Bắc Kạn () is the capital of Bắc Kạn Province,

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The province's only city, it is bordered by Bạch Thông District to the north, north-east and west and Chợ Mới District to the south-east and south-west. Bắc Kạn is 160 kilometers away from

Ha Noi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the capital and second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red and Black Rivers). As a municipality, Hanoi consists of 12 urban districts, 17 rural d ...

. As of 2019 it had a population of 45,036 people. The town traces its origins to a fort established in 1880 and upgraded to city on 11 March 2015. It is divided into six wards: Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai, Đức Xuân, Sông Cầu, Phùng Chí Kiên, Huyền Tụng and Xuất Hóa and 2 communes: Dương Quang, Nông Thượng.

History

Bắc Kạn (

chữ nôm Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represented by new characters ...

: 北𣴓) was established as a fort in 1880 for troops of the Nguyễn government during the 1878 revolt of Li Yung Choï (Vietnamese: Lý Dương Tài) coincident with the

Black Flag Army The Black Flag Army (; , chữ Nôm: ) was a splinter remnant of a bandit and mercenary group recruited largely from soldiers of ethnic Zhuang background and former Taiping soldiers who crossed the border in 1865 from Guangxi, China into north ...

. Following Li's capture and decapitation, the remains of his group reformed under Liu Zhiping (Vietnamese: Lục Chi Bình) and with 5,000 men attacked the fort defended by 300 Annamite soldiers in 1881. The town of Bắc Kạn was one of the early headquarters of the

Việt Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Vi ...

in the war against the French. Jean-Étienne Valluy aimed to surround the area and capture the town in Operation Léa between 7 October and 22 December 1947. A parachute drop caught the Việt Minh by surprise and seized letters left on the desk of

Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...

.Davidson, Philip,
Vietnam at War: The History, 1946-1975
', pp. 47-48. Both Ho and

Võ Nguyên Giáp Võ Nguyên Giáp ( vi-hantu, , ; 25 August 1911 – 4 October 2013) was a Vietnamese general, communist revolutionary and politician. Highly regarded as a military strategist, Giáp led Vietnamese communist forces to victories in wars agains ...

escaped only by hiding in camouflaged holes nearby. It was also an area of fighting between the communists and Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng armed forces.Van Dao Hoang, ''Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang: A Contemporary History'' Page 407 2008 "Meanwhile, the Communists mobilized their troops from Bắc Giang, Bắc Kạn, and Thái Nguyên (a total of 5,000 troops) to attack the VQAF in Ban Hoc

Climate

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bac Kan Provincial capitals in Vietnam Districts of Bắc Kạn province Populated places in Bắc Kạn province Cities in Vietnam tg:Бак Кан