Giao Xuân ( xã Giao Xuân) is a commune in

Giao Thủy District Giao Thủy is a Districts of Vietnam, rural district of Nam Định province in the Red River Delta region of Vietnam. As of 2003 the district had a population of 207,273. The district covers an area of 166 km². The district capital lies a ...

Nam Định Nam Định () is a city in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. It is the capital of Nam Định Province. The city of Nam Định is 90 km south-east of Vietnam's capital, Hanoi. From August 18–20 of each year, there is a festival hel ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

approximately 150 km South-East of

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

. It has a population of 10,000 people. The main source of income of the people of Giao Xuan comes from

marine life Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. M ...

. Being 40% Christian, there is a collection of churches around the village. The other predominant religion is Buddhism.

Xuan Thuy National Park

In January 1989, Xuân Thủy National Park was declared Vietnam's first Ramsar site; a wetland of international importance. The Xuan Thuy

Nature Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

was established in 1995 and was upgraded to a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in 2003. Located in the Giao Thuy district forming part of the UNESCO Red River

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

, it is a rich, biodiverse, coastal wetland that houses about 220 species of birds (including 9

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

), 110

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

s and 500 other aquatic organisms. Many highly valuable types of seafood like shellfish, shrimps, fish, crabs and oysters are also found in this area. It is also a critically important staging area and wintering area for

migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

visiting and passing through Vietnam from northeast Asia and Siberia to Australia.

Visiting

It is possible to visit Giao Xuan and do a homestay with a local family in a traditional home. There is a twice-daily bus that runs directly between Hanoi and Giao Xuan. Most homes have hot water and western toilets. The people eat typical

Vietnamese food Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages of Vietnam. Meals feature a combination of five fundamental tastes ( vi, ngũ vị, links=no, label=none): sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy. The distinctive nature of each dish refle ...

including seafood, pork, rice, and fish sauce. The town has a:
''Nuoc Mam'' (

Fish Sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, P ...

) ''Making House''. Fish sauce is the one ingredient that is quintessentially Vietnamese and it lends a distinctive character to Vietnamese cooking. The sauce is made by fermenting highly salted fish in large ceramic vats for four to twelve months. ''Rice Wine House'': In

Vietnamese culture The culture of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Văn hoá Việt Nam) is highly multicultural. The early culture in Vietnam started with the Bronze Age Dong Son culture, Đông Sơn culture considered to be one of its most important progenitors for its Anc ...

rice wine Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermented and distilled from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch that has been converted to sugars. Microbes are the so ...

is typically enjoyed with every meal. It is customary to invite the whole table to drink simultaneously. Most households produce their own rice wine resulting in each batch varying in alcoholic strength. ''Jellyfish processing'': The jellyfish are freshly caught and brought to the local processing plant and prepared for export or local consumption. ''Churches and pagodas'' ''Cultural performances'' ''Local marketplace'' Near to Giao Xuan is the Xuan Thuy National Park which can be visited by boat along the Vop River or by foot through mangrove forests. During migration and staging seasons, rare species of birds like

spoon-billed sandpiper The spoon-billed sandpiper (''Calidris pygmaea'') is a small wader which breeds on the coasts of the Bering Sea and winters in Southeast Asia. This species is highly threatened, and it is said that since the 1970s the breeding population has dec ...

(''Calidris pygmeus''),

Nordmann's greenshank Nordmann's greenshank (''Tringa guttifer'') or the spotted greenshank, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. Description The Nordmann's greenshank is a medium-sized sandpiper, at long, with a slightly upturned, bicol ...

(''Tringa guttifer''),

grey-headed lapwing The grey-headed lapwing (''Vanellus cinereus'') is a lapwing species which breeds in northeast China and Japan. The mainland population winters in northern Southeast Asia from northeastern India to Cambodia. The Japanese population winters, at ...

(''Vanellus cinereus'') and

Asian dowitcher The Asian dowitcher (''Limnodromus semipalmatus'') is a rare medium-large wader. Description Adults have dark legs and a long straight dark bill, somewhat shorter than that of the long-billed dowitcher. The body is brown on top and reddish undern ...

(''Limnodromus semipalmatus'') reside in the park. Eleven species of birds, found within the project area, are listed as globally threatened or near-threatened, including the endangered spotted greenshank (''Tringa guttifer''), the spoon-billed sandpiper (''Eurynorhynchus pygmeus''), and the

black-faced spoonbill The black-faced spoonbill (''Platalea minor'') is a species of wading bird in the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, found in eastern Asia. This species has the most restricted distribution of the six spoonbill species, and it is the ...

(''Platalea minor''), the near-threatened Asia dowitcher (''Limnodromus semipalmatus''), the

black-headed ibis The black-headed ibis (''Threskiornis melanocephalus''), also known as the Oriental white ibis, Indian white ibis, and black-necked ibis, is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in the South and Southeast As ...

(''Threskiornis melanocephalus''), the

painted stork The painted stork (''Mycteria leucocephala'') is a large wading bird, wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Thei ...

(''Mycteria leucoephala'') and the Japanese paradise-flycatcher (''Terpsiphone atrocaudata''), the least-concerned grey-headed lapwing (''Vanellus cinereus''), and the vulnerable Saunder's gull (''Larus saundersi''), the

Chinese egret The Chinese egret or Swinhoe's egret (''Egretta eulophotes'') is a threatened species of egret from east Asia. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1860. Description The Chinese egret averages 68 cm in height. The plumage ...

(''Egretta eulophotes''), and the

spot-billed pelican The spot-billed pelican (''Pelecanus philippensis'') or gray pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially larg ...

(''Pelecanus philippensis''). Rare globally listed mammals existing in the park include the

fishing cat The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declin ...

(''Felis viverrinus'') and the

finless porpoise ''Neophocaena'' is a genus of porpoise native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the freshwater habitats of the Yangtze River basin in China. They are commonly known as finless porpoises. Genetic studies indicate that ''Neophocaena'' is ...

(''Neophocaera phocaenoides''), as well as locally listed dolphin species.

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giao Xuan Populated places in Nam Định province