TonkinAt the border with China, Tonkin includes Hanoi, but also the mountains where many ethnic minorities live. © Igor Lubinetsky
Vietnam stretches the length of the Chinese sea. With two bulges, one to the North and one to the South, the country is often compared to a pole with a basket at each end. Three regions are especially worthy of mention: Tonkin, with its Truong Son cordillera, Cochinchina, and the mountains of Annam. Each of these has a unique setting.