An Phú district

An Phú is a district of An Giang province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam and shares the international border with Cambodia. An Phú juts out at the western edge of Vietnam into Cambodia. As of 2019, the district had a population of 148,615. The district covers an area of 226 km2. The district capital lies at An Phú town.

History
The district is one of the most remote places in Vietnam. An Phú was a part of the Tầm Phong Long region that had links with former Funan kingdom and was given to the Nguyễn lords in 1757 by Chenla king Outey II.

Due to favourable conditions for agriculture and water transportation, the Vietnamese settled in the area. The region was crucial for trade, business, and military strategy.

In May 1833, during the Siamese-Vietnamese war, the Siamese soldiers crossed the district on the river to attack the Dai Nam. In 1841, many Chams people in Cambodia went to the district to avoid the war in Cambodia.

In Daniel Marvin's book Expendable Elite – One Soldier's Journey into Covert Warfare, he talked about the time he worked there in the Special Forces in 1965–1966. They set up camp in Dan Nam in An Phú town and enlisted a group of militant Hòa Hảo forces to support them. He said: "An Phú is the safest place [in] all [of] Vietnam".

There was a military invasion from 1977 to 1978 by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge army. Almost all of the people in An Phú had to be evacuated (mainly to the Chợ Mới and Phú Tân districts). The resultant damage was non-significant.

Administrative divisions
The district is divided into two urban municipalities, An Phú and Long Bình, and 12 rural communes. These are:

Before 1975, An Phú was part of Long Châu Tiền, but An Phú District separated following the 1975 merger with Tân Châu district of Phú Châu. By 1992, it was fully separated into the An Phú District of today.
 * Khánh An
 * Phú Hữu
 * Vĩnh Lộc
 * Vĩnh Hậu
 * Nhơn Hội
 * Phú Hội
 * Vĩnh Hội Đông
 * Khánh Bình
 * Quốc Thái
 * Phước Hưng
 * Đa Phước
 * Vĩnh Trường

People
Most of the people in An Phú District are ethnic Kinh (Vietnamese).

There are about 12,000 Chams people who mostly live in 5 villages: Đa Phước, Vĩnh Trương, Nhơn Hội, Khánh Bình and Quốc Thái.

Monsoonal flooding
Located near Châu Đốc, An Phú district is famous for its rice and fish during the monsoonal flood season. The food comes in the seventh lunar month, roughly in August. The local government organises the Flood Season Festival annually. When the monsoonal season comes, many villages and rice fields are inundated by water. Many houses were built on stilts to protect themselves against flooding. Although produce cannot be grown during this season, the fishing catch is plentiful, and boats are the dominant mode of transport during this season.

Economy
Residents of An Phú District are mainly farmers; most of the area is under rice cultivation with alluvium soil and freshwater, which also allows much fishing. Every year, when all the communes are affected by water, the fields become inundated. On the Cambodian border on the other side, opposite the town of Long Bình is a market area of Cambodia known as Chrey Thum (Koh Thum).

The road from An Phú to the capital, Phnom Penh, is Cambodia's most recent road from Vietnam, which has created good conditions for trade in the region.

Education
All communes and towns have schools from kindergarten to middle school.