Lao Cai Province

340 km from Hanoi, Lao Cai Province is on Vietnam's border with China. Lai Chau Province is to its west and Ha Giang Province to its east. Yen Bai Province forms the southeast boundary.

Its capital, Lao Cai City, was destroyed in the 1979 Chinese invasion during the Third Indochina War. The border area remains hazardous due to land mines.