Haiphong
Municipality in Vietnam From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Haiphong or Hai Phong (Vietnamese: Hải Phòng) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta.[6] The municipality has an area of 1,526.52 km2 (589.39 sq mi),[1] consisting of 8 urban districts, 6 rural districts and 1 municipal city (sub-city). Two of the rural districts cover islands in the South China Sea: Bạch Long Vĩ and Cát Hải. It has a population of 2,130,898 in 2023.[7][8] The city's economy has strength in manufacturing, as evident by large industrial parks and numerous smaller traditional handicraft villages. Historically, Haiphong is the first place in Vietnam and Mainland Southeast Asia to get electricity.
Haiphong
Hải Phòng | |
|---|---|
| City of Haiphong Thành phố Hải Phòng | |
From top, left to right: Downtown Haiphong, Haiphong seen from Haiphong Opera House, Lê Chân statue, Nguyen Binh Khiem overpass, Hai Phong Port, Đồ Sơn. | |
| Nickname: Flamboyant City (Thành phố hoa phượng đỏ) | |
 | |
 Provincial location in Vietnam | |
| Coordinates: 20°51′54.5″N 106°41′01.8″E | |
| Country |  Vietnam |
| Region | Red River Delta |
| Seat | Hồng Bàng |
| Subdivision | 8 urban districts, 1 municipal city, 6 rural districts |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Body | Haiphong People's Council |
| • Secretary of the Party | Trần Lưu Quang |
| • Chairman of People's Council | Phuong Giang Hồ |
| • Chairman of People's Committee | Nguyễn Văn Tùng |
| Area | |
| 1,526.52 km2 (589.39 sq mi) | |
| Population | |
| 2,310,280 | |
| • Density | 1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,432,079 |
| Ethnic groups | |
| • Vietnamese | 99.6% |
| • Others | 0.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+07:00 (ICT) |
| Postal code | 04xxx–05xxx |
| Area codes | 225 |
| License plate | 15, 16 |
| HDI (2022) |  0.807[5](4th) |
| Climate | Cwa |
| International airport | Cat Bi International Airport |
| Website | en |
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In the imperial era of Đại Việt, the Bạch Đằng River in Haiphong was a place of many legendary victories, led by now-legendary commanders Ngô Quyền and Trần Hưng Đạo. In the 16th century, Mạc dynasty has promoted the coastal settlement as a secondary capital, growing to become an important port town of Đàng Ngoài. After the French conquest of Vietnam, in 1888, the president of the French Third Republic, Sadi Carnot, promulgated a decree to establish Haiphong as one of the principal cities of the French Indochina. From 1954 to 1975, Haiphong served as the most important maritime city of North Vietnam. It was one of directly controlled municipalities of a reunified Vietnam with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 1976. In the 21st century, Haiphong is under active land reclamation, the most recent effort being the construction of South Đình Vũ dike in 2022.
Haiphong is a popular seaside vacation spot and known for biological reservations in Cát Bà Island. For its extensive port, the city hosts the headquarter of Vietnam People's Navy. Royal poinciana are commonly associated with Haiphong in Vietnamese culture.
History
Summarize
Perspective
Dynastic Vietnam
Modern-day Haiphong was the home of Lê Chân, one of the female generals under the command of the Trưng Sisters who rose against Chinese domination in 40 AD and ruled until their defeat in 43 AD. Lê Chân was known to have established the Hải tần Phòng thủ (“Defenced Sea-coast”) during the war against general Ma Yuan of the Han dynasty.[9][10] Centuries later under the reign of Nguyễn Emperor Tự Đức, the area earned the appellation: Hải-Dương thương-chính quan-phòng ("The trading defensive area of Hải Dương Province").
By the 19th century, at the end of Tự Đức's reign, the Hang Kenh Communal House in what is now the city's Le Chan District was made the administrative seat of An Dương District, restoring its regional importance.[11] The area by then had developed into a sizable commercial port.
At the eve of the French conquest in 1881, a typhoon ravaged the area, killing about 3,000 people in and around Haiphong. Despite the damages, Haiphong was developed by the French to serve as Indochina's main naval base over the ensuing decades.
Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam War
Following the defeat of Japan in World War II, Vietnamese nationalists agitated for independence against French return. French forces landed in Haiphong and encountered resistance which resulted in the deaths of three French soldiers. In retaliation, the French ships, among them the cruiser Suffren, shelled the city, setting it ablaze[12] and precipitating the First Indochina War.[13][14] French infantry forces under the command of Jean-Étienne Valluy entered the city, fighting house to house with the support of armored units and airplanes.[15]
Late in the Vietnam War, Haiphong was subjected to heavy bombing by US Navy and Air Force strike aircraft because it was North Vietnam's only major port. U.S. Admiral Thomas H. Moorer ordered the mining of Haiphong harbor on 8 May 1972, effectively sealing the port. Until it was lifted, the mining caused no casualty.[16][17] Despite being targeted, the physical structure of the city was mostly unaffected by the war as the US had a self-imposed prohibition zone for the city. After the war, the city recovered its role as a significant industrial center.[11]
Geography
Summarize
Perspective
Haiphong is a coastal city located at the mouth of the Cấm River, in Vietnam's north-eastern coastal area, 120 kilometres or 75 miles east of Hanoi. The Bính Bridge crosses the Cam and connects the city with Thủy Nguyên District. It has a total natural area of 152,318.49 hectares or 376,387 acres (2001). It borders Quảng Ninh Province to the north, Hải Dương Province to the west, Thái Bình Province to the south, and the Gulf of Tonkin to the east. Bach Long Vi island, Cat Ba Island and the Long Châu islands, located in the Gulf, are also administered as part of the city. Tidal flat ecosystems occur adjacent to the city, however, many have been reclaimed for agriculture or development purposes.[18]
Climate
Like the rest of Northern Vietnam, Haiphong features a humid subtropical climate (Koppen: Cwa) with hot, humid summers and warm, dry winters. The city is noticeably wetter from April through October; roughly 90% of the city's annual rainfall (which totals approximately 1,700 millimetres or 67 inches) typically falls during these months. There is a noticeable difference in temperatures between the city's winters and summers. Haiphong's coolest months, January and February, sees average high temperatures reach 20 °C (68 °F) and average low temperatures at around 14 °C (57.2 °F). Its warmest months, June and July, sees average high temperatures hover around 33 °C (91.4 °F) and average low temperatures at around 26 °C (78.8 °F). Sea temperatures range from a low of 21 °C (70 °F) in February to a high of 30 °C (86 °F) during the months of July and August.[19]
| Climate data for Haiphong (Phù Liễn, Kiến An district) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.0 (87.8) |
34.1 (93.4) |
35.4 (95.7) |
37.4 (99.3) |
41.5 (106.7) |
39.5 (103.1) |
38.5 (101.3) |
39.4 (102.9) |
37.4 (99.3) |
36.6 (97.9) |
33.1 (91.6) |
30.0 (86.0) |
41.5 (106.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 19.8 (67.6) |
20.1 (68.2) |
22.2 (72.0) |
26.4 (79.5) |
30.6 (87.1) |
32.0 (89.6) |
32.1 (89.8) |
31.5 (88.7) |
30.8 (87.4) |
29.0 (84.2) |
25.8 (78.4) |
22.1 (71.8) |
26.9 (80.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.3 (61.3) |
17.0 (62.6) |
19.4 (66.9) |
23.1 (73.6) |
26.6 (79.9) |
28.2 (82.8) |
28.4 (83.1) |
27.8 (82.0) |
26.9 (80.4) |
24.7 (76.5) |
21.5 (70.7) |
18.1 (64.6) |
23.2 (73.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.2 (57.6) |
15.2 (59.4) |
17.7 (63.9) |
21.1 (70.0) |
24.1 (75.4) |
25.6 (78.1) |
25.9 (78.6) |
25.3 (77.5) |
24.3 (75.7) |
22.0 (71.6) |
18.8 (65.8) |
15.5 (59.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4.5 (40.1) |
4.5 (40.1) |
6.1 (43.0) |
10.4 (50.7) |
15.5 (59.9) |
18.4 (65.1) |
20.3 (68.5) |
20.4 (68.7) |
15.6 (60.1) |
12.7 (54.9) |
9.0 (48.2) |
4.9 (40.8) |
4.5 (40.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 28.0 (1.10) |
27.4 (1.08) |
48.5 (1.91) |
85.3 (3.36) |
201.6 (7.94) |
238.1 (9.37) |
238.1 (9.37) |
353.0 (13.90) |
257.1 (10.12) |
136.3 (5.37) |
43.0 (1.69) |
22.8 (0.90) |
1,679.3 (66.11) |
