Hanoi Vietnam: Things You Need to Know

Hanoi is the capital, centrally run city and a special type of city of Vietnam. Hanoi is located to the northwest of the center of the Red River Delta, with the topography consisting of the central plain and hilly areas to the north and west of the city. With an area of ​​3,359.82 km², and a population of 8.33 million, Hanoi is the largest city under the central government in Vietnam, and also the second most populous city. and has the second highest population density of Vietnam's 63 provincial administrative units, but the population distribution is uneven. Hanoi has 30 district-level administrative units, including 12 districts, 17 districts and 1 town.

Hanoi has been a political, economic and cultural center since the very beginning of Vietnamese history. As the capital, Hanoi is home to many important cultural, entertainment and sports sites of the country, and is also the place chosen to hold many political and sports events. international. This is the place where many traditional craft villages are concentrated, and is also one of the three regions with many festivals of the North of Vietnam. Hanoi's cuisine with many distinctive features is also one of the factors attracting tourists to the city. In 2019, Hanoi was the administrative unit of Vietnam ranked 2nd in terms of gross domestic product (GRDP), 8th in GRDP per capita and 41st in terms of GRDP growth rate. The city was awarded the title of "City for Peace" by UNESCO on July 16, 1999. The Imperial Citadel of Thang Long is also recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage.

Before having the current name, Hanoi has gone through many different names. The name "Hanoi" began to be used as a place name in Vietnam from the 12th year of Minh Mang (1831) when a province called Hanoi was established in Bac Thanh. “Hanoi” meaning “surrounded by rivers”, this name reflects the geographical location of Hanoi province. The province is located between two rivers, the Nhi River in the northeast and the Thanh Quyet River in the southwest.

Hanoi province consists of four wards: Hoai Duc, Thuong Tin, Ung Hoa and Ly Nhan. The citadel where the headquarters of Hanoi province is located, ie the capital of Hanoi province, is called Hanoi citadel after the province's name. Hanoi Citadel is located in two districts of Tho Xuong and Vinh Thuan. Both Tho Xuong and Vinh Thuan districts belong to Hoai Duc government. On October 1, 1888, King Dong Khanh signed a decree to cut the entire Tho Xuong district and a part of Vinh Thuan district of Hanoi province as a concession to the French so that the French could establish the city of Hanoi. Previously, on July 19, French President Marie François Sadi Carnot signed a decree establishing the city of Hanoi before the recognition of the Vietnamese court. In 1890, Ly Nhan government was separated from Hanoi province and changed to Ha Nam province.

In 1896, the provincial capital of Hanoi was moved to Cau Do village of Thanh Oai Thuong canton, Thanh Oai district. In order to avoid having the same name with Hanoi city, in 1902, Hanoi province was renamed Cau Do province after the name of the provincial capital. On December 6, 1904, the Governor General of Indochina issued a decree to change the name of Cau Do province and its provincial capital to "Ha Dong". The name "Ha Dong" was proposed by the provincial governor Vu Pham Ham, taken from a saying of King Luong Hue recorded in the Book of Mencius as "河內凶，則移其民於河東，移其粟於河內" (Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation: Hanoi hung, tac di di di people in Ha Dong, di di tuc in Hanoi), which means that if the crop is lost in Hanoi, the people in Hanoi will be moved to Ha Dong, and food will be moved in. Ha Dong to Hanoi. "Hanoi" in the above sentence of King Luong Hue refers to the area north of the Yellow River, and "Ha Dong" refers to the area east of the Yellow River, in the southwestern part of Shanxi province of China today.