# Sóc Trăng

Sóc Trăng (listen; Khmer: ស្រុកឃ្លាំង Srok Khleang lit. 'Land of depositories') is a city in Vietnam. It is the capital of Sóc Trăng Province. It was upgraded from a town (thị xã) to a city following decree 22/2007/NĐ-CP on 8 February 2007.

## Etymology

Sóc Trăng was known as Ba Xuyên during Minh Mạng's admininistration.
During the Nguyễn Dynasty of emperor Minh Mạng, it was given the Sino-Vietnamese name Nguyệt Giang (月江), a calque of "Sông Trăng" (Moon River).
The name Sóc Trăng comes from the Khmer name of the area Srok Khleang (ស្រុកឃ្លាំង), which means Land of depositories or Place to store silver. The Vietnamese transliteration gave Sốc Kha Lang and later Sóc Trăng.

## Administrative divisions

Sóc Trăng City is divided into 10 administrative divisions numbered 1 to 10. The city borders Long Phú District in the east and north, Mỹ Tú District in the west and north, Châu Thành District in the west and Mỹ Xuyên District in the south.

## Population

Besides the majority Kinh people, there are also ethnic Chinese and a significant Khmer Krom minority in the city.

## Culture

50 of the 200 pagodas in Sóc Trăng Province are located in Sóc Trăng City. Some of the most famous ones are the Khmer Chùa Dơi (Bat Pagoda) and Chùa Đất Sét (Clay Pagoda), Chùa Phật nằm (Som Rong Pagoda).

## Transportation

Highway 1 connects the city to Cà Mau in the south, Cần Thơ, Ho Chi Minh City and cities further north. Regular buses run between these cities. The nearest airport is located in Cần Thơ, which is approximately 60 km from the city's center.

## Climate

Climate data for Sóc Trăng :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.3 (95.5) | 35.6 (96.1) | 36.7 (98.1) | 37.5 (99.5) | 37.8 (100.0) | 35.5 (95.9) | 34.5 (94.1) | 34.8 (94.6) | 34.5 (94.1) | 34.4 (93.9) | 34.9 (94.8) | 33.5 (92.3) | 37.8 (100.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.3 (86.5) | 31.2 (88.2) | 32.6 (90.7) | 33.9 (93.0) | 33.0 (91.4) | 31.8 (89.2) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.1 (88.0) | 31.0 (87.8) | 30.8 (87.4) | 30.6 (87.1) | 29.9 (85.8) | 31.5 (88.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.3 (77.5) | 26.0 (78.8) | 27.3 (81.1) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.1 (82.6) | 27.4 (81.3) | 27.1 (80.8) | 26.9 (80.4) | 26.8 (80.2) | 26.8 (80.2) | 26.6 (79.9) | 25.7 (78.3) | 26.9 (80.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.5 (72.5) | 23.7 (74.7) | 24.8 (76.6) | 25.0 (77.0) | 24.8 (76.6) | 24.5 (76.1) | 24.5 (76.1) | 24.5 (76.1) | 24.5 (76.1) | 24.1 (75.4) | 22.8 (73.0) | 24.0 (75.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 13.1 (55.6) | 16.9 (62.4) | 18.8 (65.8) | 19.5 (67.1) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.3 (70.3) | 21.3 (70.3) | 19.5 (67.1) | 15.7 (60.3) | 18.0 (64.4) | 13.0 (55.4) | 13.0 (55.4) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 7.7 (0.30) | 3.5 (0.14) | 13.8 (0.54) | 62.3 (2.45) | 234.0 (9.21) | 268.0 (10.55) | 261.8 (10.31) | 286.8 (11.29) | 284.8 (11.21) | 308.6 (12.15) | 137.1 (5.40) | 36.6 (1.44) | 1,904.8 (74.99) |
| Average rainy days | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 5.2 | 18.4 | 21.7 | 22.5 | 22.9 | 23.4 | 21.6 | 11.9 | 5.6 | 156.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 79.5 | 78.3 | 77.5 | 78.3 | 84.0 | 86.6 | 87.1 | 87.5 | 88.2 | 87.6 | 85.2 | 82.4 | 83.5 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 238.6 | 248.4 | 273.4 | 253.5 | 191.9 | 161.6 | 174.9 | 168.2 | 152.3 | 165.1 | 195.7 | 201.5 | 2,422.1 |
| Source: Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology ||||||||||||||

## Notable people

* Philipp Rösler, former Vice Chancellor of Germany, born in Sóc Trăng.