Can Tho City :
The city is considered as the capital of those province in the western region of South Vietnam. It is the hub of the water and land routes to all the regions in the Mekong River Delta.
The province has an area of 141,25 sq. kilometers. It is inhabited by more than 300,000 people. The city is home to the southern vietnam Institute of agriculture and the Can Tho Institute.

Can Tho Institute :
The Can Tho Institute was set up in 1966. This higher educational institution provides training in agriculture and medicine as well as teacher training.
The institute also conducts research into soil conditions, rice strains, and techniques of shrimp farming in the rackish water of the Mekong river delta. It has established research cooperative ties with some foreign colleges and universities.
Apart from such tourist attractions, visitors can go boating along the Hau river to visit fruit gardens hidden behind submerged forests which are close to the river banks.

Ninh Kieu Wharf:
The wharf is situated on the right bank of the Hau river, a tributary of the Mekong river, and is very close to the centre of the city. The wharf is the city's major trading centre where hundreds of boats plying the river section bring in farm produce from the rest of the delta region. close to the Ninh Kieu Wharf is the Can Tho harbour which was built to a modern design and can accommodate ships of up to 5,000 tons. The Can Tho Market which is nearby the Ninh Kieu Wharf, is a major market place in the western region of South Vietnam. The riverside market is attractive for its floating restaurant located in the Hau river. Connoisseurs can enjoy the province's specialties while watching the bustling river route where hundreds of boats hurriedly pass by.

130-year old house in the Western Southland (Can Tho Province) :
It deals with an ancient house in Binh Thuy. The owner is respected Mr. Duong Minh Hien, an old sentimental man, by chance, remaining in the XX century. It is just thanks to its maintained ancientness that this house was chosen as one of recording sites for the romantic film "Lover" of producer J. Annaud.

The native homeland of the Duongs' family was originally in Nha Man, Dong Thap province, but they moved to Binh Thuy, Can Tho province and installed themselves here more than 100 years ago. They are so considered as "creators of heaven and earth" in this region. By the end of XIX century, this family became quite rich. At that time, the head of family, called by contemporary people as "Mr. Ba - council member", decided to spend his money and efforts in building a house "for nothing" (?), only for showing antiquities. The construction was started in 1870 on an area of approximately eight thousand square meters. According to respected Mr. Duong, at that time, a master with the name of Ba Nghia - but people used to call him by master Lo Ban - lived in this region, who was able to make very nice houses. It was noteworthy that he had a strange physiognomy. His height accounted only for one meter and some centimeters, while his backbone was so twisted that his silhouette looked like a "question mark". Throughout the years, he remained half-naked wearing only black satin breeches and wound a red silk turban round his head. The master Lo Ban had two inseparable things: a marker and an axe. With this "treasure", he completed an uncountable number of perfectly round ironwood pillars. The conditions that the council member Mr. Ba posed were quite serious – "You should make my house splendid much more than others', it is unquestionable; but the problem is to make it sure that after the house is finished, I should become richer". The master Ba Nghia thought for a long while and said: "But, but, in my profession, if the customer makes his fortune, I'll immediately fall unlucky". "No, no, don’t worry. I guarantee that I'll monthly provide you with 3 pecks of rice and some pieces of silver whenever you're alive".

Nobody knew exactly how this story continued, but local people blabbed that the master Lo Ban certainly used amulet or talisman, because otherwise, the council member Mr. Ba couldn't become rich so fast. Letting aside these rumors, one must acknowledge that the master Ba Nghia was a top-ranking artisan-artist, when he was able, only with an axe, to construct a 5-compartment house with all close-fitting joints. It was said that the construction lasted for 20 years. In the house there is a coach set placed just before the altar. It is a souvenir of the respected Mr. Duong's grandfather. It is said that to make this set of ironwood chairs, a craftsman, native in southern provinces, had to carve dragon- and phoenix-shaped details as precise as in millimeters. One particularity is that while the chairs are so big and so heavy, their legs are as thin as children's wrist. Another craftsman named Dong Van Chiem, native in northern provinces, was charged of inlaying pearl vignettes. Nowadays, after more than hundred years, these vignettes are still brilliantly shining with their "five colors". As other houses of landlords in the "region of six provinces" (Mekong Delta), the owner of this house also hired craftsmen to make a balustrade, connecting the ironwood pillars in front of the altar. In this case, however, the originality resides in the fact that the vignettes on this balustrade do not comprise any old Chinese classic references as others. Instead, all vignettes included here represent daily popular scenes of the common people: from crabs, chickens till ivory bamboo branch or clump of trees. Is it true that the craftsmen’s inspiration was to glorify the peaceful atmosphere at that time dominating rural areas in the southern provinces?

According to the respected Mr. Duong's stories, his grandfather was named Duong Chan Ky, whose souvenir is a portrayed picture, now solemnly hanging just in the middle room. An originality of the picture is that it was made in enameled terra-cotta with details as veritable as that of present photographs. It is said that such a technique of making pictures was known only in France and China since the end of the 18^th century. However, the writing in Chinese on the picture confused me, whether the craftsmen from Ben Nghe knew this technique. If it is true, the issue needs to be more studied. The picture has experienced so many events; there was a time when it was buried into mud to avoid bombing, but did not suffer from any harm. This family still keeps numerous cups, bowls, plates; all of which have a noble origin. The oldest objects are a bowl from the Ming dynasty in China with an age of 572 years and a big flower-vase with an age of nearly 533 years.

Can Tho Tourist Gardens :
In recent years, a series of modern tourism gardens have appeared on every land and water route in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. The gardens of My Khanh, San Duong, Ba Lang and Tan Binh extend along the arched highway, as well as on the waterways of hong Dien and Phung Hiep rivers. Other gardens in Long My, Vi Thanh, O Mon and Thot Not are also developing.

The My Khanh Gardens occupy 2.2 ha and feature more than 20 species of fruit trees and flowers, as well as diverse species of birds, fish, tortoises, snakes, crabs and shrimp. Under the shade of lush green trees, there are small rong houses to provide visitors with a place to rest for the night.

Ba Lang is located 9 km from Can Tho (on Highway No. 1 towards Soc Trang), and has an area of 4.2 ha. There is the animal sanctuary of Ao Sen Lake, two lakes for swimming, an outdoor stage and mini-hotels. Gardens here combine agricultural potential with tourism.