City (pop., 1993 est: 2,154,900), capital of Vietnam.
Located in northern Vietnam on the western bank of the Red River , it became the capital of Vietnam's Ly dynasty in 1010. It was the main capital of Vietnam until 1802, when the Nguyen dynasty transferred the capital south to Hue . Under French rule, Hanoi again became an important administrative centre, and in 1902 it was made the capital of French Indochina . It became the capital of North Vietnam after the French defeat in 1954. During the Vietnam War , many of its monuments and palaces were destroyed by U.S. bombing. As the capital of a united Vietnam since 1975, it has steadily been rebuilt and its industrial base has grown.