# Sơn La province

Sơn La is a province nestled in the Northwestern region of Vietnam.

## History
### Middle Ages

By Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, before the 15th century, the area where Sơn-la Province is now belongs to a kingdom called as Muaeng Ngõu-hỡu (mường Ngưu-hống, "Cobra kingdom"). However, in Tai epics, this land was called Muaeng-mol (Mường Mỗi, "barbarian land"). Because before the Tai tribes migrated, it was home to a group called Xá people ("commune men").
On May 24, 1886, the French provisional protection government in Tonkin decided to divide Hưng Hóa province into many parts. Accordingly, Sơn-la Province has been established based on the area of a part of Hưng-hóa Province with some rugged lands without people living in the eastern area of Lao kingdom. The reason it was called Sơn-la is because the capital of the province was located in Muaeng-la (Mường La). However, although called the province, but in reality, this area was operated like a military zone. The head of the province was also called the commander, with the rank of captain. In particular, all administrative activities used French language.
By February 27, 1892, Sơn-la Province was separated into two small military zones, Phong-thổ (Muaeng-lae) and Vạn-bú (Muaeng-va). On October 10, 1895, Vạn-bú Province (Vạn Bú tỉnh) was officially established, with the headquarters located at an address called Tạ-bú (Muaeng-tae). The position of the head of the province at this time was the minister plenipotentiary (công-sứ toàn-quyền đại-thần).

### XX century

On August 23, 1904, Vạn-bú was renamed to Sơn-la Province (Sơn La tỉnh), the provincial capital transferred to the place called as Sơn-la Town (Sơn La thị xã). From then until 1946, the province did not have any special developments, except for some prisoners' protests at Sơn-la Prison (xà-lim Sơn-la).
After chasing Việt-minh forces from government agencies, the French provisional government in Indochina for the first time allowed a native person as the Governor of Sơn-la Province (Sơn La tỉnh trưởng). Mr Bạc Cầm Quý (Monsieur Gouverneur Bac-câm-Qui in French administrative documents) was a Taykhao man. In 1948, three provinces Lai-châu, Phong-thổ and Sơn-la were merged into the Tai Union ("Sipsong-chau Tay", then "Siphoc-chau Tay").
In 1953, after France went bankrupt in Nà-sản, the Vietminh forces basically controlled Sơn-la. This province was temporarily merged into Việt-bắc Inter-zone (liên khu Việt Bắc). From 1955 to 1975, Sơn-la belonged to the South of the Northwest Autonomous Region (khu tự trị Tây Bắc).
In 1975, when the Autonomous Region was dissolved, Sơn-la Province re-established what based on the former Sơn-la Province and two communes of Nghĩa-lộ Province (which also dissolved).

### XXI century

On September 3, 2008, Sơn-la Town was upgraded and expanded to Sơn-la City (thành phố Sơn La).
On February 1, 2025, Mộc-châu District was changed to Mộc-châu Town (thị xã Mộc Châu).

## Culture
### Customs

Sơn-la is recorded as the place with the highest number of ethnic groups in Vietnam's provinces, so it possesses a surprising diversity of cultural identity, especially ancient writing.
According to epics such as Táy pú xớc, Quắm tố mướng and Phiết mướng, Sơn-la used to be a border dispute between the Tai tribes and Xá people. The Xá men was expelled by the Tai forces to Mai-châu. The Tai people celebrates the event with an annual horse racing festival. This is considered the most bustling cultural activity in Sơn-la in every spring.

### Tourism

Sơn La Province renowned for its stunning landscapes and rich cultural heritage. This area is characterized by rolling hills, lush valleys, and terraced rice fields. The province is home to diverse ethnic communities, including the Tai, Hmong, and Muong people.
Besides, Sơn La Dam was the largest hydroelectric power station in Southeast Asia. It is located in this province.

## Geography

Sơn La is subdivided into 12 district-level sub-divisions and 204 commune-level sub-divisions :
Administrative divisions of Sơn La :
| Name | Population | Area (km$^2$) | Commune-level sub-divisions |
| City (1) ||||
| Sơn La | 222,826 | 324.2 | 7 wards, 5 communes |
| Town (1) ||||
| Mộc Châu | 148,259 | 1072.1 | 8 wards, 7 communes |
| District (11) ||||
| Bắc Yên District | 65,210 | 1,102.2 | 1 town, 15 communes |
| Mai Sơn District | 143,060 | 1,410.3 | 1 town, 21 communes |
| Mường La District | 101,000 | 1,405.6 | 1 town, 15 communes |
| Name | Population | Area (km$^2$) | Commune-level sub-divisions |
| Phù Yên District | 115,700 | 1,227.8 | 1 town, 26 communes |
| Quỳnh Nhai District | 67,680 | 1,056.7 | 11 communes |
| Sông Mã District | 133,620 | 1,642.2 | 1 town, 18 communes |
| Sốp Cộp District | 45,050 | 1,467.9 | 8 communes |
| Thuận Châu District | 153,000 | 1,535.1 | 1 town, 28 communes |
| Vân Hồ District | 60,140 | 981.5 | 14 communes |
| Yên Châu District | 75,800 | 843.2 | 1 town, 14 communes |