Coligny wrote:Samurai_Jerk wrote:Beijing Closes in on Vietnam’s ‘China Beach’The 20 miles of white sand that is My Khe Beach used to be a destination for American soldiers in Vietnam seeking rest and recreation. As it happened, the GI’s called it “China Beach.”
In the decades since, amid the rapid modernization of Vietnam, Da Nang has become a popular international tourist destination. During China’s boom years, Vietnam’s tourism industry was bolstered by masses of Chinese visitors. The People’s Republic has the world’s largest middle class, and those with a little cash to flash are eager to enjoy the trappings of new locales.
Indeed, Da Nang looks a little like a third-tier Chinese city, with constant construction kicking up dust, and huge trucks barreling down wide boulevards along the coastline, but the traces of French colonial architecture and generally laidback vibes warrant a stay lasting a day or two. Chinese tourists, often entire families traveling with a package, would stop off before moving on to the next city.
That has changed. And once again a vague specter of war hangs on the horizon like a distant but threatening storm.
As China expands its military presence and territorial claims in the South China Sea, it is being challenged, not least, by the United States. This week, a U.S. guided missile destroyer sailed within 12 miles of an artificial reef being built far out in the water, an intentionally provocative American move that Beijing labeled “extremely irresponsible.”
But the real weight of these confrontations falls on the smaller countries along the Sea’s littoral. Nowhere has that been more apparent than in Vietnam ....
By the number of tourists I think DaNang is more a Russian enclave than anything else...
Once again China... Avoid fucking too much with Gazprom...
I saw zero Russians when I was there. Maybe you just picked the right season or resort.
