History of Hanoi Timeline

The Temple of Literature (Văn Miếu), site of the oldest university in Vietnam, was started in 1010 and remains one of the most prominent edifices from the feudal period in Hanoi.

Image source: Temple of Literature, Hanoi

In May 1926, Hanoi recorded its highest ever temperature of 42.8 °C (109 °F). The lowest recorded temperature was later measured at 2.7 °C on 12 January 1955.

Image source: Hanoi

On 12 January 1955, Hanoi recorded its lowest ever temperature of 2.7 °C (37 °F), contrasting with the record high of 42.8 °C set in May 1926.

After the Communist Party of Vietnam took control of Hanoi in 1954, new universities were built in the city, including the Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

Image source: Hanoi University of Science and Technology

Thăng Long University was founded in 1988 by Vietnamese mathematics professors in Hanoi and France, expanding higher education options in the capital.

Located northwest of Hanoi's historic center, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology opened in 1997, consisting of two exhibition halls and an Architecture Garden.

Image source: Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

On 16 July 1999, UNESCO presented the title 'City for Peace' to Hanoi in recognition of exemplary action against exclusion, urban, environmental, cultural, and civic education efforts.

The third Asian Indoor Games were held in Hanoi in 2009. Some venues also held events at the 2003 and 2021 SEA Games, both hosted in Hanoi.

Image source: 2009 Asian Indoor Games

During a January 2016 cold wave, snow appeared on the nearby Ba Vì mountain range northwest of Hanoi, where temperatures fell to 0 °C (32 °F) on 24 January 2016.

Image source: Ba Vì mountain range

On 6 November 2018 it was announced that Hanoi would host the first FIA Formula 1 Vietnamese Grand Prix in 2020 on a street circuit on the outskirts of the city. The race was postponed due to COVID-19 and removed from the 2021 calendar after corruption charges against Hanoi People's Committee chairman Nguyễn Đức Chung.

Image source: Vietnamese Grand Prix

Hanoi was conquered and occupied by the French military in 1873 and formally passed to them ten years later. It became part of the protectorate of Tonkin.

The French took full control of Hanoi in 1888 and modeled the city's architecture to their tastes. Nominally still belonging to Nguyễn dynasty sovereignty under the Tonkin protectorate, it had since 1888 been a French concession directly ruled like Cochinchina.

Image source: French Indochina

Gouverneur-Général Paul Doumer (1898–1902) played a significant role in colonial Hanoi's urban planning, leaving a lasting imprint on the city's layout and architecture.

Image source: Paul Doumer

As Hanoi, located in the protectorate of Tonkin, the city became the capital of French Indochina in 1902 and served as the administrative center for most of the colonial period.

French Indochina including Hanoi was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in September 1940 following the Japanese invasion of French Indochina.

Image source: Japanese invasion of French Indochina

In March 1945, Japan overthrew the French administration in Hanoi and installed the Empire of Vietnam, a short-lived Japanese client state that collapsed later that year.

Image source: Empire of Vietnam

The French returned and reoccupied the city of Hanoi in February 1947, reigniting conflict with DRV forces that would continue until 1954.

Image source: First Indochina War

After France recognized Vietnam's nominal and partial independence through the Élysée Accords on 14 June 1949, Hanoi came under control of the State of Vietnam from 1949 to 1954, an associated state within the French Union.

In January 1953, Hanoi held the free municipal elections of the State of Vietnam while it remained within the French Union.

Image source: State of Vietnam

The State of Vietnam gained full independence with the Matignon Accords on 4 June 1954, shortly before the Geneva Conference ended French involvement in northern Vietnam.

The Reunification Express line was established during French colonial rule and was completed over a period from 1899 to 1936, connecting Hanoi with southern Vietnam.

Image source: North–South railway (Vietnam)

A development master plan for Hanoi was designed by Ernest Hebrard in 1924 and was partially implemented, shaping the colonial-era growth of the city.

Image source: Ernest Hébrard

In 1978, the National Assembly decided to expand Hanoi for the second time to 2,136 km², bringing the population to 2.5 million people.

The previous relationship between the Soviet Union and Vietnam led to the creation of the first comprehensive plan for Hanoi with the assistance of Soviet planners between 1981 and 1984.

The first major modern plan, the Hanoi Master Plan 1990–2010, was approved in April 1992, with land-use patterns meant to resemble a five-cornered star by 2010.

In 1998, a revised version of the Hanoi Master Plan was approved, intended to be completed in 2020.

Hanoi's population reached 2,672,122 people in 1999, after the city's area had decreased to 924 km² in 1991 while remaining above 2 million inhabitants.

On 29 May 2008, it was decided that Hà Tây Province, Mê Linh District of Vĩnh Phúc Province, and four communes in Lương Sơn District would merge into Hanoi effective 1 August 2008. The expanded Hanoi had a population of 6.233 million and ranked among the world's largest capitals by area.

Image source: Hà Tây province

On 4 July 2017, the Hanoi government voted to ban motorbikes entirely by 2030 to reduce pollution and congestion and encourage expansion and use of public transport.

Line 2A of the Hanoi Metro opened on 6 November 2021, marking the start of metro operations in the city, followed by Line 3 beginning operations on 8 August 2024.

Image source: Hanoi Metro

After the fall of the Empire of Vietnam, Hanoi became the capital of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) when Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independence of Vietnam on 2 September 1945 at Ba Đình Square.

Image source: Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

After eight years of fighting between the French and DRV forces, Hanoi became the capital of North Vietnam when the territory became sovereign and Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel on 21 July 1954 under the Geneva Conference terms.

Image source: 1954 Geneva Conference

On 10 October 1954, the People's Army of Vietnam of the DRV and the International Control Commission occupied Hanoi under the terms of the 1954 Geneva Conference, as the army of the French Union withdrew to the South.

During the Vietnam War between North and South Vietnam (1955–1975), North Vietnam including Hanoi was attacked by the United States and South Vietnamese Air Forces.

Image source: Vietnam War

Following the end of the war with the fall of Saigon in 1975, Hanoi became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam when North and South Vietnam were reunited on 2 July 1976.

Image source: Vietnam

After the Đổi Mới economic policies were approved in 1986, the Communist Party and national and municipal governments hoped to attract international investments for urban development projects in Hanoi.

Image source: Đổi Mới