# Thủ Đức

Thủ Đức [tʰu˨˩˦:ɗɨk˧˥] is a sub-municipality in Hochiminh city of the Southestern region of Vietnam.

## History

The oldest name what was recorded in this area was Ngãi An (義安), a district-level administrative unit has existed since the Nguyễn lords. However, since October 9, 1868, the French government in Cochinchina has decided to change its name to Thủ Đức or sometimes Thũ Đức (守德) to suit the expansion and upgrade plan for the land. That was inherently a pen name of a Minh Hương man called Tạ Huy (謝輝), courtesy name Dương Minh (揚明), who has made meritorious services to this area. He was ordained "pioneering saint" (前賢, tiền hiền) by Saigonese folk.
Thủ Đức city was founded by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on December 9, 2020 from the districts of 2, 9, and Thủ Đức District. Thu Duc City covers 211.56 km², the population as of 2019 was 1,013,795 inhabitants. The establishment of Thu Duc City is hoped to enable it to contribute more to national economic growth and boost development in the Southern Key Economic Zone (SKEZ).
This new city-within-city model has been used by many places in the world including financial center Canary Wharf in London, Silicon Valley in the United States, Gangnam in Seoul or Pudong in Shanghai, etc. It was suggested that Thu Duc should be given autonomy in decision making and policy incentives to develop innovation capacity to improve competitiveness like what China did to Shenzhen, whose economy now is larger than Hong Kong's.

## Geography

Thu Duc is a class-1 city of Ho Chi Minh City and the first city to use city-within-city model in Vietnam.
Thủ Đức City has 34 wards: An Khánh, An Lợi Đông, An Phú, Bình Chiểu, Bình Thọ, Bình Trưng Đông, Bình Trưng Tây, Cát Lái, Hiệp Bình Chánh, Hiệp Bình Phước, Hiệp Phú, Linh Chiểu, Linh Đông, Linh Tây, Linh Trung, Linh Xuân, Long Bình, Long Phước, Long Thạnh Mỹ, Long Trường, Phú Hữu, Phước Bình, Phước Long A, Phước Long B, Tam Bình, Tam Phú, Tân Phú, Tăng Nhơn Phú A, Tăng Nhơn Phú B, Thạnh Mỹ Lợi, Thảo Điền, Thủ Thiêm, Trường Thạnh, Trường Thọ.
After arrangement, Ho Chi Minh City consists of 22 district-level subdivisions including 1 city, 16 urban districts, and 5 rural districts. The further commune-level subdivisions would have 312 in total including 249 wards, 58 communes, 5 commune-level towns.

## Culture
### Education

During the existence of the Republic of Vietnam regime, it was the location of Thu Duc Military Academy.
* Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City
* Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area
* Saigon Hi-Tech Park
* Cát Lái - Phú Hữu Port
* Suối Tiên Amusement Park

### Consulate

List of consulate general in the City of Thủ Đức :
| Nation | Address |
| Austria | 12/140 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng, Thảo Điền ward |
| Malaysia | 109 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng, Thảo Điền ward |
| Philippines | 998 Đồng Văn Cống, Thạnh Mỹ Lợi ward |
| Sweden | 146-E15 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng, Thảo Điền ward |

## Economy

Thu Duc City will contribute one third of Ho Chi Minh City's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and account for 7 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP), which is only behind Hanoi's GRDP in scale but higher than that of Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

### Innovation projects

There are eight innovation centers in total of Thu Duc city:
* Thu Thiem Fintech Hub
* Truong Tho Port Urban Area
* Rach Chiec Sports and Wellness Hub
* National University IT and EduTech Hub
* Saigon Hi-Tech Park and Automated Manufacturing Hub
* Tam Da Ecotech Hub
* Creative Startup Center
* Traffic Hub connecting the Southeastern parts and Cat Lai International Port

### Highway and expressway

* Hà Nội Highway
* Ho Chi Minh City–Long Thanh–Dau Giay Expressway
* Ho Chi Minh City–Chon Thanh–Hoa Lu Expressway (planned)
* National Route 1
* Ring Road 2
* Ring Road 3

### Services

* New Eastern Bus Station
* Ho Chi Minh City Metro (Line 1, Line 2, Line 3B)
* Thủ Thiêm–Long Thành Light Rail (planned)
* North–South Railway (Bình Triệu station)
* North–South Express Railway (planned)