Thanh Hóa province

Thanh Hóa Province Tỉnh Thanh Hóa
Province
Location of Thanh Hóa within Vietnam
Coordinates: 20°0′N 105°30′E
Country	Vietnam
Region	North Central Coast
Capital (and Largest city)	Thanh Hóa
Government
• People's Council Chair	Trịnh Văn Chiến
• People's Committee Chair	Nguyễn Đình Xứng
Area
• Total	11,129.5 km2 (4,297.1 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	3,496,100
• Density	310/km2 (810/sq mi)
Demographics
• Ethnicities	Vietnamese, Mường, Thai, Thổ, Dao, and H'Mông
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)
Area codes	237
ISO 3166 code	VN-21
Website	www.thanhhoa.gov.vn

Thanh Hóa (Vietnamese: [tʰajŋ̟ hwǎː] ) is a province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. This is a relatively large province, which ranks as fifth in area and as third in population among 63 central administrative subdivisions. Its capital and largest city is Thanh Hóa City . The province is widely called Xứ Thanh which means Thanh Hóa land in Vietnamese.

Human civilization has existed in Thanh Hóa for about 6,000 years, as one of the earliest destinations of the ancient Vietnamese. Archaeological excavations have revealed that the first culture presented was the Đa Bút Culture, a culture located along the Sông Đáy river and the Sông Mã river.

Thanh Hóa is located in the middle of North Vietnam and North Central Coast as a transition at many aspects: geology, climate, administrative division and local culture. Thus, these factors show that Xứ Thanh is a province with many particular local habits and customs and cultures.

Thanh Hóa has one provincial municipality, two townships and 24 counties with area of 11,133.4 km2 and population of approximate 3.5 million. Sầm Sơn township is a famous seaside resort situated 16  km from the Thanh Hóa city centre. Whilst, Bỉm Sơn township is a large industrial centre especially cement. The province is also home of many ethnic groups, in which the most seven ethnicities are Kinh, Mường, Thái, H'Mông, Dao, Thổ, Khơ-mú.

Administrative divisions

Thanh Hóa is subdivided into 27 district-level sub-divisions:

• 24 districts:

• • Bá Thước
  • Cẩm Thủy
  • Đông Sơn
  • Hà Trung
  • Hậu Lộc
  • Hoằng Hóa
  • Lang Chánh
  • Mường Lát
  • Nga Sơn
  • Ngọc Lặc
  • Như Thanh
  • Như Xuân
  • Nông Cống
  • Quan Hóa
  • Quan Sơn
  • Quảng Xương
  • Thạch Thành
  • Thiệu Hóa
  • Thọ Xuân
  • Thường Xuân
  • Tĩnh Gia
  • Triệu Sơn
  • Vĩnh Lộc
  • Yên Định

• 2 district-level towns:

• • Bỉm Sơn
  • Sầm Sơn

• 1 provincial city:
  • Thanh Hóa (capital)

They are further subdivided into 28 commune-level towns (or townlets), 579 communes, and 30 wards.

Etymology

The province's name derives from Sino-Vietnamese 清化.

External links

• Official Site of Thanh Hóa Government
• Official Site of Thanh Hóa City Government