Bắc Ninh

Bắc Ninh Thành phố Bắc Ninh
Bắc Ninh Location of in Vietnam
Coordinates: 21°11′N 106°3′E / 21.183°N 106.050°E
Country	Vietnam
Province	Bắc Ninh
Population (2013)
• Total	272,634

Bắc Ninh ( listen) is a city in the northern part of Vietnam and is the capital of Bắc Ninh Province. The city is the cultural, administrative and commercial center of the province. The city area is 80.82 square km, with a population of 272,634 (2013). In January 2006, the town (thị xã) of Bắc Ninh was upgraded to city (thành phố).

History

The city's name (北寧 "northern serenity") is derived from Sino-Vietnamese. In March 1884, Bac Ninh was the site of the decisive Bắc Ninh Campaign in the wars between France and assorted Black Flag Army forces. The town fell to the French in March 1884.^[1] Thereafter under French rule, the town was confirmed as the centre of all political, economic, cultural offices of colonial administration in the province. The land of the Bắc Ninh Citadel, within Yen, Niem and Do Villages, was occupied by French troops.^[2] At this time Bắc Ninh became known in Europe for its lacquer work and mother-of-pearl inlaid black-wood screens, cabinets, trays, and boxes.^[3] Bắc Ninh Railway Station opened after 1904. An ambush of French troops by the Viet Minh occurred at Bắc Ninh while the 1946 Fontainebleau Conference was ongoing.^[4][5]

Buildings

The city is home to the Banking Academy of Vietnam, Bắc Ninh campus (Học viện Ngân hàng), the Kinh Bac International School, and the Military Academy of Politics main campus (Học viện Chính trị Quân sự), and Bắc Ninh Railway Station. There is a shrine to Bà Chúa Kho.^[6]

Administrative subdivisions

The city is administratively divided into 19 units, including 16 urban wards (phường) - Đáp Cầu, Hap Linh, Khắc Niệm,Phong Khê, Khúc Xuyên, Thị Cầu, Vũ Ninh, Suối Hoa, Tiền An, Ninh Xá, Vân dương, Vạn An, Vệ An, Kinh Bắc, Đại Phúc, and Võ Cường - and 3 rural communes (xã) - Hoà Long, Kim chân and Nam Sơn.

Gallery

• 

  Collecting cards depicting a story about a "Chinese" (actually Vietnamese) governor of "Bac-Ninh", who, while relaxing on a hill with his rabbits, is frightened by an approaching balloon carrying sailors

• 

  Temple of Bà Chúa Kho

• 

  Cathedral of Bắc Ninh

References

1. Jack D. Ellis The early life of Georges Clemenceau, 1841-1893 1980 Page 115 "By March the town of Bac-Ninh fell to the French, but contrary to Clemenceau's prediction, no major war with China ensued. By June, Ferry finally received Chinese recognition of France's rights in Tonkin, but a palace coup in Peking brought ..."
2. Viet Nam Social Sciences Ủy ban khoa học xã hội Việt Nam Numéros 1 à 3 2006- Page 29 "In French domination, Bac Ninh Town was still the town of Bac Ninh province with all political, economic, cultural offices etc. of colonial administration. The land of Bac Ninh Citadel belonging to Yen, Niem and Do Villages were occupied by .. "
3. Alfred Cunningham The French in Tonkin and South China 1902 - Page 76 "The best native work produced is mother-of-pearl inlaid in native black-wood, of which remarkably handsome specimens may be obtained in the form of screens, cabinets, trays, boxes, etc. The home of this work is really the town of Bac-ninh."
4. Viet Nam; the origins of revolution, 1885-1946 - Page 140 John T. McAlister, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Center of International Studies, American University (Washington, D.C.). Center for Research in Social Systems - 1968 "The tense atmosphere of the conference was heightened further after an ambush of French troops by the Viet Minh in the north Viet Nam town of Bac Ninh on August 4, in which 12 French soldiers were killed and 41 wounded."
5. China Monthly Review Volumes 102 à 103 - Page 258 1946 "French troops and Annamite forces, said to have included both soldiers and civilian irregulars, fought for nine hours early this week in the streets 6f the Indo-Chinese town of Bac Ninh, 19 miles north-east of Hanoi."
6. Pattana Kitiarsa Religious commodifications in Asia: marketing gods Page 155 2008 "rapidly growing popularity of the Granary/Treasury Queen' (Bà Chúa Kho) near Bắc Ninh town, Ngô Ðức Thịnh relates this phenomenon to Vietnam's transition to a market economy."

Coordinates: 21°11′N 106°03′E / 21.183°N 106.050°E