French era During the 1890s, explorers in the area (including the noted
bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin, protégé of the French chemist
Louis Pasteur), which was then part of the French colony of
Cochinchina, asked the French governor-general,
Paul Doumer, to create a resort center in the highlands, and the governor agreed. The original intended site for the
hill station was Dankia, but Étienne Tardif, a member of the road-building expedition of 1898–99, proposed the current site instead. In 1907, the first hotel was built. Urban planning was carried out by
Ernest Hébrard. Many Europeans used to travel up to Da Lat to escape the heat of the lower coastal areas and Mekong delta. The French endowed the city with villas and boulevards, and its Swiss charms remain today. Hébrard included the requisite health complex, golf course, parks, schools, and homes but no industry. The legacy of boarding schools where children from the whole of Indochina were taught by French priests, nuns, and
expatriates still existed as late as 1969. In 1929, the
Christian and Missionary Alliance established
a school which later shortly relocated to
Bangkok, Thailand, due to the Vietnam War and has been located in
Penang,
Malaysia, since the 1970s. There were seminaries of
Jesuits (such as
Pius X Pontifical College) as well as other orders. In the 1920s and 1930s, there were ideas of making Da Lat the 'summer capital', 'administrative capital', and 'federal capital' of
French Indochina. During the
World War II, Governor-general
Jean Decoux (r. 1940–1945) supported this project.
South Vietnamese era Da Lat remained a resort city following the establishment of
South Vietnam after the French withdrawal from Indochina. It was a popular destination for both civilians and military members largely due to its cool climate, spas, and colonial-era hotels. In the mid-1950s, the
Vietnamese Scout Association established their national training grounds at Da Lat. The South Vietnamese
National Military Academy took control of the former
French Far East Expeditionary Corps academy in Da Lat in 1954. In spite of this, the city was not heavily affected by the
Vietnam War. The
only major involvement Da Lat had during the
Vietnam War was during the 1968
Tet Offensive. Fierce battles raged from January 31 to February 9, 1968. Most of the fighting took place between the South Vietnamese/American MP units stationed in Da Lat and the
Việt Cộng (VC) forces. Another brief attack targeted the military academy on 30 May 1970 before being repelled by South Vietnamese forces.
Present-day Vietnam South Vietnam eventually fell under communist rule and was merged with the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam, creating the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and also experiencing the
Đổi Mới reforms along with the rest of the country. Places like Da Lat as well as
Hoi An and
Da Nang are regularly regarded as amongst the most romantic tourist places in Vietnam. Da Lat has also become a hub for
nuclear research and biotechnology. ==Geography==