Facts and Figure
On August 1st, 2008 Ha Tay province and Me Linh district (Vinh Phuc province) and four communes of Luong Son district (Hoa Binh province) were merged into Hanoi. Since then Hanoi has one more district, one more town and 13 additional districts namely Ha Dong district, Son Tay town and districts of Ba Vi, Dan Phuong, Hoai Duc, Phuc Tho, Thach That, Quoc Oai, Thanh Oai, Chuong My, Thuong Tin, Phu Xuyen, Ung Hoa, My Duc and Me Linh.
On August 1st, 2008 Ha Tay province and Me Linh district (Vinh Phuc province) and four communes of Luong Son district (Hoa Binh province) were merged into Hanoi. Since then Hanoi has one more district, one more town and 13 additional districts namely Ha Dong district, Son Tay town and districts of Ba Vi, Dan Phuong, Hoai Duc, Phuc Tho, Thach That, Quoc Oai, Thanh Oai, Chuong My, Thuong Tin, Phu Xuyen, Ung Hoa, My Duc and Me Linh.
So now, Hanoi has 30 districts and towns with 584 wards, communes and towns.
The biggest and most populated district
It is Dong Da district located in the South West of the inner city. It has a total area of 9.96 km2 with the population of 387,400 and a population density of 38,896 people/ km2. The district has 21 wards.
The smallest district
It is Hoan Kiem situated at the heart of the former Thang Long Royal Citadel and the current Hanoi capital city. Hoan Kiem is famous for ancient streets and many traditional handicraft villages and streets. Though the area is small, the district's population density is relatively, ranking the second among local districts in the city. Hoan Kiem district has 5.29km2 with the population of 180,700 and the density of 34,159 people / km2 (Statistic yearbook 2007).
The biggest suburban district:
Before August 1st, 2008, Soc Son was the biggest district in Hanoi, located in the East of the capital city and some 30km away from the city's centre. Soc Son is adjacent to the provinces of Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh and Bac Giang and has a total area of 306km2.
Currently, the Hanoi's biggest district is Ba Vi which covers 424.34km2 and has 31 communes and one town. Ba Vi has the population of 260,000 people, including Muong, Dao and Kinh ethnic minority groups.
Da River runs through the West of the district, Red River covers the North and East where Tich River flows in between. Ba Vi is also home to the mountain ranges of Loi Son, Tung Song, Cam Son, Mong Son, La Phu and Che and Tan Vien being the highest one with over 280m.
The district is the farthest from the heart of Hanoi and also the poorest, however, it owns many advantages for tourism development.
