Hoa Binh is a mountainous province of Vietnam, located in the nation's northwestern region. It borders Phu Tho Province and Son La Province to the northwest, Ha Noi city to the north and northeast, Ha Nam Province to the southeast, Ninh Binh Province to the south and Thanh Hoa Province to the south. In 2004, the GDP per capita of the province was estimated to be US$228 (equivalent to 3.6 million Vietnamese dong).

Geography

Since the term was first used to describe assemblages from sites in Vietnam, many sites throughout mainland and island Southeast Asia have also been described as having Hoabinhian components. The apparent concentration of more than 120 Hoabinhian sites in Vietnam reflects intense research activities in this area rather the location of a centre of the prehistoric Hoabinhian activity. Archaeological sites in Sumatra, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia have been identified as Hoabinhian, although the quality and quantity of descriptions vary and the relative significance of the Hoabinhian component at these sites can be difficult to determine.

Beyond this core area some archaeologists argue that there are isolated inventories of stone artifacts displaying Hoabinhian elements in Nepal, South China, Taiwan and Australia (Moser 2001).

Tourism

Hoa Binh is situated in the North west of Vietnam. It is about 75 km of the capital city of Ha noi. This is ancient land - The place where Viet ethnic group used to live thousands of years ago. Here still concentrate many relics and resorts of the worldwide famous Hoa Binh civilization

Hoa Binh has great potential of tourism that is endowed with many famous landscapes and scenic beauties with gigantic chains of mountains stretching to the horizon, fanciful grottoes, tortuous and rocky stream and impressive waterfalls that look like a fairly land on earth