Lao Cai Province

340 km from Hanoi, Lao Cai Province is on Vietnam's border with China. Lai Chau Province is to its west and Ha Giang Province to its east. Yen Bai Province forms the southeast boundary.

Its capital, Lao Cai City, was destroyed in the 1979 Chinese invasion during the Third Indochina War. The border area remains hazardous due to land mines.

This province was created, in 1992, from the former Hoang Lien Son province, of which Lao Cai City was still the capital. Yen Bai Province was also created at this time.