city, central Vietnam. It is on the coast of the South China Sea at the entrance to the shallow 17-mile- (27-km-) long Qui Nhon Bay, which trends north-south. The port was opened to French trade in 1874, the harbour serving as an open roadstead for larger ships until after World War II. In 1965 the port was upgraded with U.S. assistance to support military operations on the Kontum Plateau, to which it is directly linked by road. The harbour was dredged in 1977 and can accommodate ships of 10,000 tons. The city is linked to other coastal centres by extensions of the national coastal highway and the Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon)–Hue railroad. Industries include fishing and salt evaporation. There is a hospital, a modern pediatrics clinic, a teacher-training school, and a vocational school. Pop. (2004 est.) 203,300.