Bac Kan Province

Vietnam's Bac Kan Provice is in the developing mountainous northeast part of the country, rich in mountains, forests, and minerals. It is one of the areas where Vietnam is intending simultaneous, ecologically sound development of tourism and mining. The topography, however, is a challenge to development.

Cao Bang Province, which borders China, is its northern neighbor. On the south is Thai Nguyen Province, which is adjacent to Hanoi and is a growing educational and industrial center; National Highway 3 runs from Hanoi, through Thai Nguyen and Cao Bang, to China. The center of this province is 166 km from Hanoi.

Lang Son Province forms the eastern side of Bac Kan, and Tuyen Quang province its west side.

Economic
The Ba Be district, in the northwest, has a wide range of rivers, springs and lakes, and is targeted for tourism development.

According to the Asian Development Bank, the topography and extensive forests has created a problem in development, centered on the problem of getting water to homes and farms, without degrading the forest. A water management project, however, has been instituted and is considered a model for similar areas.

On the northeast, there are significant coal deposits.

Historical and Military
In this province, as well as Cao Bang and Thai Nguyen Provinces is the An Toan Khu (ATK) "safe zone", an underground military complex built to resist air attack during the Indochinese Revolution, which the Ministry of Tourism plans to develop as a historical site. This development is part of a larger tourism initiative funded by the Asian Development Bank, which is intended to minimize impact on the residents of several areas considered prime sites for tourism. A specific concern for this province is to "protect cultural heritage of ethnic minorities of importance to tourism". This particular project will not involve any land acquisition or other involuntary resettlement.