Bac Ninh Province

Infobox province of Vietnam
Name = Bắc Ninh
Meaning =


Council Chair = Nguyễn Thế Thảo
Committee Chair = Nguyễn Công Ngọ
Capital = Bắc Ninh
Region = Red River Delta
Area = 807.6
Population = 987,400
Population year = 2004
Population density = 1,223
Ethnicities = Vietnamese, Tày, Nùng, Mường
Calling code = 241
ISO code = VN-56
Website = www.bacninh.gov.vn

Bac Ninh (in Vietnamese, "Bắc Ninh"; Hán Tự: ; literally "northern serenity" ) is a province of Vietnam, located in the Red River Delta of the northern part of the country. It is situated to the east of the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, and borders Bắc Giang, Hưng Yên, Hải Dương, Vĩnh Phúc, and Hanoi.

Districts

Bắc Ninh is divided into seven districts:

*Gia Bình
*Lương Tài
*Quế Võ
*Thuận Thành
*Tiên Du
*Từ Sơn
*Yên Phong

The provincial capital, Bắc Ninh, is a separate municipality.

Demographics

In terms of land area, Bắc Ninh is the smallest of all Vietnamese provinces (and in fact, is smaller than any of the five province-level municipalities). It is, however, home to a relatively large number of people for its size, having the highest population density of any province. On average, there are over 1,200 people for every square kilometre of land in Bắc Ninh.

History

Historically, Bắc Ninh province and the neighbouring Bac Giang Province were united as Ha Bac Province. However, the population growth resulted in Ha Bac being split into two new provinces, each based around one of the old province's two major settlements. The new Bắc Ninh Province was formed around the municipality of Bắc Ninh, while the modern Bắc Giang Province encompasses Bắc Giang Municipality and most of the old Ha Bac Province's rural districts.

Culture

The village of Đông Hồ (Dong Ho) in the province of Bắc Ninh is known as a center of production of traditional Vietnamese woodblock prints (tranh Đông Hồ), which are sold all throughout Vietnam in time for the Lunar New Year (Tết) celebrations. [ [http://www.culturalprofiles.net/Viet_Nam/Directories/Vi_ACYAIw-7879_ADs-t_Nam_Cultural_Profile/-3675.html Woodblock Printing] ] [ [http://www.destinationvietnam.com/stories-photos/1408/924826/2/con0_oth;jsessionid=DE5C92CC38874AC73B1F6B5FDBBDDCB0 Lisa Spivey, "Traditional Tet Paintings - Dong Ho Prints"] ]

External links

* [http://www.bacninhnet.net/Music/ Bắc Ninh quan họ music (folk songs) ]
* [http://www.bacninh.gov.vn/ Bắc Ninh Province official website] (in Vietnamese)
* [http://www.izabacninh.gov.vn/tintuc.asp Bắc Ninh Industrial Zones Authority website]