Hoàn Kiếm District - Wikipedia

For the lake associated with Lê Lợi's legendary sword, see Hoàn Kiếm Lake. Urban district in Hanoi, Vietnam

Hoàn Kiếm district Quận Hoàn Kiếm
Urban district (quận)
Tháp Rùa (Turtle Tower) in Hoàn Kiếm Lake
Interactive map of Hoàn Kiếm district
Country	Vietnam
City	Hanoi
Seat	Hàng Trống ward
Wards	18 wards[1]
Area[1]
• Total	5.29 km2 (2.04 sq mi)
Population (2019)[2]
• Total	135,618
• Density	25,600/km2 (66,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)
Area code	24
Climate	Cwa
Website	Official website (in Vietnamese)

Hoàn Kiếm (transl. Returned Sword) is one of the four original urban districts (quận) of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.[3] It is named after the scenic Hoàn Kiếm Lake. The lake is in the heart of the district and serves as the focal point of the city's public life. The majority of tourist attractions in Hanoi are also located in the district.

The district currently has 18 wards (phường), covering a total area of 5.29 square kilometres (2.04 sq mi).[1] As of 2019,[2] there were 135,618 people residing in the district

Hoàn Kiếm is the downtown and commercial center of Hanoi. Most of the largest Vietnamese public corporations and bank headquarters are located here, but the central government offices are located in Ba Đình district. The Hanoi Metropolitan People's Committee is located on Đinh Tiên Hoàng street, adjacent to the Hoàn Kiếm lake.

The district has a north–south division among its wards. Its northern half houses the Old Quarter with small street blocks and alleys, and a traditional Vietnamese atmosphere. The southern half has distinctive French-style villas and broad avenues, and is sometimes called the "French Quarter" in modern travel literature. Some notable buildings in Hoàn Kiếm's "French Quarter" are the Hanoi Opera House, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, the National Museum of Vietnamese History (formerly the École française d'Extrême-Orient), the Grand Palais, and the Tonkin Palace.

History

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The district has been witness to the long history of Hanoi.

In the early Lý dynasty, in 545, the emperor Lý Nam Đế settled his encampment, and built a wooden raft on the Tô Lịch River to defend against invasion of the Liang dynasty.

During the Nguyễn dynasty, Emperor Minh Mạng established the province of Hanoi in Hoàn Kiếm in 1831.

In 1920, this district was home to the country's first business school.[4]

Between 1954 and 1961, the current district covered all of Hoàn Kiếm ward, Đồng Xuân ward and a part of Hàng Co ward and Hàng Bài ward. In 1961, the entire area was combined into Hoàn Kiếm ward. In January 1981 the ward was upgraded into Hoàn Kiếm district, including 18 wards that have remained since.

Cityscape

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The district has a distinctive north–south division among its wards. Its northern-half houses the Old Quarter with small street blocks and alleys, and a traditional Vietnamese atmosphere. Many streets in the Old Quarter have names signifying the goods ("hàng") the local merchants were or are specialized in. For example, "Hàng Bạc" (silver stores) still have many stores specializing in trading silver and jewelries.

Hoàn Kiếm's southern-half has distinctive French-style villas and broad avenues, and is sometimes called the "French Quarter" in modern travel literature. Some notable buildings in Hoàn Kiếm's "French Quarter" are the Hanoi Opera House, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel, the National Museum of Vietnamese History (formerly the École française d'Extrême-Orient), and the Tonkin Palace. Many of the French-styled buildings in the south of the districts are now used as foreign embassies and government offices. Ba Đình district is also called the "French Quarter" because of the high concentration of French architecture.

Wards

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• "Old Quarter" area
  • Cửa Đông (Eastern Gate)
  • Đồng Xuân (Springfield)
  • Hàng Bạc
  • Hàng Bồ
  • Hàng Bông (partially also in the French Quarter)
  • Hàng Buồm
  • Hàng Đào
  • Hàng Gai
  • Hàng Mã
• "French Quarter" area
  • Cửa Nam (Southern Gate)
  • Hàng Bài
  • Hàng Trống
  • Lý Thái Tổ
  • Phan Chu Trinh
  • Trần Hưng Đạo
  • Tràng Tiền (Mint)
• Beyond the Red River dike area
  • Chương Dương
  • Phúc Tân

Tourist destinations

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Many of Hanoi's tourist attractions are located in Hoàn Kiếm, including the Old Quarter, the Hanoi Opera House, the St. Joseph's Cathedral, the National Museum of Vietnamese History, and the Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre.

• Thê Húc Bridge on Hoàn Kiếm Lake
• Hanoi Opera House modeled on the Palais Garnier in Paris
• St. Joseph's Cathedral, Hanoi resembling Notre Dame de Paris
• A corner of Hôtel Metropole
• Tonkin Palace, formerly housing the French governor of Tonkin
• Museum of Vietnamese History, formerly the first École française d'Extrême-Orient
• Đồng Xuân Market
• Grand Palais built for the Hanoi Exhibition, destroyed during WWII
• Trưng Vương Lower Secondary School, where the last physical depiction of Hanoi's seal from French colonial times remains.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hoàn Kiếm District.

