The flower bee- mascot of Dalat Flower Festival in 2005

A villa in pine woods in Dalat

Da Lat (pop. 120,000 as of 1999, spelled Đà Lạt in Vietnamese) pronunciation (help· info) is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province in Vietnam. The town is located 1500 m (4,920 ft) above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau in the southern parts of the Central Highlands (in Vietnamese - Tây Nguyên). According to a myth from the French colonial era, the name derives from the acronym of the Latin phrase 'Dat Aliis Laetitiam Aliis Temperiem' ("Giving Pleasure to Some, Freshness to Others"), which the French colonial government used in their official emblem of Đà Lạt. In reality the name derives from the language of the local ethnic group Lạt and its original meaning is "Stream of the Lạt". In Vietnam, Đà Lạt is a popular tourist destination - highly appreciated for its temperate climate, beautiful sights such as waterfalls and lakes and its abundance of flowers and vegetables. It is the location of the Novotel Da Lat (formerly Da Lat Hotel) and Sofitel Da Lat (formerly Da Lat Palace built in 1922). Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 535 pixelsFull resolution‎ (2,560 × 1,712 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,536 × 2,048 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,536 × 2,048 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,536 × 2,048 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,536 × 2,048 pixels, file size: 1. ... For other uses, see Pine (disambiguation). ... For the album by Prince, see 1999 (album) 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Image File history File links Da_Lat. ... Lam Dong (Vietnamese Lâm Đồng ) is one of the fifty-nine Provinces of Vietnam located in the Central Highlands (Tay Nguyen) region. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... Tay Nguyen, translated as Central Highlands is one of the regions of Vietnam. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

During the 1890s, explorers in the area (including the noted bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin , protégé of the renowned French chemist Louis Pasteur), which was then part of the French territory of Cochinchina, asked the territorial governor to create a resort center in the highlands. The governor agreed, and, in 1907, the first hotel was built. The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the Mauve Decade, because William Henry Perkins aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion, and also as the Gay Nineties, under the then-current usage of the word gay which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no... Alexandre Emile John Yersin (September 22, 1863 - March 1, 1943) was a Swiss physician and bacteriologist. ... Louis Pasteur (December 27, 1822 – September 28, 1895) was a French chemist best known for his remarkable breakthroughs in microbiology. ... Cochinchina, from Cochin-China (see note below) (known locally as Nam Kỳ, meaning southern region), in French: Cochinchine) is a name used for various southern regions of Vietnam. ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

The French endowed the city with villas and boulevards, and its Swiss charms remain today. They also built boarding schools where children from the whole of Indochina were taught by French priests, nuns and expatriates. There were seminaries of Jesuit (such as Pius X Pontifical College) and other orders. The elite Vietnamese National Military Academy graduated its first class of future leaders in 1950. There was also an aviator school at Cam Ly airport. For the band, see Expatriate (band). ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army (Vietnamese: Quân đội Quốc gia Việt Nam, National Army of Vietnam) was the State of Vietnams military force created in 1949 at the instigation of French General de Lattre. ...

During World War II, Đà Lạt was the Capital of the Federation of Indochina, from 1939 1945. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Indochina 1886 Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...

In the mid-1950s, the Vietnamese Scout Association established their national training grounds at Dalat. The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... The Vietnamese Scout Association (Vietnamese: ) is a youth organization that was established in Vietnam and active between 1930 and 1975. ...

Environmental features

Đà Lạt is home to the manmade, 5 km² Xuan Huong Lake. The average temperature is 17°C, and does not exceed 25°C in the hottest season^{[citation needed]}. Early mornings, the city arises to mystic fog over the lake. Its temperate climate is ideal for agricultural production. Đà Lạt is renowned for its orchids, roses, vegetables and fruits. There is a nascent wine-making and flower growing industry in the region. Orchid re-directs here; for alternate uses see Orchid (disambiguation) Genera Over 800 See List of Orchidaceae genera. ... Roses can refer to: Plural of rose, a flowering shrub Roses, Girona, a municipality in Catalonia, Spain Cadburys Roses, confectionery made by Cadbury-Schweppes Roses, a discount store Roses Tournament, an annual University of York vs Lancaster University sports tournament The English War of the Roses The Day...

External links and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Da Lat

• Da Lat travel guide from Wikitravel
• Dalat photo gallery
• 2005 Vietnam Travel Guide - Đà Lạt
• Local tourism bureau site about Đà Lạt's history
• Columbia Encyclopedia article about Đà Lạt
• Dalat Information
• Dalat information and guide
• [http://peacedalat.googlepages.com/sightseeingdalat

Coordinates: 11°56′30″N, 108°26′18″E Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikitravel is a project to create an open content, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...