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Sơn Tây () is a
district-level town ("thị xã") in
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
, the capital of
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. It was the capital of Sơn Tây province before merging with Hà Đông province to form
Hà Tây province in 1965. Sơn Tây lies 35 km west of the capital Hanoi. It had a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
status in Hà Tây province. However, when Hà Tây was absorbed into Hanoi, Sơn Tây was demoted from a city to a town.
It is often referred to as “soldier town” due to the proliferation of army barracks and military institutions that surrounds the town, including the Vietnamese People's Army Infantry Academy.
Sơn Tây's future is seen as being very much that of a satellite city of Hanoi and as a result there are plans to relocate universities and other public facilities to Sơn Tây where land is cheaper and more plentiful. The government has planned to complete this project by duplicating the main Hanoi—Sơn Tây
carriageway
A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) consists of a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of tra ...
which is expected to be completed in 2009.
History
Sơn Tây is known for its thousand year old villages, such as
Đường Lâm which retains a collection of vernacular architecture with buildings and temples built using
laterite bricks. Và Temple, or Đông Cung, dedicated to
Tản Viên, is located on a hill covered with
ironwood trees in Vân Giã hamlet, Trung Hưng commune.
[Minh Trị Lưu - Historical remains & beautiful places of Hanoi and the surrounding areas - Page 204 2000 "Và Temple locates on a hill covered with green of old-age ironwood trees in Vân Gia hamlet, Trung Hưng ward, Sơn Tây town. Và Temple is differently called Đông Cung (East palace), dedicating to God Tản Viên"] Phạm Văn Đổng, a general, was from Sơn Tây.
Climate
Administrative Divisions
The town of Sơn Tây occupies most of the district, and is subdivided in wards. Eight wards form the urban core, while Xuân Khanh, to the west, is a distant ward, discontinuous with the central area. The district also includes six rural communes: Cổ Đông, Đường Lâm, Kim Sơn, Sơn Đông, Thanh Mỹ, and Xuân Sơn.
See also
*
Sơn Tây Campaign
''Toxicodendron succedaneum'', the wax tree, Japanese Hazenoki tree (Sumac or wax tree), sơn in Vietnam or charão in Portuguese, is a flowering plant species in the genus ''Toxicodendron'' found in Asia, although it has been planted elsewhere, ...
*
Operation Ivory Coast
Operation Ivory Coast was a mission conducted by United States Special Operations Forces and other American military elements to rescue U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. It was also the first joint military operation in United States ...
References
External links
Duong Lam village travel guide and tipsCổng thông tin Người Sơn TâyDiễn đàn Người Sơn Tây Hanoi province and its subdivisions
Districts of Hanoi
Populated places in Hanoi
County-level towns in Vietnam
{{Hanoi-geo-stub