Đà Lạt
475 Vietnam Aussicht auf Dalat.jpg
Country  Vietnam
Province Lam Dong Province
Population (1999)
 • Total 120,000
A villa in pine woods in Dalat
Artichoke tea- a famous typical product of Dalat

Da Lat, or Dalat, (pop. 120,000 as of 1999, spelled Đà Lạt in Vietnamese) About this sound pronunciation  is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province in Vietnam. The town is located 1500 m (4,920 ft) above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau in the southern parts of the Central Highlands (in Vietnamese - Tây Nguyên). The name derives from the acronym of the Latin phrase 'Dat Aliis Laetitiam Aliis Temperiem' ("Giving Pleasure to Some, Freshness to Others"), which the French colonial government used in their official emblem of Đà Lạt. In Vietnam, Đà Lạt is a popular tourist destination. It is the location of the Novotel Dalat (formerly Dalat Hotel) and Sofitel Dalat Palace (formerly Dalat Palace built in 1922).

Da Lat's specific sights are pine wood (forming the name: "City of thousands of pine tree") with roads twists and turns and tree marigold (Vietnamese: dã quỳ) blossom in the winter. This city has a unique temperate weather in such a tropical country like Vietnam. Mist cover valleys almost the year leads to its name "City of eternal spring".

Da Lat is also known as an area for science research in the fields of biotechnology and nuclear physics.

With its cool climate the whole year over, Da Lat is the area that supplies temperate agriculture products for all over Vietnam, for example, cabbage and cauliflower. Its flower industry produces two typical flowers which are hydrangea (Vietnamese: cẩm tú cầu) and golden everlasting (Vietnamese: hoa bất tử). Confectionary industry also offer a wide range of mứt- a kind of fruit preserves made from strawberry, mulberry, sweet potato, rose.

Contents

History[edit]

View from Hang Nga's guesthouse, showing some of Đà Lạt's more conventional architecture

During the 1890s, explorers in the area (including the noted bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin , protégé of the renowned French chemist Louis Pasteur), which was then part of the French territory of Cochinchina, asked the French governor-general Paul Doumer to create a resort center in the highlands. The governor agreed. The original intended site for the hill station was Dankia but Étienne Tardif, a member of the road-building expedition of 1898-99 proposed the current site instead. In 1907, the first hotel was built. Urban planning was carried out by Ernest Hébrard[1].

The French endowed the city with villas and boulevards, and its Swiss charms remain today. Hébrard included the requisite health complex, golf course, parks, schools and homes but no industry. The legacy of boarding schools where children from the whole of Indochina were taught by French priests, nuns and expatriates lasted until the end of French rule. There were seminaries of Jesuits (such as Pius X Pontifical College) and other orders. The elite Vietnamese National Military Academy graduated its first class of future leaders in 1950. There was also an aviator school at Cam Ly Airport.

During World War II, Đà Lạt was the capital of the Federation of Indochina, from 1939 to 1945.

In the mid-1950s, the Vietnamese Scout Association established their national training grounds at Đà Lạt.

The only major involvement Đà Lạt had during the 2nd Indochina war was during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Here fierce battles raged from Jan 31st to Feb 9th 1968 (about 10–11 days total). Most of the fighting took place between the South Vietnamese ARVN and the Viet Cong (VC) forces. Defeats and victories changed hands several times during the fighting in Đà Lạt. However, on Feb 9, 1968, the South Vietnamese ARVN were able to regain control of Đà Lạt. It is stated about 200 VC had lost their lives during this battle. While ARVN forces were known to have significantly fewer deaths, the injured list grew steadily throughout the engagement.


Architecture[edit]

Architecture in Đà Lạt based on the period of French colonization. There is built in 1938 Dominant de Marie Church and Convent, which offers a panoramic view of the city. The Convent is a home to Roman Catholic nuns of the Mission of Charity.

A notable exception to the usual architecture in Đà Lạt is Hang Nga's guesthouse, popularly known as the "Crazy House"[2][3]. This is a complex of unconventional, misshapen concrete structures serving as both a tourist attraction and a place to stay. It is also decorated with animal figures with glowing eyes, wire spiderwebs and other, equally unexpected things. The designer and namesake, Hang Nga, holds a PhD in architecture from Moscow State University.

Environmental features[edit]

Xuan Huong Lake

Đà Lạt is home to the manmade, 5 km² Xuan Huong Lake. The average temperature is 17°C, and does not exceed 25°C in the hottest season[citation needed]. Its temperate climate is ideal for agricultural production. Đà Lạt is renowned for its orchids, roses, vegetables and fruits. There is a nascent wine-making and flower growing industry in the region.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Crossette, Barbarạ The Great Hill Stations of Asia. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998. pp 207-219.
  2. ^ VietNamNet - Da Lat’s “Crazy House”
  3. ^ Crazy House - Da Lat, Vietnam - Odd-Shaped Buildings on Waymarking.com

Photos of Da Lat[edit]

External links and references[edit]

Coordinates: 11°56′30″N 108°26′18″E / 11.94167°N 108.43833°E / 11.94167; 108.43833