Sóc Trăng (; ) is a city in
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 ...
. It is the capital of
Sóc Trăng Province
Sóc Trăng (, ) was a former province in the Mekong Delta of Southern Vietnam, with its capital in Sóc Trăng. The province occupies an area of and has a population of approximately 1,213,400.
Etymology
Sóc Trăng was known as Ba Xuyên du ...
. It was upgraded from a town (thị xã) to a city following decree 22/2007/NĐ-CP on 8 February 2007.
History
During the French colonial period, on December 20, 1899, the Governor-General of Indochina issued a decree converting the "hạt tham biện" (administrative regions) into provinces, and on January 1, 1900, the Sóc Trăng administrative region became Sóc Trăng Province, with its provincial capital located in Khánh Hưng village.
During the era of the
State of Vietnam and the
Republic of Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the French Union, with it ...
, the name of Sóc Trăng Province and its capital remained unchanged. After 1956, villages were renamed as communes. In February 1950, Sóc Trăng town was established. The town's boundaries were adjusted in 1953 and 1961. In 1956, the Republic of Vietnam government merged Sóc Trăng and Bạc Liêu to form Ba Xuyên Province, with its capital located in
Khánh Hưng. However, the revolutionary government continued to use the name Sóc Trăng.
After 1975, the revolutionary government took over, and in 1976, Sóc Trăng,
Cần Thơ, and
Cần Thơ City were merged to form Hậu Giang Province, with Sóc Trăng town becoming part of
Hậu Giang Province.
On December 26, 1991,
Hậu Giang Province was split into Cần Thơ and Sóc Trăng Provinces, and Sóc Trăng town became the provincial capital. In 1995, Sóc Trăng town expanded its boundaries and established additional wards. In 2007, Sóc Trăng town was upgraded to Sóc Trăng City. By 2022,
Sóc Trăng City was recognized as a class-II urban area.
Etymology
Sóc Trăng was known as Ba Xuyên during
Minh Mạng's admininistration.
During the
Nguyễn Dynasty
The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...
of emperor
Minh Mạng, it was given the
Sino-Vietnamese name Nguyệt Giang (
月 江), a
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...
of "Sông Trăng" (Moon River).
The name ''Sóc Trăng'' comes from the
Khmer name of the area (), which means ''Land of depositories'' or ''Place to store silver''. The
Vietnamese transliteration gave ''Sốc Kha Lang'' and later ''Sóc Trăng''.
Administrative divisions
Sóc Trăng City is divided into 10 administrative divisions numbered 1 to 10. The city borders
Long Phú District in the east and north,
Mỹ Tú District in the west and north,
Châu Thành District in the west and
Mỹ Xuyên District in the south.
Population
Besides the majority
Kinh people, there are also ethnic Chinese and a significant
Khmer Krom minority in the city.
Culture
50 of the 200 pagodas in Sóc Trăng Province are located in Sóc Trăng City. Some of the most famous ones are the Khmer Chùa Dơi (Bat Pagoda) and Chùa Đất Sét (Clay Pagoda), Chùa Phật nằm (Som Rong Pagoda).
Transportation
Highway 1 connects the city to
Cà Mau in the south,
Cần Thơ,
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025.
The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
and cities further north. Regular buses run between these cities. Air travel is served by
Can Tho International Airport located in
Cần Thơ, which is approximately 60 km from the city's center.
Climate
Notable people
*
Philipp Rösler, former Vice Chancellor of Germany, born in Sóc Trăng.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soc Trang
Communes of Cần Thơ
Populated places in Cần Thơ
Districts of Sóc Trăng province
Populated places in Sóc Trăng province
Provincial capitals in Vietnam
Cities in Vietnam