Detian Falls

Detian Falls, known in Vietnamese as Bản Giốc (Ban Gioc Waterfall), are an array of waterfalls straddling the Sino-Vietnamese border, located in in the Karst hills of Daxing County in the Chongzuo prefecture of Guangxi Province, on the Chinese side, and in the district of Trung Khanh, Cao Bằng province on the Vietnamese side.

It is currently the 4th largest waterfall along a national border after Iguazu Falls,Victoria Falls, Niagara Falls and was one of the crossing points for China’s army during the brief Sino-Vietnamese War. Nearby there is the Tongling Gorge accessible only through a cavern from an adjoining gorge. Rediscovered only recently, it has many species of endemic plants, found only in the gorge, and used to be used as a hideout by local bandits whose treasure is occasionally still found in the cliff-side caves.

A road running along the top of the falls leads to a stone tablet that marks out the border between China and Vietnam in French and Chinese.

There are controversies regarding the border demarcation at this location. One faction holds that the entirety of these falls belongs to Vietnam, and that the stone tablet had been moved there some time during or after the brief Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979.Vietnamese Embassy: On the settlement of Vietnam-China border issue [http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/news/story.php?d=20020916000456] ] Hanoi cedes land and sea territories to China; Chinese military budget worries Asian neighbors [http://www.afpc.org/crm/crm435.shtml] ] Tìm hiếu chủ quyền thác Bản Giốc [http://www.danchimviet.com/php/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=690] ] Vài tài liệu lịch sử và pháp lý nhằm chứng minh Thác Bản Giốc thuộc chủ quyền của nước Việt Nam [http://lichsuviet.cjb.net/view_article.asp?id=54&cat=10] ]

References