mountain Pagoda in 1695. The mountain was designated by the ruler Nguyễn Phúc Chu and became a religious pilgrimage site.
Quảng Ngãi province was one of the first provinces in central Vietnam (together with Quảng Trị) to organize self-defense units in March 1945. The Ba Tơ Guerrilla Unit mobilized tens of thousands of peasants. It was known as a Việt Cộng stronghold during the Vietnam War and was the site of the purported Bình Hòa massacre and the My Lai Massacre. The province produced famous war literature on both sides of the conflict including the wartime diary of Viet Cong medic Đặng Thùy Trâm was written here, and from the US perspective, the setting of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried.
After reunification, the province was designated as the center of a planned oil industry notably the Dung Quất Refinery alongside special economic zones for the development of heavy and light industries.
Economy
The economy of the province has historically relied on agriculture and fishing, but in recent years has seen significant industrialization with special trade rules applying. The economy of Quang Ngai and surrounding regions is designated for the development of heavy industries, in particular, trade-oriented export and special economic rules apply to parts of the province. The Dung Quat Economic Zone located within the province has a separate visa regime for foreigners seeking to work within the country. Industrial output within the province has seen growth rates of 15-20% annually, far outstripping most other regions in central Vietnam.
The Dung Quat economic zone is recognized as one of five key coastal sites for economic growth in Vietnam, and has seen significant Japanese foreign direct investments.
Geography
Quảng Ngãi's topography is dominated by a large plain along the coast and in the center of the province and by mountains and hills in the west and along its borders with Quảng Nam and Bình Định provinces. Lowlands extend further inland along Trà Khúc River. The province's highest peak is at 1630m in the west of the province near the border to Quảng Nam. The coastline is relatively straight in most of the south and central part of the province (unusual for the South Central Coast), but features several capes north of Quảng Ngãi City. The province's largest river is the Trà Khúc. Other important rivers are the Trà Bồng in the north and the Ve River in the south of the province. The Lý Sơn islands belong to Quảng Ngãi.
Demography
The province had a population of 1,219,200 in 2009. Around 40% is concentrated in Quảng Ngãi City and the two districts just north and south of it (Sơn Tịnh and Tư Nghĩa), where population density ranges from over 500 to 3600/km2). Population density in most of coastal Quảng Ngãi is around 400/km2. The five western districts have population densities of less than 100/km2, three of them (Tây Trà, Sơn Tây, and Ba Tơ) even less than 50/km2. Quảng Ngãi is the least urbanized province of the South Central Coast, with only 14.4% of the population living in cities and towns. The population grew by an annual average of 1% between 2000 and 2007, while the growth of the urban population was 3.9% on average, one of the highest rates in the region.