| Average rainy days | 8.4 | 12.8 | 17.1 | 12.9 | 12.6 | 14.1 | 14.2 | 17.5 | 13.8 | 9.7 | 6.4 | 5.5 | 145.2 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 84.4 | 88.5 | 90.9 | 90.7 | 87.5 | 86.8 | 86.6 | 88.4 | 86.3 | 82.3 | 79.8 | 79.5 | 86.0 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 82.0 | 46.6 | 41.3 | 85.0 | 183.7 | 181.3 | 199.1 | 169.5 | 179.1 | 179.8 | 148.5 | 126.8 | 1,624.8 |
| Source 1: Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology[20] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: The Yearbook of Indochina (1930-1931)[21] | |||||||||||||
{{# class="wikitable" |{Average sea temperature[19] |- !Month !Jan !Feb !Mar !Apr !May !Jun !Jul !Aug !Sep !Oct !Nov !Dec !Year |- |Average temperature °C (°F) |22 °C (72 °F) |21 °C (70 °F) |22 °C (72 °F) |24 °C (75 °F) |27 °C (81 °F) |29 °C (84 °F) |30 °C (86 °F) |30 °C (86 °F) |29 °C (84 °F) |28 °C (82 °F) |26 °C (79 °F) |23 °C (73 °F) |26 °C (79 °F) |}
Table of local government districts
{{# class="wikitable"
! District
! Number of wards
(communes and towns)
! Area (km2)
(2025)
! Population
(2025)
! Density
(people/km2)
|-
| An Dương
| 10 wards
| 78.96
| 171,227
| 2,169
|-
| Dương Kinh
| 6 wards
| 48.85
| 60,319
| 1,235
|-
| Đồ Sơn
| 6 wards
| 46.32
| 54,175
| 1,169
|-
| Hải An
| 8 wards
| 97.64
| 144,256
| 1,477
|-
| Hồng Bàng
| 10 wards
| 39.77
| 177,820
| 4,471
|-
| Kiến An
| 7 wards
| 29.6
| 118,047
| 3,988
|-
| Lê Chân
| 7 wards
| 11.9
| 261,854
| 22,004
|-
| Ngô Quyền
| 8 wards
| 11.33
| 186,683
| 16,477
|-
| Sub-Total (Urban districts)
| 62 wards
| 364.37
| 1,174,381
| 3,223
|-
| Thủy Nguyên
| 17 wards + 4 communes
| 269.1
| 397,570
| 1,477
|-
| Sub-Total (Municipal city)
| 17 wards, 4 communes
| 269.1
| 397,570
| 1,477
|-
| An Lão
| 2 towns + 15 communes
| 114.58
| 146,712
| 1,280
|-
| Bạch Long Vĩ
| -
| 3.16
| 624
| 197
|-
| Cát Hải
| 2 towns + 10 communes
| 325.6
| 32.090
| 98
|-
| Kiến Thụy
| 1 town + 15 communes
| 108.87
| 160,239
| 1,471
|-
| Tiên Lãng
| 1 town + 18 communes
| 195
| 185,619
| 951
|-
| Vĩnh Bảo
| 1 town + 19 communes
| 183.16
| 224,813
| 1,227
|-
| Sub-Total (Rural districts)
| 7 towns + 77 communes
| 930.37
| 750,097
| 806
|-
| Total
| 79 wards, 7 towns, 81 communes
| 1,563.84
| 2,322,048
| 1,484
|}
Industry
Industry is a key sector in Haiphong including food processing, light industries and heavy industries. Major products include fish sauce, beer, cigarettes, textiles, paper, plastic pipes, cement, iron, pharmaceuticals, electric fans, motorbikes, steel pipes and ships and out-sourcing software implementation.[27] Most of these industries have been growing significantly between 2000 and 2007, with the exceptions of the cigarette and pharmaceutical industries. Shipbuilding, steel pipes, plastic pipes and textiles are among the industries with the most rapid growth.[27]
There are also growing industries supplying products used by existing industries in the city. PetroVietnam set up a joint-venture PVTex with textile manufacturer Vinatex to build Vietnam's first polyester fiber plant in Haiphong. The factory will use by-products from oil-refining and reduce reliance on imported materials.[28] 270,600 people were employed in Haiphong's industry. 112,600 industrial jobs were created between 2000 and 2007.[27]
Agriculture, forestry and fishery
Despite its status as a city, around one third of Haiphong's area or 52,300 ha (as of 2007) are used for agriculture. Rice is the most important crop, taking up around 80% of the agricultural land with an output of 463,100 tons in 2007.[27] Other agricultural products include maize, sugar and peanuts.[27]
Haiphong has a relatively large fishing sector with an output of 79,705 tons (2007). Gross output has almost doubled between 2000 and 2007, mostly due to fast growth in aquaculture, which made up 60% of gross output in 2007. Despite its coastal location, sea fish contribute relatively little to the sector (around one fourth). Nam Định Province and Thái Bình Province have much larger fishing sectors and even the inland Hải Dương Province has a larger gross output from fishing than Haiphong.[27]
As of 2007, 315,500 were employed in agriculture and fishery, a significant decrease from 396,300 in 2000. However, these sectors still account for almost a third of total employment in Haiphong, a larger share than industry.[27] However, gross output in both agriculture and fishery have been growing significantly between 2000 and 2007.
