THANH HOA

city and provincial seat of Thanh Hoa tinh (province) of northern Vietnam, situated immediately south of the Red River (Song Hong) delta region. Thanh Hoa city stands on a small tributary of the Song Ma. Connected to Hanoi by road and railway, it is a growing commercial and industrial centre. The Song Ma and Song Chu, rising in Laos, flow eastward through the province, which has an area of 4,300 sq mi (11,138 sq km), to enter the Gulf of Tonkin. Agricultural and forestry products are abundant in the province, and there are phosphate deposits. Besides industrial crops of cotton, tobacco, and peanuts (groundnuts), since 1976 specialized growing areas have produced sweet potatoes, jute, mulberries, rushes, and corn (maize). The government has adopted a policy of settling formerly nomadic ethnic groups there. The Thong Nhat (Reunification) Railroad connecting Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) runs northsouth through the province. Historically, the area was the centre of the Le dynasty; tombs of the dynasty are at Lam Son, the centre of revolt against occupation by the Ming dynasty. Bronze-age artifacts have been found at Dong Son. Pop. (1979) town, 103,981; province, 2,532,261.