Lai Châu province Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Lai Châu province Tỉnh Lai Châu
Province
Lai Châu City Lake • Lai Châu Mountain • Town square in Lai Châu • Hoàng Liên Sơn Mountain • Ô Quy Hồ Mountain pass • Suspension bridge Lai Châu • Than Uyên Mountain
Location of Lai Châu within Vietnam
Country	Vietnam
Region	Northwest
Capital	Lai Châu
Subdivision	1 city, 7 rural districts
Government
• Type	Province
• Body	Lai Châu Provincial People's Council
Area
• Province	9,068.8 km² (3,501.5 sq mi)
Population (2021)
• Province	478,400
• Density	52.752/km² (136.628/sq mi)
• Urban	84,700
Ethnic groups
• Thái	31.05%
• Mông	23.97%
• Vietnamese	15.91%
• Dao	12.79%
• Hà Nhì	3.47%
• Others	12.81%
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)
Area codes	213
ISO 3166 code	VN-01

Lai Châu is a province located in the Northwest part of Vietnam. It is one of the least crowded areas in Vietnam. The province shares a border with China.

Long ago, Lai Châu was part of a group of independent areas called Sip Song Chau Tai. This group was ruled by the White Tai. In the 1880s, France took control of the area. It then became part of Vietnam in 1954. The province of Lai Châu was officially created in 1975. In 2004, Điện Biên province was separated from Lai Châu. The province covers an area of about 9,068 square kilometers. In 2019, about 460,196 people lived there.

What's in a Name?
People and Languages
Economy and Resources
- Main Products
- Natural Resources
Local Government
Roads and Communication
- Getting Around
- Staying Connected
Climate
Images for kids
See also

What's in a Name?

The name Sip Song Chau Tai comes from the Tai Lü language. Sibsong means "twelve" and chu means "master." So, it means "Twelve Tai Kingdoms" or "Chiefdoms." This name refers to the twelve main areas or groups of people that were once in charge.

People and Languages

Lai Châu province is home to many different ethnic groups. As of 2019, about 460,196 people lived here. This makes it one of the least populated provinces in Vietnam. About 17.8% of the people live in cities, while 82.2% live in rural areas.

The largest ethnic group is the Thai people, making up about 34% of the population. The Kinh people are about 15.9%. Other groups include the Hmong, Hani, and Dao.

Many different languages are spoken in Lai Châu province. Besides Vietnamese, people speak languages from several families. These include Hmong–Mien languages (like Hmong and Iu Mien) and Tai languages (like Black Tai, White Tai, and Tai Lü). Other languages spoken are Laha, Sila, Côông, Lahu, Lisu, Hani, Akha, Kháng, and Khmu.

Economy and Resources

A bridge in Lai Châu province

For a long time, Lai Châu was one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam. It also had very little industry. For example, in 1974, the industrial output of Hanoi was 47 times higher than Lai Châu's. When Điện Biên province separated, Lai Châu became even less developed.

However, things have been changing. In recent years, industry has grown quickly. Between 2000 and 2007, industrial production more than tripled. This growth was much faster than farming or services. In 2007, industrial products made up 28.9% of the province's economy. This was a big jump from 16.5% in 2000.

Main Products

The main things produced in Lai Châu are:

Rice: About 99,900 tons in 2007.
Maize (corn): About 35,000 tons in 2007.
Cassava: About 48,900 tons in 2007.
Tea: About 16,532 tons in 2007.

The production of rice and maize has tripled since 2000. Tea from Lai Châu is sold in other parts of Vietnam and exported to other countries.

Natural Resources

Lai Châu also has a large forestry sector, which means they get products from forests. There are also plans to mine for rare-earth elements in Lai Châu. These are special minerals used in many modern technologies. In 2010, Vietnam agreed to supply Japan with these elements from Lai Châu. This helps Japan get these important materials from more places, not just one country.

The economy of Lai Châu has been growing steadily. It grew by 50.75% between 2000 and 2005. It continued to grow by 12.3% in 2006 and 14.56% in 2007.

Local Government

Lai Châu province is divided into eight main areas. These include one city and seven rural districts. These larger areas are then split into 106 smaller areas called commune-level sub-divisions.

District-level sub-divisions	City Lai Châu	District Mường Tè	District Nậm Nhùn	District Phong Thổ	District Sìn Hồ	District Tam Đường	District Tân Uyên	District Than Uyên
Area (km²)	92,37	2.679,34	1.388,08	1.034,6	1.526,96	662,92	903,27	796,80
Population (people)	42,973	49,070	30,700	73,210	81,360	52,470	52,340	70,600
Density (people/km²)	465	17	22	72	53	79	58	88
Commune-level sub-divisions	5 wards, 2 communes	1 town, 13 communes	1 town, 10 communes	1 town, 16 communes	1 town, 21 communes	1 town, 12 communes	1 town, 9 communes	1 town, 11 communes
Year of establishment	2013	1945	2012	1945	1945	2002	2008	1945

Roads and Communication

Road construction works in Lai Châu province

Getting Around

Several main roads connect Lai Châu to other provinces. National Road 4 goes to Lào Cai province. National Road 12 connects to Điện Biên province. National Road 32 leads to Yên Bái province. There is also a road that goes to Gejiu in China. Lai Châu does not have an airport or a railway.

Transport by road has grown a lot recently. The amount of goods moved by road increased from 1 million ton-km in 2000 to 21.3 million ton-km in 2007. The number of passengers also increased significantly.

However, the roads are still developing. Only about 19.36% of the roads in the province are paved. A survey showed that only a small number of local businesses thought the road quality was good.

Staying Connected

In 2007, there were 22,100 phone users in Lai Châu. This was a big increase from the year before. However, a survey found that only about 35.59% of people thought the phone service quality was good. This was the lowest rate among all provinces in Vietnam.