  We review a systematic construction of $\cx N=1$ supersymmetric heterotic
string vacua using mirror symmetry. The method provides a large class of
explicit solutions for stable, holomorphic vector bundles on Calabi-Yau n-folds
Z_n in terms of toric geometry. Phenomenologically interesting
compactifications as well as non-perturbative dynamics of the heterotic string
are discussed within this framework.
