page_title: Cao Bằng Province
section_title: Nature
hierarchical_section_title: Cao Bằng Province / Attractions / Nature
caption_attribution_description: 中文（简体）‎: 德天瀑布 English: Detian – Ban Gioc Falls. karst terrain at the Sino-Vietnamese border, in the hills of Daxing County, Chongzuo prefecture of Guangxi Province. There are sino-vietnamese controversies regarding the border demarcation at this location.
context_page_description: Cao Bằng is a province of the Northeast region of Vietnam. The province has borders with Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang, Bắc Kạn, and Lạng Sơn provinces within Vietnam. It also has a common international border with Guangxi Province in China. The province covers an area of 6,724.6 square kilometres, and, as of 2008, its population was 528,100 people.
  The area has a rich history tracing to the Bronze Age of the Tày Âu Kingdom in Vietnam. The dynasties which ruled the area were Tày lords, Bế Khắc Thiệu and Nga Dac Thai. The province is in the region where the Vietnamese people lived thousands of years ago before their southwards expansion. Cao Bằng has several points of historical interest as well as many natural features such as the Pác Bó where Hồ Chí Minh in January 1941 established a revolutionary force at Cốc Bó cave, the Mạc emperor's Temple, the Kỳ Sầm Temple, Coi Bin Church, the Bản Giốc waterfall area at the international border between Vietnam and China, and the Thang Hen Mountain Lake.
context_section_description: Cao Bằng, which lies on the Quây Sơn River, in Ngọc Khê commune, in Trùng Khánh district, has many mountains, forests, rivers and springs throughout. The area near Bản Doc Waterfall is a well known scenic tourist site. The city of Cao Bằng has many buildings of World War II vintage of French design, which were in ruins, but have since been rebuilt. There is an 'Exhibition Centre' in the town where the history of the revolutionary struggle in Vietnam, which originated in this province, is displayed along with Hồ Chí Minh's vintage car, bearing the registration number "BAC 808".
  Bản Giốc waterfall
  Bản Giốc Waterfalls are located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Cao Bằng at the Vietnam-China Border. It originates from the Quỳ Xuân River and falls over a height of 30 metres (98 ft) and is 300 metres (980 ft) wide. At the top, the waterfall is seen in three parts divided by rocks and trees. As the water falls down the cliff and merges with sunlight, a seven-coloured rainbow formation is witnessed. Many green trees and flowers that perfume the air are located at the base of the fall.
  The Bản Giốc waterfall area at the Vietnam-China border is stated to be "among areas having a borderline defined on rivers and streams". It has been clarified by the Head of the Border Committee that the borderline of the fall shall be as fixed along the median of the main flow which shall be done jointly by both sides. Even though in Vietnam the two falls are considered as one fall with the name Bản Giốc, the physical fact is that the waterfall is named under two ownership divisions namely, "Detian - Banyue Falls" (Chinese: 德天瀑布 & 板約瀑布) or "Bản Giốc Falls" (Vietnamese: thác Bản Giốc).
  This water fall is the 4th largest waterfall along a national border in the world, the other three are Iguazu Falls, Victoria Falls, and Niagara Falls, in that order. It was also one of the crossing points for China's army during the brief Sino-Vietnamese War. Nearby there is the Tongling Gorge accessible only through a cavern from an adjoining gorge. Rediscovered only recently, it has many species of endemic plants found only in the gorge. This cave was a hideout for the local bandits whose treasure is occasionally still found in the cliff-side caves. Bản Giốc Fall is also famous for the fish species "tram huong." During the 1920s, this was a hunting and fishing location for the French who built cottages for this purpose.
  Thang Hen Mountain lake
  Thang Hen Mountain lake, in Trà Lĩnh district, consists of 36 small natural lakes located on the top of a hill at 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). The lakes have been created in limestone formations and some of them flow out as steams. An unusual feature of the lakes is that their water level fluctuates like the tides of the seas, which phenomenon is attributed to the springs of water emerging from artesian wells in limestone formations. The lakes flow through the river, which eventually becomes the Bản Giốc waterfall.
caption: Bản Giốc waterfall during the dry season
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