Hanoi
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Hanoi Hà Nội |
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|---|---|
| — Centrally governed city — | |
| Clockwise from left: Turtle Tower in Hoan Kiem Lake, in central Hanoi; Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum; Hanoi Opera House; sunset over the Red River from Long Bien Bridge; Temple of Literature; One Pillar Pagoda | |
| Provincial location in Vietnam | |
| Coordinates: 21°2′0″N 105°51′00″E / 21.033333°N 105.85°E | |
| Country | Vietnam |
| Central city | Hanoi |
| Founded, Capital of the Đại Việt | 1010 |
| Capital of Vietnam | September 2, 1945 |
| Districts | : 29 |
| Area | |
| - Centrally governed city | dunams (3344.7 km2 /
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*0.000386102 round 1
^ sq mi) |
| - Urban | |
| Population (2009) | |
| - Centrally governed city | 6,500,000 |
| - Rank | 2nd in Vietnam |
| - Density | |
| - Urban density | |
| - Rural density | |
| - Metro density | |
| - Density | |
| - Density | |
| Time zone | ICT (UTC+7) |
| Website | hanoi.gov.vn |
Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Nội) pronunciation (help·info), estimated population nearly 6.5 million (2009),[1] is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyễn Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
The city is located on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is located at north of Ho Chi Minh City.
October 2010 will officially mark 1000 years of the establishment of the city. On this occasion, Hanoi has been named by Frommer's travel guide as one of the world's "Top Destinations 2010".[2]
History
Hanoi has been inhabited since at least 3000 BC. One of the first known permanent settlements is the Co Loa citadel (Cổ Loa) founded around 200 BC.
Hanoi has had many names throughout history, all of them of Sino-Vietnamese origin. During the Chinese domination of Vietnam, it was known as Tống Bình (宋平) and later Long Đỗ (龍肚; literally "dragon's belly"). In 866, it was turned into a citadel and was named Đại La (大羅).
In 1010, Lý Thái Tổ, the first ruler of the Lý Dynasty, moved the capital of Đại Việt (大越, the Great Viet, then the name of Vietnam) to the site of the Đại La Citadel. Claiming to have seen a dragon ascending the Red River, he renamed it Thăng Long (昇龍, English: Ascending dragon) - a name still used poetically to this day. It remained the capital of Vietnam until 1397, when the capital was moved to Thanh Hóa, also known as Tây Đô (西都, English: Western Capital). Thăng Long then became Đông Đô (東都, English: Eastern Capital).
In 1408, Chinese Ming Dynasty attacked and occupied Vietnam, then they renamed Đông Đô as Đông Quan (東關, Eastern Gateway). In 1428, the Vietnamese overthrew the Chinese under the leadership of Lê Lợi, who later founded the Lê Dynasty and renamed Đông Quan as Đông Kinh (東京, Eastern Capital, now called Tonkin in English). Right after the end of Tây Sơn Dynasty, it was named Bắc Thành (北城, Northern Citadel).
In 1802, when the Nguyễn Dynasty was established and then moved the capital down to Huế, the name of Thăng Long (昇龍, "ascending dragon") was modified to become different Thăng Long (昇隆, to ascend and flourish). In 1831 the Nguyễn emperor Minh Mạng renamed it "Hà Nội" (河内, can be translated as Between Rivers or River Interior) . Hanoi was occupied by the French in 1873 and passed to them ten years later. It became the capital of French Indochina after 1887.
The city was occupied by the Japanese in 1940, and liberated in 1945, when it briefly became the seat of the Viet Minh government after Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independence of Vietnam. But the French came back and reoccupied the city in 1946. After nine years of fighting between the French and Viet Minh forces, Hanoi became the capital of an independent North Vietnam in 1954.
During the Vietnam War Hanoi's transportation facilities were disrupted by the bombing of bridges and railways, which were, however, promptly repaired. Following the end of the war, Hanoi became the capital of Vietnam when North and South Vietnam were reunited on July 2, 1976.
On May 29, 2008, it was decided that Ha Tay Province, Vĩnh Phúc's Mê Linh district and 4 communes of Lương Sơn District, Hoa Binh is merged into the metropolitan area of Hanoi from August 1, 2008.[3] Hanoi's total area increased to 334,470 hectares divided into 29 subdivisions[4] with the new population being 6,232,940.[4] The Hanoi Capital Region (Vùng Thủ đô Hà Nội), a metropolitan area covering Hanoi and 6 surrounding provinces under planning will have an area of 13,436 square kilometers with a population of 15 million by 2020.[5]
On August 1, 2008, Hanoi absorbed the neighboring province of Ha Tay, Vĩnh Phúc's Mê Linh district, and four communes from Lương Sơn, Hoa Binh, effectively tripling its size.
Climate
Hanoi features a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) with plentiful precipitation. The city experiences the typical climate of northern Vietnam, where summers are hot and humid, and winters are, by national standards, relatively cool and dry. Summers, lasting from May to September, are hot and humid, receiving the majority of the annual of rainfall. The winters are short, relatively dry, and mild, while spring can bring light rains.
| Climate data for Hanoi (1898-1990) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year class="mw-headline" id="Education">Education Hanoi, as the capital of French Indochina, was home to the first Western-style universities in Indochina, including: Indochina Medical College (1902) - now Hanoi Medical University, Indochina University (1904) - now Hanoi National University, and École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de L'Indochine (1925) - now Hanoi University of Fine Art. After the Communist Party took control over Hanoi in 1954 with support from the Soviet Union, many new universities were built, among them, Hanoi University of Technology remains the largest technical university in Vietnam. Hanoi is the largest centre of education in Vietnam. It is estimated that 62% of the scientists in the whole country are living and working in Hanoi.[6] Admissions to undergraduate study are through entrance examinations, which are conducted annually and open for everyone (who has successfully completed his/her secondary education) in the country. The majority of universities in Hanoi are public, although in recent years a number of private universities have started their operation. Thăng Long University, founded in 1988, by some Vietnamese mathematics professors in Hanoi and France[7] is the first private university in Vietnam. Because many of Vietnam's major universities are located in Hanoi, students from other provinces (especially in the northern part of the country) wishing to enter university often travel to Hanoi for the annual entrance examination. Such events often take place in June and July, during which a large number of students and their families converge on the city for several weeks around this intense examination period. In recent years, these entrance exams have been centrally coordinated by the Ministry of Education, but passing marks are decided independently by each university. Although there are state owned kindergartens, there are also many private ventures that serve both local and international needs. Pre-tertiary (elementary and secondary) schools in Hanoi are generally state run although there are some independent schools. Education is equivalent to the K–12 system in the US, with elementary school between grades 1 and 5, middle school (or junior high) between grades 6 and 9, and high school from grades 10 to 12. |