As I have mentioned before, Soc Trang is located in the Mekong Delta. This region is filled with rivers. In Vietnamese, it is called Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long, or "the Nine Dragons River Delta," which refers to the nine rivers that flow through the region. Two of these rivers flow through Soc Trang. Several districts in Soc Trang, including Vinh Chau, Tran De and the island district Cu Lao Dung (remember the mangroves there?), also border the sea. From around May to October every year, too, heavy rains fall around the delta. That is to say that there is a lot of water in this province and throughout this region. How people use and adapt to this water and the land that exists between these different channels shows how important these natural resources are to life here. How people use the water and land here also shows the challenges that come with living in this environment.
The water that comes into this land from the north also flows through Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, parts of China and Tibet. However, when the large Mekong River flows out of present day Cambodia and into this land, the river splits into many different, smaller rivers. These rivers are natural sources of water for animals, plants and people.
