Geographical location and natural characteristics

LIMITS, AREA

Thua Thien Hue shares land borders with Quang Tri and Quang Nam provinces, Da Nang city, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, and borders the East Sea.

To the north, from east to west, Thua Thien Hue province shares a 111.671 km border with Hai Lang, Dakrong, and Huong Hoa districts of Quang Tri province. To the south, the province shares a 56.66 km border with Hien district of Quang Nam province and a 55.82 km border with Hoa Vang district of Da Nang city. To the west, the provincial boundary (which is also the national border) extends from the northern point (the border between Thua Thien Hue province and Quang Tri province and the Lao People's Democratic Republic) to the southern point (the border between Thua Thien Hue province and Quang Nam province and the Lao People's Democratic Republic), spanning 87.97 km. To the east, it borders the East Sea along a 120 km coastline.

In the mainland, Thua Thien Hue province extends in a northwest-southeast direction, with its longest point being 120 km (along the coast) and its shortest point 44 km (in the western part); it widens horizontally in a northeast-southwest direction, with its widest point along the route cutting from Quang Cong commune (Quang Dien district), Tu Ha town (Huong Tra district) to Son Thuy - Ba Le commune (A Luoi district) at 65 km, and its narrowest point being the southernmost land mass at only about 2-3 km.

The continental shelf of Thua Thien Hue in the East Sea naturally extends from the mainland to the baseline, a 12-nautical-mile wide area known as the internal waters. The width of the internal waters of the Thua Thien Hue continental shelf is calculated along a straight line connecting point A11 (Con Co Island, Quang Tri) with coordinates 17 ^° 10'00'' North latitude and 107 ^° 00'26' East longitude to point A10 (Ly Son Island, Quang Ngai) with coordinates 15 ^° 23'01'' North latitude and 109 ^° 09'00' East longitude. The exclusive economic zone extends to 200 nautical miles from the baseline.

It is worth noting that on the continental shelf of the East Sea, about 600m northeast of Khem Cape, lies Son Cha Island. Although the island is not large (about 160 hectares), it plays an important role in socio-economic development and national defense and security for Vietnam in general and Thua Thien Hue province in particular.

Thua Thien Hue is located on the important North-South transportation axis and the East-West corridor connecting Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam via Highway 9. Situated in the central part of the country, between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City – the two major centers of the country's two most developed economic regions – Thua Thien Hue is a crossroads of natural, economic, and social conditions from both the North and South. It is one of the country's major cultural, tourism, education, and healthcare centers, and a crucial economic development hub within the Central Vietnam key economic region.

The province has a 120 km long coastline, with Thuan An port and Chan May bay with a depth of 18-20m, suitable for building a large-capacity deep-water port. It also has Phu Bai airport located on National Highway 1A and the Trans-Vietnam railway running along the province, and an 81 km border with Laos.

The aforementioned geographical location has created favorable conditions for Thua Thien Hue to develop commodity production and expand socio-economic exchanges with provinces throughout the country and internationally.

According to the Thua Thien Hue Gazetteer - Natural Section

(Social Sciences Publishing House - 2005)