Da Nang

Da Nang played a huge role in the Vietnam War. It was the site where US Marines first landed, and where a large airbase was established. At one point of the war, the Da Nang airport was the busiest airport in the world, with about 3,000 flights a day.

Here is a video of the original Marine landing...
(I added the music, which is The Planets, Op. 32: I. Mars, the Bringer of War. I thought it appropriate.)



And here is a video highlighting Da Nang's importance to the US during the war...




Modern Da Nang
Today, Da Nang has an almost split personality. It is home to a deep water port, so it has over 6,000 business licenses in effect, many dealing with exporting. So there is a lot of industrial development. On the other hand, it is the home of China Beach, and there is a lot of development to capitalize on the tourism opportunities. We saw a lot of resorts in the process of being built, and the city has a lot of hotels located close to the beaches. By the way, the government changed the name of China Beach.

The city reminded me of Ft. Lauderdale or Panama City. It just had a "beach town" feel to it...