Chau Doc (population 80,000) is an important trading and marketing
center for the surrounding countryside. Until the mid-18th century
this region was part of Cambodia. There is still a large Khmer population
and the largest Cham settlement in the Delta. The Chau Doc district
is also the seat of the 1 - 1.5 million followers of the Hoa Hao
religion, founded in 1939 at the village of Hoa Hao.