Located in southern Vietnam, Sa Dec is a functioning river port as well as an agricultural and industrial trading center. Before the 19th century it was known as one of the largest cities in the Mekong Delta. Today, it attracts a large number of businessmen from the region to its industrial zones and has a population of more than 100,000.
Sa Dec was the childhood home of Marguerite Duras, one of France’s best-known authors. Her autobiographical novel, The Lover, describes her affair with Huynh Thuy Le, the son of a wealthy Chinese businessman, while she was a teenage girl in French colonial Vietnam. Visitors to Sa Dec have the opportunity to see the beautifully preserved courtyard home of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le.