Place:Haiphong, Haiphong, Vietnam

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Haiphong, or Hai Phong, is a major industrial city and the third-largest in Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the Red River delta.

Haiphong was founded in 1887 as a seaport city by colonists during French colonial rule. In 1888, the president of the French Third Republic, Sadi Carnot, promulgated a decree to establish Haiphong. From 1954 to 1975, Haiphong served as the most important maritime city of North Vietnam, and it became one of direct-controlled municipalities of a reunified Vietnam with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 1976. In the 21st century, Haiphong has emerged as a trading gateway, modern, green industrial city of Vietnam, oriented to become the third special-class city of Vietnam by 2030 to 2050 at the latest.

History

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Dynastic Vietnam

Haiphong was the home of Lê Chân, one of the female generals under the command of the Trưng Sisters who rose against Chinese rule in 40 AD and ruled until their defeat in 43 AD. Centuries later under the Mạc Dynasty, the area earned the appellation 'Hải-dương thương-chính quan-phòng' (海陽商政關房 / "The trading defensive area of Hải Dương Province") as it protected the eastern flank of Mac kings' home province.

By the 19th century at the end of Nguyễn Emperor Tự Đức's reign, the Hang Kenh Communal House in what is now the city's Le Chan District was made the administrative seat of An Dương District, restoring its regional importance. The area by then had developed into a sizable commercial port.

At the eve of the French conquest in 1881, a typhoon ravaged the area, killing about 3,000 people in and around Haiphong. Despite the damages, Haiphong was developed by the French to serve as Indochina's main naval base over the ensuing decades.

Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Vietnam War

Following the defeat of Japan in World War II, Vietnamese nationalists agitated for independence against French return. French forces landed in Haiphong and encountered resistance which resulted in the deaths of three French soldiers. In retaliation, the French ships, among them the cruiser Suffren, shelled the city, setting it ablaze and precipitating the First Indochina War. French infantry forces under the command of Jean-Étienne Valluy entered the city, fighting house to house with the support of armored units and airplanes.

Late in the Vietnam War, Haiphong was subjected to heavy bombing by US Navy and Air Force strike aircraft because it was North Vietnam's only major port. U.S. Admiral Thomas H. Moorer ordered the mining of Haiphong harbor on 8 May 1972, effectively sealing the port. Until it was lifted, the mining caused no casualty. Despite being targeted, the physical structure of the city was mostly unaffected by the war as the US had a self-imposed prohibition zone for the city. After the war, the city recovered its role as a significant industrial center.^[1]

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