- published: 07 Feb 2015
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Vinh ( listen) is a city in Vietnam. It is located in the northern half of the country, and is the capital of Nghệ An Province. Politically, Vinh is a municipality within Nghệ An Province. On September 5th, 2008, it was upgraded from Grade-II city to Grade-I city, the fifth Grade-I city of Vietnam after Hai Phong, Đà Nẵng, Can Tho and Huế. It is the important city in the North Central Coastal region.
The population of Vinh was estimated in 2009 to be 435,208 people. The service sector comprises the largest part of Vinh's economy, with around 55% of the working population being employed in this area. This is followed by the industrial sector (around 30%) and the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors (around 15%). Vinh is an important transportation hub, having a key position on the route between the northern and southern parts of the country, and is also a notable port.
Vinh was originally known as Ke Van. Later, this successively became Ke Vinh, Vinh Giang, Vinh Doanh, and then Vinh Thi. Eventually, in 1789, the official name became simply Vinh, probably under European influence. The name has remained the same ever since. At various times, Vinh has been of considerable military and political significance. The Vietnamese nation began in the north, and only gradually expanded to cover its current territories – as such, Vinh was sometimes seen as a "gateway to the south". The Tây Sơn dynasty (1788–1802) is believed to have considered Vinh as a possible capital of Vietnam, but the short duration of the dynasty meant that any plans did not come to fruition. Tây Sơn interest in the city did, however, result in considerable construction and development there. Under French rule of Vietnam, Vinh was further developed as an industrial centre, and became well known for its factories.
Trà Vinh ( listen) is a province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. The capital is Trà Vinh Town.
Tra Vinh province comprises one town (Trà Vinh) and seven districts:
Besides having mostly Vietnamese, Trà Vinh is populated with many members of the Khmer Krom ethnic group. They are partly members of the old Khmer Empire, later divided under political and historical turmoil. Trà Vinh also has one of the largest ethnic Hoa (Chinese) communities in Vietnam.
Although the name is believed to derive from the Khmer language, it was formerly written in Hán tự characters in official Vietnamese records as 茶榮. The Khmer name for this province is Preah Trapeang (Khmer: ព្រះត្រពាំង).