Dai Viet: Though much of the Southeast Asia was deeply influenced by the culture and religion of India, Vietnam was the least so. Around 100 BC, Northern Vietnam, located on the southern tip of Southeast Asia, had been conquered by the powerful Chinese Han dynasty. However, they were able to break away as the Chinese Tang Dynasty weakened around 900. They established an independent kingdom, known as Dai Viet. Vietnam was greatly influenced by China having been occupied for a millennium by them. This led them to create a similar government structure and use Buddhism as their main religion. However, they did keep their own cultural identity. For example, the women of Vietnam did have more freedom in society than their Chinese counterparts did. The Ly Dynasty (1009-1225) established a strong centralized government, centered in their capital city, Hanoi. They also strongly encouraged agriculture and trade throughout Vietnam, and greatly improved river and road transportation through the empire. These improvements allowed the economy of Vietnam to strengthen, and allowed communication and peaceful relations through the empire and with others as well.

Modern-Day Vietnam: Modern-day Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces, is a communist country, and has kept the same capital, Hanoi. Exports include clothes, shoes, electronics, seafood, crude oil, rice, coffee, wooden products, and machinery, with its main export partner being the US. It receives machinery and equipment, petroleum products, steel products, raw materials for the clothing and shoe industries, electronics, plastics and automobiles from its relative neighbors of China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Singapore.