Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam, with an area of . It has a total natural area of . It borders Quảng Ninh Province to the north, Bắc Ninh Province to the northwest, Hưng Yên Province to the southwest, and the Gulf of Tonkin to the east. Bach Long Vi island, Cat Ba Island and the Long Châu islands, located in the Gulf, are also administered as part of the city. Tidal flat ecosystems occur adjacent to the city, some have been reclaimed for agriculture or development purposes.

Climate

Haiphong features a humid subtropical climate (Koppen: Cwa) with hot, humid summers and warm, dry winters. The city is wetter from April through October; roughly 90% of the city's annual rainfall (which totals approximately ) typically falls during these months. There is a difference in temperatures between the city's winters and summers. Haiphong's coolest months, January and February, sees average high temperatures reach and average low temperatures at around . Its warmest months, June and July, sees average high temperatures hover around and average low temperatures at around . Sea temperatures range from a low of in February to a high of during the months of July and August.

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|+Average sea temperature

thumb|left|A street in the 19th century

By the 19th century, at the end of Tự Đức's reign, the Hang Kenh Communal House in what is later the city's Le Chan District was made the administrative seat of An Dương District.

Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Following the defeat of Japan in World War II, Vietnamese nationalists agitated for independence against French return. French forces landed in Haiphong and encountered resistance which resulted in the deaths of three French soldiers. In retaliation, the French ships, among them the cruiser Suffren, shelled the city, setting it ablaze and precipitating the First Indochina War. French infantry forces under the command of Jean-Étienne Valluy entered the city, fighting house to house with the support of armored units and airplanes.

In the Vietnam War, Haiphong was subjected to bombing by US Navy and Air Force strike aircraft. U.S. Admiral Thomas H. Moorer ordered the mining of Haiphong harbor on 8 May 1972, effectively sealing the port. Until it was lifted, the mining caused no casualty. The physical structure of the city was mostly unaffected by the war as the US had a self-imposed prohibition zone for the city. After the war, the city recovered its role as an industrial center.

On 12 June 2025, the National Assembly issued Resolution No. 202/2025/QH15 on the arrangement of provincial-level administrative units (the resolution took effect on June 12, 2025). Accordingly, Hải Dương Province was merged into Hai Phong City.

Economy

Haiphong is an economic center of the North in particular and Vietnam in general both. Under French domination, Haiphong was level 1 city, equal to Saigon and Hanoi. The last years of the 19th century, the French had proposed to build Haiphong into the economic capital of Indochina.

In 2009, Haiphong state budget revenue reached 34,000 billion Vnd. In 2011, budget revenues in the city reached 47,725 billion, increase 19% compared to 2010. In 2015, total revenues of the city reached 56 288 billion. Government plans that to 2020, Haiphong's revenues will be over 80,000 billion and the domestic revenue reach 20.000 billion. In the ranking of the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) 2013 of Vietnam, Haiphong city ranked at No. 15/63 provinces. Haiphong has relationship of trading goods with more than 40 countries and territories around the world. It is striving to become one of the largest commercial centers of the country. On Vietnam's Provincial Competitiveness Index 2023, a tool for evaluating the business environment in Vietnam’s provinces, Hai Phong received a score of 70.34. This was an improvement from 2022 in which the province received a score of 70.76. In 2023, the province received its highest scores on the 'Labor Policy' and 'Time Costs' criterion and lowest on 'Policy Bias' and ‘Transparency’.

Industry

Industry is a key sector in Haiphong including food processing, light industries and heavy industries. Major products include fish sauce, beer, cigarettes, textiles, paper, plastic pipes, cement, iron, pharmaceuticals, electric fans, motorbikes, steel pipes and ships and out-sourcing software implementation. 270,600 people were employed in Haiphong's industry. 112,600 industrial jobs were created between 2000 and 2007. Other agricultural products include maize, sugar and peanuts. The gender distribution is half female (50.4%).

As of the 2009 census, Haiphong's average annual population growth rate was given as 4.0%. Haiphong's crude birth rate was recorded at 18.1 live births per 1000 persons vs the crude death rate of 7.6 per 1000 persons. Life expectancy at birth was estimated at 77.1 years for women and 72.0 years for men, or 74.5 years overall. Infant mortality rate was measured at 11.8 infant deaths per 1000 live births, over two points above the nation's average for urban areas. In the same census, the city's out-migration was 1.9% vs in-migration of 2.8% and, for a net migration rate of 0.9%.

thumb|Moored container ship waiting to return to sea

The Port of Haiphong on the Cấm River is divided into three main docks: Hoang Dieu (Central terminal) located near the city's center, Chua Ve, and Dinh Vu both farther downstream to the east.

Twin towns

  • Da Nang, Vietnam
  • Incheon, South Korea
  • Kitakyushu, Japan
  • Livorno, Italy
  • Nanning, China
  • Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • Seattle, United States
  • Tianjin, China

thumb|Container ship at the Hai Phong International Container Terminal 03

References

Notes

  • Official Website of Haiphong City
  • Official Website of Haiphong Tourism.
  • History of Haiphong: interactive Google Map with specific sites and historic views of the city from French colonial times.