Hanoi
Hanoi[a] (Vietnamese: Hà Nội ⓘ) is the capital and second-most populous city of Vietnam. As evident by the literal translation of its name – 'inside the river'[17] – portions of Hanoi's border are delineated by the Red and Black Rivers. As a municipality, Hanoi consists of 12 urban districts, 17 rural districts, and one district-level town. It has an area of 3,359.84 km2 (1,297.24 sq mi)[3] and a population of 8,435,700 in 2022.[8] In 2020, Hanoi has the second-highest gross regional domestic product of all Vietnam provinces and municipalities at 51.4 billion USD,[18] behind Ho Chi Minh City.[19] Hanoi Capital is also ASEAN 8th largest economy after Surabaya.
For other uses, see Hanoi (disambiguation).
Hanoi
Hà Nội
257 BC
12 urban districts, 17 rural districts, one district-level town
Đinh Tiến Dũng
Nguyễn Ngọc Tuấn
Trần Sỹ Thanh
3,359.84 km2 (1,297.24 sq mi)
319.56 km2 (123.38 sq mi)
24,314.7 km2 (9,388.0 sq mi)
1,296 m (4,252 ft)
8,435,700
2,500/km2 (6,500/sq mi)
4,138,500
13,000/km2 (34,000/sq mi)
4,297,100
20,000,000
820/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Hanoian
98.66%
0.77%
0.24%
0.09%
0.08%
0.16%
US$ 54.04 billion
US$ 95.5 billion
24
29 – 33, 40
Ba Vì District (421.80 km2)[15]
Hoàng Mai District (540,732)[16]
In the third century BCE, the Cổ Loa Capital Citadel of Âu Lạc was constructed in the area of modern-day Hanoi. Âu Lạc then falls under China rule for around a thousand years. In 1010, Vietnamese emperor Lý Thái Tổ established the capital of the imperial Vietnamese nation Đại Việt in modern-day central Hanoi, naming the city Thăng Long (literally 'Ascending Dragon'). In 1428, king Lê Lợi renamed the city to Đông Kinh (東京), and remained being so until 1789. The Nguyễn dynasty in 1802 moved the national capital to Huế and the city was renamed Hanoi in 1831. It served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1945. After the August Revolution, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam designated Hanoi as the capital of the newly independent country. In 2008, Hà Tây Province and two other rural districts were annexed into Hanoi, effectively tripling Hanoi's area.
In the 21st century, Hanoi is the cultural, economic and education center of Northern Vietnam. As the capital of the country, Hanoi hosts 78 foreign embassies, the headquarter of People's Army of Vietnam, its own Vietnam National University system, and many other governmental organs. Hanoi is also a major tourist destination, with 18.7 million domestic and international visitors in 2022.[20] The city hosts Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long (an UNESCO World Heritage Site), Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Hoàn Kiếm Lake, West Lake, and Ba Vì National Park near the outskirts of the municipality. Hanoi's urban area has a wide range of architectural styles, including French colonial architecture, brutalist apartments typical of socialist nations and disorganized alleys–tube houses reflecting the city's rapid growth in the 20th century. As of early 2020s, many urban amenities in Hanoi are under heavy construction, such as the 8-lines Hanoi Metro and numerous housing estates.
Geography[edit]
Location, topography[edit]
Hanoi is a landlocked municipality in the northern region of Vietnam, situated in Vietnam's Red River delta, nearly 90 km (56 mi) from the coast. Hanoi contains three basic kinds of terrain, which are the delta area, the midland area and the mountainous zone. In general, the terrain becomes gradually lower from north to south and from west to east, with the average height ranging from 5 to 20 meters above sea level. Hills and mountainous zones are located in the northern and western parts of the city. The highest peak is at Ba Vi with 1281 m, located west of the city proper.
