As a people of dragons and fairies, the Vietnamese identify themselves in their mythology. Heike Baldauf takes her readers into the daily life of this multi-ethnic state, a country on the rise in the shadow of China. After three wars, Vietnam embarked on a journey from a purely agrarian state to a modern industrial nation. The author reports on a youth eager for education, striving for Western values, and delves into issues of corruption and environmental problems. She travels with the reader to the moped-filled, sensory-overwhelming Hanoi, writes about the quiet village life and the belief system of this people, who are aware of their centuries-old traditions. This creates a striking portrait of this coastal state in Southeast Asia.