page_title: Hanoi
section_title: During Nguyễn dynasty and the French colonial period
hierarchical_section_title: Hanoi / History / During Nguyễn dynasty and the French colonial period
caption_attribution_description: English: Viet Nam - Tonkin Hanoi Election d´un Chef de Rue
context_page_description: Hanoi is the capital city of Vietnam. It covers an area of 3,358.6 square kilometres. It is the second largest city in Vietnam, with over eight million residents within city proper and an estimated population of 20 million within the metropolitan area. Located in the heart of the Red River Delta, Hanoi is the commercial, cultural, and educational centre of Northern Vietnam. Having an estimated nominal GDP of US$32.8 billion as of 2018, it is the second most productive economic area of Vietnam, after Ho Chi Minh City.
  The city was a small settlement along the banks of the Red River until 1010, when monarch Lý Thái Tổ founded the city as the capital of Imperial Vietnam, naming it Thăng Long. Thăng Long would remain the most important political and cultural centre of Vietnam until 1802, when the Nguyễn dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of Vietnam, moved the capital to Huế. The city renamed to Hanoi in 1831, and was the capital of French Indochina from 1883 to 1945 during French colonisation of the Indochina Peninsula.
context_section_description: When the Nguyễn dynasty was established in 1802, Gia Long moved the capital to Huế. Thăng Long was no longer the capital, its Hán tự was changed from 昇龍 ("Rising dragon") to 昇隆 ("Ascent and prosperity"), aiming to reduce the sentiment of Lê dynasty. Emperors of Vietnam usually used dragon (龍 long) as a symbol of their imperial strength and power. In 1831, the Nguyễn emperor Minh Mạng renamed it Hà Nội (河內, "Between Rivers" or "River Interior"). Hanoi was occupied by the French in 1873 and passed to them ten years later. As Hanoï, it was located in the protectorate of Tonkin became the capital of French Indochina after 1887.
caption: Postcard depicting election day in Hà Nội during French Indochina, around 1910
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