Economy[edit]
According to a recent ranking by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will be amongst the fastest-growing cities in the world in terms of GDP growth from 2008 to 2025.[90] In the year 2013, Hanoi contributed 12.6% to GDP, exported 7.5% of total exports, contributed 17% to the national budget and attracted 22% investment capital of Vietnam. The city's nominal GDP at current prices reached 451,213 billion VND (US$21.48 billion) in 2013, which made per capita GDP stand at 63.3 million VND (US$3,000).[91]
Industrial production in the city has experienced a rapid boom since the 1990s, with average annual growth of 19.1 percent from 1991 to 1995, 15.9 percent from 1996 to 2000, and 20.9 percent during 2001–2003. In addition to eight existing industrial parks, Hanoi is building five new large-scale industrial parks and 16 small- and medium-sized industrial clusters. The non-state economic sector is expanding fast, with more than 48,000 businesses operating under the Enterprise Law (as of 3/2007).[92]
Trade is another strong sector of the city. In 2003, Hanoi had 2,000 businesses engaged in foreign trade, having established ties with 161 countries and territories. The city's export value grew by an average 11.6 percent each year from 1996 to 2000 and 9.1 percent during 2001–2003. The economic structure also underwent important shifts, with tourism, finance, and banking now playing an increasingly important role. Hanoi's traditional business districts are Hoàn Kiếm, Hai Bà Trưng and Đống Đa; and newly developing Cầu Giấy, Nam Từ Liêm, Bắc Từ Liêm, Thanh Xuân and Hà Đông in the west.
Similar to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi enjoys a rapidly developing real estate market.[93] The most notable new urban areas are central Trung Hòa Nhân Chính, Mỹ Đình, the luxurious zones of The Manor, Ciputra, Royal City in the Nguyễn Trãi Street (Thanh Xuân District) and Times City in the Hai Bà Trưng District. With an estimated nominal GDP of US$42.04 billion as of 2019, it is the second most productive economic area of Vietnam (after Ho Chi Minh City)
Agriculture, previously a pillar in Hanoi's economy, has striven to reform itself, introducing new high-yield plant varieties and livestock, and applying modern farming techniques.[94]
After the economic reforms that initiated economic growth, Hanoi's appearance has also changed significantly, especially in recent years. Infrastructure is constantly being upgraded, with new roads and an improved public transportation system.[95] Hanoi has allowed many fast-food chains into the city, such as McDonald's, Lotteria, Pizza Hut, KFC, and others. Locals in Hanoi perceive the ability to purchase "fast-food" as an indication of luxury and permanent fixtures.[96] Similarly, city officials are motivated by food safety concerns and their aspirations for a "modern" city to replace the 67 traditional food markets with 1,000 supermarkets by 2025. This is likely to increase consumption of less nutritious foods, as traditional markets are key for consumption of fresh rather than processed foods.[97]
Over three-quarters of the jobs in Hanoi are state-owned. 9% of jobs are provided by collectively owned organizations. 13.3% of jobs are in the private sector.[98] The structure of employment has been changing rapidly as state-owned institutions downsize and private enterprises grow.[98] Hanoi has in-migration controls which allow the city to accept only people who add skills Hanoi's economy.[98] A 2006 census found that 5,600 rural produce vendors exist in Hanoi, with 90% of them coming from surrounding rural areas. These numbers indicate the much greater earning potential in urban rather than in rural spaces.[96] The uneducated, rural, and mostly female street vendors are depicted as participants of "microbusiness" and local grassroots economic development by business reports.[96] In July 2008, Hanoi's city government devised a policy to partially ban street vendors and side-walk based commerce on 62 streets due to concerns about public health and "modernizing" the city's image to attract foreigners.[96] Many foreigners believe that the vendors add a traditional and nostalgic aura to the city, although street vending was much less common prior to the 1986 Đổi Mới policies.[96] The vendors have not able to form effective resistance tactics to the ban and remain embedded in the dominant capitalist framework of modern Hanoi.[99]
Hanoi is part of the Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast through the Strait of Malacca towards the southern tip of India to Mombasa, from there through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.[100][101][102]
Development[edit]
Infrastructural development[edit]
A development master plan for Hanoi was designed by Ernest Hebrard in 1924, but was only partially implemented.[98] The previous close relationship between the Soviet Union and Vietnam led to the creation of the first comprehensive plan for Hanoi with the assistance of Soviet planners between 1981 and 1984.[103] It was never realized because it appeared to be incompatible with Hanoi's existing layout.[98]
