“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous

Can Tho City

Location

Can Tho City is considered the center of the Mekong Delta. The city has its very important role of geographical position, economy and also the culture in the area. Can Tho City is well known with Cai Rang floating market where you may explore the trading activities of the habitants here.
Can Tho City is bordered with Dong Thap Province to the east, with Kien Giang Province to the west, with An Giang Province to the north and with Hau Giang Province to the south.


  • Districts: Ninh Kieu, Binh Thuy, Cai Rang, O Mon, Thot Not, Phong Dien, Co Do, Thoi Lai and Vinh Thanh Districts.
  • Tourist places: Ninh Kieu, Binh Thuy, Cai Rang and Phong Dien Districts
  • Climate: Can Tho is in the tropical monsoon climate region. There are the rain season from May to November and the dry time from December to April. The average temperature is 28 C degree. 
  • Transportation: Travel conveniently by land, airline and river way to the province and from it to other provinces.

            The distance is for reference as below:
            From Can Tho to Ha Noi: 1741 km
            From Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh City: 162 km
            From Can Tho to Dong Thap:  78 km
            From Can Tho to Kien Giang:  115 km
            From Can Tho to Hau Giang:  48 km
            From Can Tho to Tien Giang:  94 km
            From Can Tho to An Giang:  66 km

Landscapes

  • Binh Thuy Communal House: Binh Thuy Communal House is located in Binh Thuy Ward, Binh Thuy District, from 5km from the centre of Can Tho City. Built in 1844 and rebuilt in 1909, Binh Thuy Communal House is different from the communal houses in the North. The front and the back of the house are square and each side has six rows of columns. The main worshiping area has three roofs were built overlapping each other. The top of the roof is decorated with ornamentations of lions and fish transforming into dragons. Inside the ancestor-worshipping house, there are altars dedicated to the spirits of the land and the national heroes, such as Dinh Cong Trang, Bui Huu Nghia and Vo Huy Tap. Every year, the local people organize the Thuong Dien (the land breaking) ceremony and the Ha Dien (initiating farm work) ceremony in honor of the Saint of Agriculture. There are many folk festivities such as duck races, tug of wars, and cooking contests.
  • Ong Pagoda: located in the centre of the city, on Hai Ba Trung Road, near Ninh Kieu Wharf, Ong Pagoda was built from 1894 to 1896 in a 532-m2 area. The pagoda is roofed with double tiles. The edges of the roof are covered with lines of dark green glazed pipe-shaped tiles. On the roof, there are a number of multi-colored porcelain figures, such as two dragons flanking the moon, carps changing into dragons, and phoenixes. On either end of the rooftop, there are statues of people holding the sun and the moon. In the pagoda, people also worship Quan Cong, Nam Hai Bodhisattva Kwan Yin, Thai Bach Tinh Quan, the Genie of the earth, and Dong Vinh. Ong Pagoda is a place where the cultural and religious activities of the Chinese living in Can Tho are held. Furthermore, it was listed as a National Heritage Site by Ministry of Culture and Information in 1993.
  • Ninh Kieu Wharf: Ninh Kieu Wharf is located close to the centre of Can Tho City on the bank of the Hau River, a tributary of the Mekong Delta. Hundreds of boats ply up and down the river bringing products from the rest of the Mekong Delta region. Nearby Ninh Kieu Wharf, there is the city’s main trading centre. Therefore, Ninh Kieu Wharf is one of attractive tourist sites in Can Tho City etc.
  • Cai Rang Floating Market: located in Cai Rang District, 30 minutes by canoe from Ninh Kieu Wharf, the Cai Rang Floating Market is one of the most famous floating markets in Mekong Delta. The market specializes in trading various kinds of fruits and local agricultural products. From the early morning, hundreds of different-sized boats lands in close proximity to each other. To introduce which kinds of the product to sell, a seller hangs his product on a pole above the prow of the boat but does not announce like sellers in the land markets. Due to indeed of the going to market people, there are not only boats selling fruits and agricultural products but also many kinds of other services for drinking and eating such as Pho, noodles, coffee. Cai Rang Market often opens up in the very early morning and ends up about 8-9 a.m.  ….The particular characteristics of Cai Rang Floating Market attract many national and international tourists to visit.
  • Bang Lang Stork Garden: located in Thoi Binh Hamlet, Thoi Thuan Commune, Thot Not District, the Bang Lang Stork Garden is one of the biggest stork gardens in the Southwest region. On the way from Can Tho City to Long Xuyen City (An Giang Province), pass by Thot Not about 5km, we can get Bang Lang Stork Garden. There are thousands of storks hovering above and perching on branches of Bang Lang trees. Visiting to the garden, we can enjoy the stork-lives in the peaceful countryside.
  • Can Tho Tourist Gardens: There are many tourist gardens in Can Tho City such as the tourist garden My Khanh, the fruit garden of Mr. Sau Duong, the orchid garden Binh Thuy…on the waterways of the Phong Dien and Phung Hiep rivers and many other gardens in Long My, Vi Thanh, O Mon and Thot Not. The My Khanh Garden is 2.2ha wide and features more than 20 species of fruit trees and flowers, as well as diverse species of birds, fish, tortoise, snakes, crabs and shrimps. Under the shades of lush green trees, there are small stilted-houses where we can stay for the night.
  • Tay Do Night Market: located in the Can Tho Trade Fair, the Tay Do Night Market is one of the biggest trade centers of Southern provinces as well as a recreational and tourist centre. Besides trading various products, the market has many drinking and eating services as well as entertaining activities. Nowadays, the market has a harmonious architectural structure characterized with the Southern style.

Festivals:

  • Binh Thuy Communal House Festival: ( 12th, 14th of the 4th lunar month) the festival takes place in the Binh Thuy communal house to worship the sprit of the land. The main purpose of this festival is to pray for peace.  There is a procession dedicated to the spirit with many festival activities.

And there are many other unique festivals in the province.

Local specialties

There are different local specialties in the province such as Ốc Nướng Tiêu (baked snails with peppers), Ba Khía, Cháo Sò Huyết (rice gruel with arcas), Cháo Lòng Cái Tắc (rice gruel with pig’s tripes), Lẩu Mắm (soup with salted fish) and other typical specialties.