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

Administration

Politically, Bắc Ninh is divided into seven districts: Gia Binh, Luong Tai, Que Vo, Thuan Thanh, Tien Du, Tu Son, and Yen Phong. The provincial capital, also known as 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

• Dong Ho style print
• Dong Ho style print

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.