BIEN HOA

city, southern Vietnam. Bien Hoa is located 19 miles (30 km) northeast of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), on the left bank of the Dong Nai River, northeast of the Mekong River delta. It is one of the oldest cities of southern Vietnam. The French conquered it in 1861 after prolonged Vietnamese resistance. It has several hospitals and a ceramics school. Prior to 1975 the city's industrial-park district had industries producing steel, metal products, refrigeration equipment, motorbikes, batteries, paper products, knitted textiles, chlorine, caustic soda, and radios and televisions. The industrial park underwent heavy damage during the fighting in 1975, but many factories have been restored to operation, and new factories have been constructed. Paper pulp, pressed wood, rolled steel, tools, refined sugar, condensed and powdered milk, and tractors are some of the manufactured products. Power is provided by the Dai Nham hydroelectric plant. Older industries include brick, tile, and pottery making, and the production of construction stone. Granite quarries are worked, and there is a large airfield nearby. Pop. (1979) 190,086.