General Information

- Geographic location: Yen Bai is bounded by Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang provinces to the East, by Son La province to the West, by Lao Cai province to the North and by Phu Tho province to the South.

- Area: 6,899.5 km².

- Topographic features: The province has features of mountainous area because of its location in the East of Hoang Lien mountain ranges with the inclination from the Northern West to Southern East. The system of mountains, hills, rivers and streams here is very various and plentiful.

- Administrative units: The province is divided into Yen Bai city, Nghia Lo town and 7 districts: Luc Yen, Van Yen, Mu Cang Chai, Tran Yen, Yen Binh, Van Chan, and Tram Tau.

- Population: 740,700 (Year 2006 – General Office of Statistics)

Resources

- Natural resources: The province’s total area of natural land is 688,292.2 hectares including 296, 995 hectares of agricultural land, 70,455 hectares of forestry land, and 30,093 hectares of specialized land. Forests here has plentiful fauna and flora with valuable wood for production and export especially Fokienia. The province also has a variety of mineral sources with 153 mineral mines such as brown coal mine, antra-xit coal in Van Chan and Van Yen, precious stone mines in Luc Yen, Yen Binh, etc.

- Tourism resources: The province has potentiality for developing tourism with its strengths such as diversified nature with many places of interest, recognized historical and cultural monuments such as Hum cave with the vestiges of ancient times of 10,000 years ago, Tham Thoong with ancient tools made of stone, etc.

- Human resources: The number of working age people is 385,330 out of the total population of 715,300 (accounting for 53.8%). There are 6 professional schools, 1 college and 1 technical school in the province. The labour force comprises 72.5% in agriculture-forestry, 9.8% in construction, industry and 17.7% in services.

Infrastructure

 - Transportation system: Yen Bai is the point of junction of Northern mountainous provinces. It has quite developed transportation system with 3,981km of road, 84 km of railway and 215km of waterway including Red river and Thac Ba lake routes.

- Power supply system: The province has over 70 km of 110 KV double circuits, 1 transmission station of 110/35KV with the capacity of 45 MVA, nearly 1,000 km of 35 KV line, 9 stations of 35/10 kv with the capacity of 34,200 KVA, over 200 km of 10 KV line and nearly 500 km of 0.4 kV line, 500 distribution transmission stations with the capacity of over 65,000 KVA), etc.

- Industrial zones: There are several industrial zones developed in the province such as industrial zones in the South, in the North, in the East and Dam Hong industrial zone in Yen Bai City.   

Development plan up to the year 2010

- GDP growth rate: It is planned to maintain the rate of 10% annually in which agriculture-forestry account for 5.5%, industry and construction accounts for 12%, and trade-services account for 13.5%. Average GDP income per head increases from 2.4 million VND in 2000 to 7.5 million VND in 2010. Hunger is planned to be eliminated and the rate of poverty will be reduced from 13.64% to 5% in 2010.

- Sectors’ development plans:

            + Services: It is planned to reach the GDP rate of 13.5% annually with the comprehensive development of services, goods distribution and export.

            + Tourism:

- Continue to revise and develop an overall plan for developing the province’s tourism with focus on 4 key places: Thac Ba in Yen Binh districts, Luc Yen district, Western area (Van Chan – Nghia Lo), Yen Bai city and places along Red river.

- Implement detailed planning project in Thac Ba lake tourism center: construction of function places such as reception-operation, entertainment place, hotel-service-trade center, convalesce place, telecommunication tower and place for thrilling sport; its first phase will focus on constructing infrastructure and promoting investment (period 2004-2006).

- Diversify and improve the quality of tours, restore traditional festivals, develop professional villages, upgrade historical, cultural places, promote foods of ethnic groups

- Train human resources for tourism service with focus on specialized trainings on tour operation, tourist guides.

-Organize tours from Yen Bai city to other famous places of interest in the province and to other places nationwide and worldwide.

            + Industries: It is planned to develop advantaged ones such as mineral exploitation and processing, construction material production, agricultural-forestry production; further promote small-scale industries, professional villages and establish industrial production clusters in the city, town and districts.