Vietnam is located on the eastern margin of the Indochinese peninsula and occupies about 331,211.6 square kilometers, of which about 25% was under cultivation in 1987. It borders the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia. The S-shaped country has a north-to-south distance of 1,650 kilometers and is about 50 kilometers wide at the narrowest point. With a coastline of 3,260 kilometers, excluding islands, Vietnam claims 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) as the limit of its territorial waters, an additional 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) as a contiguous customs and security zone, and 200 nautical miles (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) as an exclusive economic zone. The boundary with Laos, settled on both an ethnic and geographical basis, between the rulers of Vietnam and Laos in the mid-seventeenth century with the Annamite Range as a reference, was formally defined by a delimitation treaty signed in 1977 and ratified in 1986. The frontier with Cambodia, defined at the time of French annexation of the western part of the Mekong Delta in 1867, remained essentially unchanged, according to Hanoi, until some unresolved border issues were finally settled in the 1982-85 period. The land and sea boundary with China, delineated under the France-China treaties of 1887 and 1895, is "the frontier line" accepted by Hanoi that China agreed in 1957- 58 to respect. However, in February 1979, following China's limited invasion of Vietnam, Hanoi complained that from 1957 onward China had provoked numerous border incidents as part of its anti-Vietnam policy and expansionist designs in Southeast Asia. Among the territorial infringements cited was the Chinese occupation in January 1974 of the Paracel Islands, claimed by both countries in a dispute left unresolved in the 1980s.

Because of its geography, the climate in Vietnam varies greatly from north to south with three distinct climatic zones. Tropical monsoons occur from October to April in the centre and from May to September in the north and south. It is almost totally dry throughout the rest of the year. It can get exceptionally hot, however, all year round, but the north has a cooler time between October and April. Temperatures around the country can reach up to 40C in the height of the hot and rainy season (May to September), but the northern highlands and Hanoi can often seem chilly and damp in the winter. There is no one ideal time to visit Vietnam as a whole but at any time of year there will be sun somewhere. The high season is from September to March but bad weather can disrupt travel in the centre of the country during this period, particularly from September to December. For the beaches in the centre of Vietnam, Danang, Hoi An and Nha Trang, it is best to go between May and August. The autumn is the best time to visit Halong Bay when there should be clear skies. Required clothing: Loose, natural fabrics all year, but warmer clothing is required in the highlands, and in the winter in north Vietnam. Rainwear is essential during the wet season.

Vietnam is one of countries which have the richest biodiversity in the world with several types of forests, streams, lagoons, and coral reefs. Vietnam is the location of three among 200 ecological zones in the world according to the World Wild Fund (WWF). Birdlife International also listed Vietnam as one of 5 endemic bird zones of the world. Moreover, the International Union for Conservation of Na

Although Vietnam’s territory just covers an area of more than 330,000 square kilometers, there are several ecosystems that can be found in Vietnam including terrestrial ecosystems, wetland ecosystems and marine ecosystems.

According to the scientists, Vietnam ranks 16th out of 25 countries which have the richest biodiversity in the world. On the mainland, there are 15.986 species of flora and 10% among them are endemic species. About fauna, there are more than 100 endemic species of birds and 78 endemic species of mammals. Wetland ecosystems inland also contribute approximately 1,500 species of algae, 800 species of invertebrate fauna and 700 kinds of fish. Marine and coastal ecosystems are featured with typical ecology of the tropics. As mentioned above, there is around 11,000 marine species inhabiting in 20 typical marine ecosystems. It’s involved 2,458 species of fish, 653 species of seaweeds; 657 species of zooplankton, phytoplankton with 537 species, 94 mangrove plant species, 225 species of shrimp.