Sơn Tây, Hanoi

Sơn Tây is a suburban ward of Hanoi the capital of Vietnam in the Red River Delta of Vietnam.

History

Its name Sơn Tây or old spelling Sơn-tây means "the west of the mountain", which was derived from its geographical location. This term Sơn Tây only referred to the Old Citadel, which lies to the northwest of Tản Viên Peak. Some English texts from Vietnamese educational institutions accept the place name spelling as Sontay. Besides, literary works often affectionately call this place as "Westernland".

Middle Ages

XX century

It was the capital of Sơn Tây province before merging with Hà Đông province to form Hà Tây province in 1965. Sơn Tây lies west of the capital Hanoi. It had a city (Vietnam)|city] status in Hà Tây province. However, when Hà Tây was absorbed into Hanoi, Sơn Tây was demoted from a city to a town.
It is often referred to as “soldier town” due to the proliferation of army barracks and military institutions that surrounds the town, including the Vietnamese People's Army Infantry Academy.

XXI century

Sơn Tây's future is seen as being very much that of a satellite city of Hanoi and as a result there are plans to relocate universities and other public facilities to Sơn Tây where land is cheaper and more plentiful. The government has planned to complete this project by duplicating the main Hanoi—Sơn Tây carriageway which is expected to be completed in 2009.

Culture

Sơn Tây is known for its thousand year old villages, such as Đường Lâm which retains a collection of vernacular architecture with buildings and temples built using laterite bricks. Và Temple, or Đông Cung, dedicated to Tản Viên, is located on a hill covered with ironwood trees in Vân Giã hamlet, Trung Hưng commune. Phạm Văn Đổng, a general of the Republic of Vietnam, was from Sơn Tây.