Thái Nguyên

Thái Nguyên ( listen) is a city and municipality in Vietnam. It is the capital and largest city of Thái Nguyên Province. The city is listed as a first class city and is the ninth largest city in Vietnam. It has long been famous throughout Vietnam for its tea. In 1959 it became the site of Vietnam's first steel mill, and is now home to a large and growing major regional university complex.

Geography

Thái Nguyên City is located on the Cầu River. Its area is approximately 189.705 km2 and its population was 330,000 in 2010.

History

The city played an important role in Vietnam's struggles for independence during the French colonial era.

The Thái Nguyên uprising in 1917 was the "largest and most destructive" anti-colonial rebellion in French Indochina between the Pacification of Tonkin in the 1880s and the Nghe-Tinh Revolt of 1930–31. In August 1917, Vietnamese prison guards mutinied at the Thai Nguyen Penitentiary, the largest one in the region. With the aid of the freed inmates – common criminals as well as political prisoners – and weapons captured from the provincial arsenal, the rebels were able to take over control of local government offices. They then established a fortified perimeter, executed French officials and local collaborators, and called for a general uprising. Although they were only able to hold the city for five days, French forces were not able to pacify the surrounding countryside until six months later, leaving many casualties on both sides.