Thanh Hóa () is the capital of
Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the
Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of capital
Hanoi
Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of
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 ...
. Thanh Hoa became one of the most populous cities in
North Central Coast after expanding in 2012, with a population of approximately 400,000. Thanh Hoa township was upgraded to Thanh Hoa City in 1994 and has been the historical center of politics, economy, culture, education and entertainment of
Thanh Hóa Province.
Overview
''Thanh Hoá'' is a new developing city, although its central position was established centuries before. Nowadays, provincial administrators are trying to build and gentrify the city so that its important role for the whole province and even
North Central Coast is emphasised.
History
The
Citadel of the Hồ Dynasty was the capital of the
Trần dynasty from 1398 to 1400 and the
Hồ dynasty
The Hồ dynasty (Vietnamese: , chữ Nôm: 茹胡; Vietnamese: ''triều'' ''Hồ'', chữ Hán: wikt:朝, 朝wikt:胡, 胡), officially Đại Ngu (; chữ Hán: 大虞), was a short-lived List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty cons ...
from 1400 to 1407.
The Thanh Hóa town and region were an area of popular support for
Lê Lợi
Lê Lợi (, chữ Hán: 黎利; 10 September 1385 – 5 October 1433), also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương (平定王; "Prince of Pacification"), was a Vietnamese peopl ...
and the
Lê dynasty
The Lê dynasty, also known in historiography as the Later Lê dynasty (, chữ Hán: 朝後黎, chữ Nôm: 茹後黎), officially Đại Việt (; Chữ Hán: 大越), was the longest-ruling List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, h ...
in the 1580s, leading to the reestablishment of the southern court near the town following the withdrawal of
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
armies. After 1945 the city was a stronghold of the Communist-led
Viet Minh
The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...
. In January 1946 the Viet Minh transported all local cells of the VNQDD to the city.
[Van Dao Hoang ''Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang: A Contemporary History of a National Struggle: 1927-1954'' 2008 Page 331 "Afterward, the VC transported all Party members and their weapons to Thanh Hóa city."] During the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, US strategic bombing destroyed much of the buildings and infrastructure; the whole city has been totally rebuilt since then.
Geography
Topography
Thanh Hoá city is located in centre of Thanh Hoá's plain with many scattered rocky mountains surround. There are two main mountains along the city: Hàm Rồng and Mật Sơn. Hàm Rồng mountain begins from Thiệu Dương commune, which is about 8 km from city centre, along the right bank of the
Ma River to Hàm Rồng
Thanh Hóa Bridge pier. Ham Rong mountain has 99 peaks and had become an entrench for air defensive in
Operation Rolling Thunder.
Ma River is the longest river flow through the city, meandering around Ham Rong mountain before flowing to South East Asian sea. In addition, five canals were dug to support irrigation and response to drought, and to mitigate flooding.
Climate
Temperature
Possessing a marginal
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Cwa''), Thanh Hóa city has four seasons with two distinctive hot and cold atmospheres in a year.
* The hot season: Beginning in late spring to mid-autumn (April to mid-November), weather is extreme heat with sunny and sometime
Foehn wind. The highest temperature may reach over . In this period,
flood
A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
and
drought
A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...
occur frequently.
* The cool season: Beginning in November to the end of March the following year. The atmosphere is mostly
cloudy and dried with cool monsoon from Northeast direction. The lowest temperature may down to
Annual mean temperature is between .
Monsoon
Thanh Hóa city is located in coast region so it is affected by three seasonal winds, which are mainly referred to distinctive wind directions.
* Northeast direction wind: Blowing from
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
, and usually comes in January. The winds causes the coolest period of winter.
*
Foehn wind: Blowing from
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
passing on
Laos
Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
to
North Central Coast 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 ...
. Thus, it's called "Gió Lào" in Vietnamese referred to the wind from Laos direction. The wind occurs in summer, normally July or August and causes the hottest atmosphere in a year.
* Southeast direction wind (Gió Nồm): Blowing from sea and occurring in
Summer
Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...
. At the heat of hot season, the winds brings fresh atmosphere to land and cool down temperature
Rainfall
Annual
rainfall average is .
Administrative Subdivision
By the time 2012, Thanh Hoá city had 12 inner wards and 6 outer communes. After expansion in February 2012, the city merged some subdivisions from other nearby districts and that extended total of urban subdivisions up to 37. Thanh Hoá city currently has 20 inner wards and 17 outer communes.
Note: Area: km2; Density: People/km2 (Statistics in 2009)
After expansion, Thanh Hoá city's population had rise up from 207,698 to 406,550 people (2014). According to urban development plan in 2012, the estimated population will be approximate 1 million in 2030 with 800,000 urban people.
Thanh Hóa Citadel
A
star shaped fortress was built in 1804 during the reign of Emperor
Gia Long
Gia Long (Chữ Hán, Chữ hán: 嘉隆) ( (''Hanoi, North''), (''Ho Chi Minh City, South''); 8 February 1762 – 3 February 1820), born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (阮福暎) or Nguyễn Ánh (阮暎), was the founding emperor of the Nguyễn dynas ...
of
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 ...
to improve defense of the city. It was French-influenced and defended the residents with a moat. It is now a residential area covering Ðiện Biên and Tân Sơn wards.
Economy
According to statistics from 2013, the GDP sector composition of the city's economy was the following:
*
Agricultural sector: 7.6%
*
Industrial sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...
: 46%
*
Service sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...
: 46.4%
The annual economic growth rate was 15% (2013). Total of capital development fund estimated 12,665 thousand billion VND (~650 million USD), export volume estimated 504 million USD. State budgets revenue is 1,436 thousand billion VND(~70 million USD). GDP per capital is 3,930 USD.
Currently, there are three industrial regions locally:
* Le Mon industrial region: Is situated in the east and 5 km from city centre. The industrial hub was established in 2005 with planned scale 87 hectare. Main industries concentrate on high-tech applications, manufacturing and processing raw materials within province, agricultural, forestry and fishery, mechanical assembly, electronic and telecommunication devices,... Some FDI organizations invested and operate are Sunjade company (Taiwan), Sakura company, Yotsuba Dress company (Japan),
Vinamilk,...
* Dinh Huong industrial region: Is located 2 km from north city centre.
Transportation

As central position of province, Thanh Hoá city is the heart of transport network, where every essential transportation modes are aggregated such as
North–South Railway (Vietnam), National Route 1A (Vietnam), National Route 47, buses system and many other provincial routes.
Le Mon port is situated beside
Ma River and 4 km from city centre east. This river port supports and provides transportation for Le Mon industrial region.
In February 2013,
Tho Xuan Airport, which is located 45 km to the east from city, was implemented and upgrade to turn into a mixed civilian/military airport. This airport became the place provide air transport services for Thanh Hoá city.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thanh Hoá
Populated places in Thanh Hóa province
Districts of Thanh Hóa province
Provincial capitals in Vietnam
Cities in Vietnam