Hanoi
Capital of Vietnam, on the Red River, 88 km/55 mi upstream from Haiphong; population (2000 est) 1,326,800. The Red River can be navigated by smaller ocean-going vessels, and Hanoi is also linked by rail to the port of Haiphong, to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and to Kunming in the Yunnan province of China. The city is served by Gia Lam international and domestic airport. Industries include electric motors, electric generators, machine tools, textiles, and chemicals, as well as the more traditional tanning, brewing, rice milling, and handicrafts. Central Hanoi has one of the highest population densities in the world: 3,250 people per ha/1,300 per acre.
History
Hanoi was the capital of the Vietnamese Empire from the 11th to the 17th centuries. Captured by the French in 1873, it was the capital of French Indochina 1887–1946, though it was occupied by the Japanese during World War II. Vietnam gained independence in 1946, but was divided into two countries in 1954, when Hanoi became the capital of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). The city was heavily damaged by bombing during the Vietnam War, but once again was made capital of the whole country on reunification in 1976.
Features Many of its historical sites have been destroyed in recent wars, but remaining features of interest include the Co Loa citadel, dating from the 3rd century BC, the 11th-century AD Temple of Literature and Mot Cot (‘One Pillar’) Pagoda, and the 12th-century Temple of the Trung Sisters, as well as the national and other museums. Hanoi is also home to the University of Hanoi (1956) and Hanoi Polytechnic. |
