Hòa Bình (also spelled Hoà Bình) was a mountainous province of Vietnam, located in the nation's Northwest region. Its name derives from the Sino-Vietnamese 和平, meaning "peace." The province was created on June 22, 1886, originally under the name "Mường Province" (later "Chợ Bờ Province"), and was renamed Hòa Bình on March 18, 1891. It bordered Phú Thọ province and Sơn La province to the northwest, Hanoi to the northeast, Hà Nam province to the east, Ninh Bình province to the southeast, and Thanh Hóa province to the south. The province covered an area of approximately 4,590 km² and as of 2022 had a population of about 875,380 people. The capital was Hòa Bình city. The population was ethnically diverse, with the Mường people constituting the majority (approximately 64%), followed by the Kinh (Vietnamese), Thái, Tày, and Dao groups. Hòa Bình was known for the Hòa Bình Dam (a major hydroelectric plant on the Đà River), the Mai Châu valley (a popular tourist destination with terraced rice fields and stilt-house villages), the Thung Nai lake area, and the Kim Bôi hot springs. The province was also the namesake of the "Hòa Bình culture," an archaeological culture of the prehistoric Hoabinhian period dating from approximately 18,000 to 7,500 years before present. On June 12, 2025, as part of nationwide administrative reforms, Hòa Bình province was dissolved and merged into Phú Thọ province.
Biên Hòa
Biên Hòa was a provincial city (class-1) and the capital of Đồng Nai Province in Vietnam. It is located in the Southeast region of Vietnam, approximately 30 km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, to which it is connected via National Route 1 (Hanoi Highway). As of 2022, the city had a population of approximately 1,272,235, making it the most populous provincial city in Vietnam. The city spans an area of 263.62 km². Historically, Biên Hòa was the center of the Trấn Biên region under the Nguyễn dynasty. During the Vietnam War, the United States Air Force operated Biên Hòa Air Base near the city. After the war, Biên Hòa experienced significant economic growth following the Đổi Mới reforms of 1986 and became a major industrial hub, hosting several industrial zones including Biên Hòa I (the country's oldest industrial park, established 1967), Biên Hòa II, Amata, and others. The city is also notable as the main storage and handling site for Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, and remains the largest dioxin hotspot in Vietnam, with ongoing cleanup efforts by U.S. and Vietnamese authorities. Notable landmarks include the Trấn Biên Temple of Literature, the Ancient Citadel of Biên Hòa, and the Ghềnh Bridge (designed by a company associated with Gustave Eiffel). On July 1, 2025, following the elimination of district-level administrative units in Vietnam, Biên Hòa ceased to exist as a municipal city and became part of Đồng Nai Province.