In recent years, two master plans have been created to guide Hanoi's development.[98] The first was the Hanoi Master Plan 1990–2010, approved in April 1992. It was created out of collaboration between planners from Hanoi and the National Institute of Urban and Rural Planning in the Ministry of Construction.[98] The plan's three main objectives were to create housing and a new commercial center in an area known as Nghĩa Đô, expand residential and industrial areas in the Gia Lâm District, and develop the three southern corridors linking Hanoi to Hà Đông and the Thanh Trì District.[98] The result of the land-use pattern was meant to resemble a five cornered star by 2010.[98] In 1998, a revised version of the Hanoi Master plan was approved to be completed in 2020.[98] It addressed the significant increase of population projections within Hanoi. Population densities and high rise buildings in the inner city were planned to be limited to protect the old parts of inner Hanoi.[98] A rail transport system is planned to be built to expand public transport and link the Hanoi to surrounding areas. Projects such as airport upgrading, a golf course, and cultural villages have been approved for development by the government.[98]
Hanoi is still faced with the problems associated with increasing urbanization. Although it is a major transport hub with a large network of national routes, expressways, railways, and is home to Noi Bai International Airport, the busiest airport in Vietnam, the disparity of wealth between the rich and the poor is a problem in both the capital and throughout the country.[98] Hanoi's public infrastructure was assessed as in poor condition with high amounts of pollution and congestion in 2001. The city also has air and water pollution, difficult road conditions, traffic congestion, and a rudimentary public transit system. Traffic congestion and air pollution are worsening as the number of motor cycles increases. Squatter settlements are expanding on the outer rim of the city as homelessness rises (2001).[98]
In the late 1980s, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Vietnamese government had designed a project to develop rural infrastructure.[98] The project focused on improving roads, water supply and sanitation, and educational, health and social facilities because economic development in the communes and rural areas surrounding Hanoi is dependent on the infrastructural links between the rural and urban areas, especially for the sale of rural products.[98] The project aimed to use locally available resources and knowledge such as compressed earth construction techniques for building. It was jointly funded by the UNDP, the Vietnamese government, and resources raised by the local communities and governments. In four communes, the local communities contributed 37% of the total budget.[98] Local labor, community support, and joint funding were decided as necessary for the long-term sustainability of the project.[98]
Civil society development[edit]
Part of the goals of the Đổi Mới economic reforms was to decentralize governance for purpose of economic improvement. This led to the establishment of the first issue-oriented civic organizations in Hanoi. In the 1990s, Hanoi experienced significant poverty alleviation as a result of both the market reforms and civil society movements.[104] Most of the civic organizations in Hanoi were established after 1995, at a rate much slower than in Ho Chi Minh City.[105] Organizations in Hanoi are more "tradition-bound", focused on policy, education, research, professional interests, and appealing to governmental organizations to solve social problems.[105] This marked difference from Ho Chi Minh's civic organizations, which practice more direct intervention to tackle social issues, may be attributed to the different societal identities of North and South Vietnam.[105] Hanoi-based civic organizations use more systematic development and less of a direct intervention approach to deal with issues of rural development, poverty alleviation, and environmental protection. They rely more heavily on full-time staff than volunteers. In Hanoi, 16.7% of civic organizations accept anyone as a registered member and 73.9% claim to have their own budgets, as opposed to 90.9% in Ho Chi Minh City.[105] A majority of the civic organizations in Hanoi find it difficult to work with governmental organizations. Many of the strained relations between non-governmental and governmental organizations results from statism, a bias against non-state organizations on the part of government entities.[105]
Some medical facilities in Hanoi:
City for Peace[edit]
On 16 July 1999, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) presented the title "City for Peace" to Hanoi because the city met the following criteria: Exemplary action against exclusion and in support of the dialogue between communities; Exemplary urban action; Exemplary environmental action; Exemplary action to promote culture; Exemplary action in the field of education and especially civic education.[144]
Hanoi is the only city in Asia-Pacific that was granted this title.
Tháp Bút (Pen Tower) with a phrase "Tả thanh thiên" (meaning "Write on the sky") next to Hoàn Kiếm Lake (2007)
Inspiration of French Colonial architecture in Hanoi's modern buildings
