| Thanh Hóa province | |||||
| Native Name: | Tỉnh Thanh Hóa | ||||
| Native Name Lang: | vi | ||||
| Type: | Province | ||||
| Image Map1: |
| ||||
| Coordinates: | 20°N 135°W | ||||
| Subdivision Type: | Country | ||||
| Subdivision Type1: | Region | ||||
| Subdivision Name1: | North Central Coast | ||||
| Seat Type: | Capital (and Largest city) | ||||
| Seat: | Thanh Hóa | ||||
| Leader Title: | People's Council Chair | ||||
| Leader Name: | Trịnh Văn Chiến | ||||
| Leader Title1: | People's Committee Chair | ||||
| Leader Name1: | Nguyễn Đình Xứng | ||||
| Area Footnotes: | [1] | ||||
| Area Total Km2: | 11114.71 | ||||
| Population Footnotes: | [2] | ||||
| Population Total: | 4,783,500 | ||||
| Population As Of: | 2023 | ||||
| Population Density Km2: | auto | ||||
| Demographics Type1: | Demographics | ||||
| Demographics1 Title1: | Ethnicities | ||||
| Demographics1 Info1: | Vietnamese, Mường, Thai, Thổ, Dao, and H'Mông | ||||
| Demographics Type2: | GDP[3] | ||||
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total | ||||
| Demographics2 Info1: | VND 146.242 trillion US$ 6.351 billion | ||||
| Timezone: | ICT | ||||
| Utc Offset: | +7 | ||||
| Area Code Type: | Area codes | ||||
| Area Code: | 237 | ||||
| Iso Code: | VN-21 | ||||
Thanh Hóa (pronounced as /vi/) is the northernmost coastal province in the North Central Coast region of Central Vietnam. It borders Sơn La, Hòa Bình, and Ninh Bình to the north, Nghệ An to the south, the Laotian province of Houaphanh to the west with a boundary of over long, and the South China Sea (Gulf of Tonkin) to the east.
Thanh Hóa is a relatively large province; it ranks fifth in area and third in population among 63 central administrative subdivisions. Its capital and largest city is Thanh Hóa City. The province is widely called Xứ Thanh (The Land of Thanh).
Human civilization has existed in Thanh Hóa since about 6,000 years ago and was one of the earliest centers of the ancient Vietnamese. Archaeological excavations have shown that the first culture present was the Đa Bút Culture, located along the Đáy and the Mã Rivers.
Thanh Hóa is located in the middle of North Vietnam and the North Central Coast as a transition in many aspects: geology, climate, administrative division, and local culture. These factors show that it has many particular local habits, customs, and cultures.
Thanh Hóa has two provincial cities, one district-level town and 24 rural districts with an area of 11114.71km2,[1] and a population of approximately 3.6 million. Sầm Sơn city is a famous seaside resort situated from the Thanh Hóa city centre. Bỉm Sơn township is a large industrial centre, especially for cement. Nghi Sơn is a promising economic zone, expected to become the centre of Thanh Hoa's industry with a large refinery factory, deepwater seaport, and many projects in progress.
The province is also home to many ethnic groups, the seven ethnicities with most people are Kinh, Mường, Thái, H'Mông, Dao, Thổ, Khơ-mú with mentions of the legend Long Quân. ("Dragon Lord of Lac")
The coordinate was accurately measured as 19°18'N - 20°40'N (from the southernmost point to northernmost point), 104°22'E - 106°05'E (from the westernmost point to easternmost point).
Thanh Hóa is subdivided into 27 district-level sub-divisions:
They are further subdivided into 28 commune-level towns (or townlets), 579 communes, and 30 wards.
Thanh Hóa province is the hometown of many emperors in history, so Valedictorian-Fine Artist Vũ Tú personally gave this province the title "King" Region of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Miền quân vương nước Việt).
The province's name derives from Sino-Vietnamese 清化.
清 "Thanh" meaning clear; pure; fine. 化 "Hóa" meaning “to transform; to change into; to become”.