Population growth
As of the 2009 census, Haiphong's average annual population growth rate was given as 4.0%. Haiphong's crude birth rate was recorded at 18.1 live births per 1000 persons vs the crude death rate of 7.6 per 1000 persons. Life expectancy at birth was estimated at 77.1 years for women and 72.0 years for men, or 74.5 years overall. Infant mortality rate was measured at 11.8 infant deaths per 1000 live births, just over two points above the nation's average for urban areas. In the same census, the city's out-migration was 1.9% vs in-migration of 2.8% and, for a net migration rate of 0.9%.[30]
Universities in Hải Phòng
- Vietnam Maritime University - A national key university specializing in Transport and Maritime.
- Hai Phong University - A multidisciplinary university, formerly Hai Phong Teachers College.
- Hai Phong Medical University - Trains general and specialized doctors, nurses, and serves as a medical research center.
- Hai Phong Management and Technology University - A private multidisciplinary university.
Roads
Haiphong is located at the junction of two National Highways: Route 5, leading west to Hanoi, and Route 10, leading south to Nam Định and onward to connect with National Route 1 at Ninh Bình. Highway 356 passes west–east from the Route 5/10 junction through Haiphong's city center all the way to the coast. A connecting road from route 5 to route 18 links Haiphong with Quảng Ninh Province. In 2015, the new highway connecting Haiphong with Hanoi was completed; this is the most modern highway in Vietnam and reduces the trip by one hour as compared to the previous route.[31]
Within the city there are several long-distance bus depots: Niem Nghia, Vinh Niem, Thuong Ly.
A new highway route was completed last year 2016 to make the transfer faster and easier. From Hanoi to Haiphong and back, it takes less than 2 hours to reach not so long as 3 hours as before. Also shorten the distance from Haiphong to Thai Binh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen.
Tourists can easily catch a coach from Niem Nghia bus station to Hanoi or Cat Ba island, either Quang Ninh, or South of Vietnam.
Cuisine
 |
Hai Phong specialties are known throughout Vietnam for their seafood dishes. Seafood restaurants in the Do Son area are famous for having very fresh shrimp, crab, fish, and squid at affordable prices. The seafood processing style in Hai Phong is simple, emphasizing the essence and freshness of ingredients, not spices.
Dishes such as bánh đa cua (red noodle soup with crab), bún cá (fish rice noodle soup), bánh mỳ que cay (spicy stick-bread), cơm cháy hải sản (crispy rice cracker with seafood), nem cua bể (square crab spring rolls) are notable and popular dishes. These dishes can be found on the streets of other places like Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, but enjoying them on the Flamboyant City (the other name of Haiphong City) is still the most ideal because of the choice of raw ingredients and cooking secrets of local chefs. Hai Phong cuisine has been promoted to Europe at the Brest Maritime Festival 2008 (France) and resonated greatly.
In addition, Hai Phong also has many other dishes such as mantis shrimp hot pot, bean sprouts salad, sủi dìn, bánh bèo (Haiphong's version, which is different from Hue's version).
Notable people
- Mạc Đăng Dung (1483–1541) king of Đại Việt country, the founder of the Mạc dynasty
- Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm (1491–1585) thinker, poet, prophet, Cao Dai religion saint
- Mai Trung Thu (1906–80) painter
- Văn Cao (1923–95) musician, poet, painter and composer of the national anthem of Vietnam Tiến Quân Ca
- Ngọc Sơn (born 1970) singer, songwriter
- Trà Giang (born 1942) film actress (born in Quảng Ngãi Province, grew up and schooled in Haiphong)
- Wong Kwok-hing (born 1949) Hong Kong trade unionist and a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong (2004–2016)
- Phan Thị Hà Thanh (born 1991) artistic gymnast, first gymnast to win a world medal for Vietnam gymnastics (2011)
- Thu Phương (born 1972) famous pop singer and Haiphong native; she now lives in the U.S.
 | You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Vietnamese. (March 2016) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Twin towns – sister cities
Gallery
Du Hang Pagoda
Du Hang Pagoda Architecture
The City's Opera House
A Buddhist temple in Haiphong.
Haiphong Cathedral (2007)
Haiphong City International Exhibition Center
.jpg)
See also
Notes
External links
Summarize
Perspective
|Centre = Haiphong
|North =
|Northeast = Quảng Ninh Province
|East = Gulf of Tonkin
Guangdong}}
|Southeast = Gulf of Tonkin
Hainan}}
|South = Gulf of Tonkin
|Southwest = Thái Bình Province
|West =
|Northwest = Hải Dương Province
}}
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Haiphong.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Haiphong.
- Official Website of Haiphong City
- Official Website of Haiphong Tourism.
- History of Haiphong: interactive Google Map with specific sites and historic views of the city from French colonial times.
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