v t e Hanoi Metropolitan Area
Wards (51)	Bạch Mai Ba Đình Bồ Đề Cầu Giấy Chương Mỹ Cửa Nam Đại Mỗ Định Công Đống Đa Đông Ngạc Dương Nội Giảng Võ Hà Đông Hai Bà Trưng Hoàng Liệt Hoàng Mai Hoàn Kiếm Hồng Hà Khương Đình Kim Liên Kiến Hưng Láng Lĩnh Nam Long Biên Nghĩa Đô Ngọc Hà Ô Chợ Dừa Phú Diễn Phú Lương Phú Thượng Phúc Lợi Phương Liệt Sơn Tây Tây Hồ Tây Mỗ Tây Tựu Thanh Liệt Thanh Xuân Thượng Cát Từ Liêm Tùng Thiện Tương Mai Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám Việt Hưng Vĩnh Hưng Vĩnh Tuy Xuân Đỉnh Xuân Phương Yên Hòa Yên Nghĩa Yên Sở
Communes (75)	An Khánh Ba Vì Bất Bạt Bát Tràng Bình Minh Chương Dương Chuyên Mỹ Cổ Đô Dân Hòa Dương Hòa Đa Phúc Đại Thanh Đại Xuyên Đan Phượng Đoài Phương Đông Anh Gia Lâm Hạ Bằng Hát Môn Hòa Lạc Hòa Phú Hòa Xá Hoài Đức Hồng Sơn Hồng Vân Hưng Đạo Hương Sơn Kiều Phú Kim Anh Liên Minh Mê Linh Minh Châu Mỹ Đức Nam Phù Ngọc Hồi Nội Bài Ô Diên Phú Cát Phù Đổng Phú Nghĩa Phú Xuyên Phúc Lộc Phúc Sơn Phúc Thịnh Phúc Thọ Phượng Dực Quảng Bị Quang Minh Quảng Oai Quốc Oai Sóc Sơn Sơn Đồng Suối Hai Tam Hưng Tây Phương Thạch Thất Thanh Oai Thanh Trì Thiên Lộc Thư Lâm Thuận An Thượng Phúc Thường Tín Tiến Thắng Trần Phú Trung Giã Ứng Hòa Ứng Thiên Vân Đình Vật Lại Vĩnh Thanh Xuân Mai Yên Bài Yên Lãng Yên Xuân
List of municipalities in Hanoi

v t e Districts of the Red River Delta
Hanoi city	Urban districts Ba Đình Bắc Từ Liêm Cầu Giấy Đống Đa Hà Đông Hai Bà Trưng Hoàn Kiếm※ Hoàng Mai Long Biên Nam Từ Liêm Tây Hồ Thanh Xuân Sơn Tây town Ba Vì Chương Mỹ Đan Phượng Đông Anh Gia Lâm Hoài Đức Mê Linh Mỹ Đức Phú Xuyên Phúc Thọ Quốc Oai Sóc Sơn Thanh Oai Thạch Thất Thanh Trì Thường Tín Ứng Hòa
Haiphong city	Urban districts An Dương Dương Kinh Đồ Sơn Hải An Hồng Bàng※ Kiến An Lê Chân Ngô Quyền Thủy Nguyên city An Lão Bạch Long Vĩ Cát Hải Kiến Thụy Tiên Lãng Vĩnh Bảo
Bắc Ninh province	Bắc Ninh city※ Từ Sơn city Quế Võ town Thuận Thành town Gia Bình Lương Tài Tiên Du Yên Phong
Hà Nam province	Phủ Lý city※ Duy Tiên town Bình Lục Kim Bảng town Lý Nhân Thanh Liêm
Hải Dương province	Chí Linh city Hải Dương city※ Kinh Môn town Bình Giang Cẩm Giàng Gia Lộc Kim Thành Nam Sách Ninh Giang Thanh Hà Thanh Miện Tứ Kỳ
Hưng Yên province	Hưng Yên city※ Mỹ Hào town Ân Thi Khoái Châu Kim Động Phù Cừ Tiên Lữ Văn Giang Văn Lâm Yên Mỹ
Nam Định province	Nam Định city※ Giao Thủy Hải Hậu Nam Trực Nghĩa Hưng Trực Ninh Vụ Bản Xuân Trường Ý Yên
Ninh Bình province	Hoa Lư city※ Tam Điệp city Gia Viễn Kim Sơn Nho Quan Yên Khánh Yên Mô
Thái Bình province	Thái Bình city※ Đông Hưng Hưng Hà Kiến Xương Quỳnh Phụ Thái Thụy Tiền Hải Vũ Thư
Vĩnh Phúc province	Phúc Yên city Vĩnh Yên city※ Bình Xuyên Lập Thạch Sông Lô Tam Đảo Tam Dương Vĩnh Tường Yên Lạc
※ denotes provincial seat.

21°01′44″N 105°51′09″E / 21.02889°N 105.85250°E / 21.02889; 105.85250

References

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1. ^ a b c "Niên giám thống kê năm 2018". Retrieved 2021-02-21.
2. ^ a b General Statistics Office of Vietnam (2019). "Completed Results of the 2019 Viet Nam Population and Housing Census" (PDF). Statistical Publishing House (Vietnam). ISBN 978-604-75-1532-5.
3. ^ "Hà Nội có thêm năm quận mới vào năm 2025". VnExpress. 2019-10-30.
4. ^ "Adrien Jean-Guy Passant: Educating indigenous commercial executives. A business school in colonial context: The case of the Indochina Higher School of Commerce (1920–1932), Business History, Volume 66, Issue 5, pp.955-1000, 2022".