Đắk Lắk Province

For the Romanian commune called Darlac in Hungarian, see Dârlos.

Đắk Lắk Province Tỉnh Đắk Lắk
Province
Lăk Lake, near the M’Nông village of Buôn Jun Lăk Lake, near the M’Nông village of Buôn Jun
Motto: Tiềm năng và Triển vọng
250px
Coordinates:
Country	Vietnam
Region	Central Highlands
Capital	Buôn Ma Thuột
Area
• Total	13,125.4 km2 (5,067.7 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	1,833,300
• Density	140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Demographics
• Ethnicities	Vietnamese, Ê Đê, Nùng, Tày
Time zone	ICT (UTC+7)
ISO 3166 code	VN-33
Website	daklak.gov.vn

Đắk Lắk (<phonos file="Dak Lak.ogg">listen</phonos>) is a province of Vietnam. The name is also spelled Đắc Lắc, which is more in keeping with Vietnamese spelling, and occasionally Darlac, but the official spelling is Đắk Lắk. It is located in Vietnam's Central Highlands, and is home to a high number of indigenous people who are not ethnically Vietnamese (Việt).

History

The area now known as Đắk Lắk was originally controlled by the Kingdom of Champa. When Champa was conquered and annexed by Vietnam in the 15th century, Đắk Lắk was brought under loose Vietnamese rule. Later, in 1540, a noble named Bùi Tá Hán was appointed by the Vietnamese authorities to direct the settlement of the area by ethnic Vietnamese, bringing the highlands under more effective Vietnamese control. Military outposts were established in the area to guard against possible aggression from the west. Later, when Vietnam was occupied by the French, the French established a large number of plantations in the area. Resistance to French rule was strong in Đắk Lắk, with various minority tribes leading a number of significant rebellions. The most notable was a 23-year campaign led by N’Trang Lơng, a M’Nông tribal leader. Later, Đắk Lắk was part of South Vietnam, and saw considerable action in the Vietnam War.

Until recently, Đắk Nông was a part of Đắk Lắk, but is now a separate province.

A chronology of key events

• End of the 19th century, Đắk Lắk belonged to Kon Tum, part of Laos
• 22 November 1904, Đắk Lắk province was created and administrated by Annam
• 9 February 1913, Daklak province again part of Kon Tum
• 2 July 1923, a new Đắk Lắk was formed. It only had villages.
• 1931, it consisted of 5 provinces: Ban Me Thuot, Buon Ho, Đăk Song, Lak, M'Đrăk
• 2 July 1958, Đắk Lắk (Darlac) is composed of Ban Me Thuot, Lac Thien, M'Đrăk, Đăk Song, Buon Ho
• 23 January 1959, Quang Duc Province was created with the separation of Đăk Song

Part of M'Đrăk district was added to Khánh Hòa Province

• 20 December 1963, Phuoc An District was formed, with capital at Phuoc Trach, then to Thuan Hieu on 1 September 1965.
• 1976, new Đắk Lắk was formed with elements Đắk Lắk and Quang Duc.
• 26 November 2003, Đắk Lắk was dissolved again into Đắk Lắk and Đắk Nông.

Geography

Đắk Lắk is based around the Đắk Lắk Plateau, around six hundred metres above sea level.

About 60 km south of Buôn Ma Thuột is Lăk Lake. Overlooking the lake is the old summer residence of Emperor Bảo Đại which has been renovated into a hotel. Surrounding the lake is Jun Village, home of the Jun people. The villagers have a peculiar form of fishing where they attach metal rods to a car battery and run the rods through the water zapping and stunning the fish and then collecting them to keep in a tank at the village until they are needed.

Administrative divisions

Đắk Lắk is subdivided into 15 district-level sub-divisions:

• 13 districts:

• • Buôn Đôn
  • Cư Kuin
  • Cư M'gar
  • Ea H'leo
  • Ea Kar
  • Ea Súp
  • Krông Ana
  • Krông Bông
  • Krông Buk
  • Krông Năng
  • Krông Pắk
  • Lắk
  • M'Đrăk

• 1 district-level town:
  • Buôn Hồ
• 1 provincial city:
  • Buôn Ma Thuột (capital)

They are further subdivided into 12 commune-level towns (or townlets), 152 communes, and 20 wards.

Economy

Lăk Lake, in the M’Nông village of Buôn Jun

Coffee, fruit, and rubber play an important part in its economy. Recently, there have been efforts to harness the province's considerable potential for hydroelectric generation. The Jun people take advantage of the small tourist trade that passes through, giving elephant rides through the village and across the lake.

External links

• Official website