Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

From 1954 until the defeat of the Americans in 1975, the Ben Hai River served as the demarcation line between the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).

On either side of the river was an area 5 km wide that was known as the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ, established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam as a result of the First Indochina War.

During the Vietnam War, it became important as the battleground demarcation separating North Vietnamese territory from South Vietnamese territory. The area saw heavy fighting in the war, and ruins of old American military bases still exist and the Americans didn’t take all their weaponry with them when they left, so rusted-out artillery and tanks can still be found lurking about the DMZ today, fossilized reminders of an all-too recent past.