Hung Yen Holiday Weather today
Date/time of update: April 29, 2024, 3:06 am, Timezone: GMT+7
Clear Sky
Temperature: 35.81°C
Temperature feels like: 41.38°C
Minimum Temperature: 35.81°C
Maximum Temperature: 35.81°C
Atmospheric pressure: 1004hPa
Humidity:47%
Visibility: 10000m
Wind speed: 3.71m/sec
Wind Direction: 177 degrees
Cloudiness: 3%
Sunrise: 2024-04-28 10:26:53
Sunset: 2024-04-29 11:19:02
Pho Hien Ancient Town is in Hung Yen City, Hung Yen Province, northern Vietnam. The town is on the eastern bank of the Red River, 50km southeast of Hanoi, 70km west of the East Vietnam Sea.
Travel Guide to Pho Hien Ancient Town, Hung Yen
Formation of Pho Hien
Pho Hien started its history from the 15th century. And from the 16th century, Pho Hien gradually became an international trading town by the Red River. The town was a trading hub and a transit port for cargoes to travel between Thang Long Capital and other places in the kingdom as well as in the world.
Prosperity of Pho Hien
In the 16th century, Dai Viet (Vietnam then) was undergoing a turbulent time when different feudal groups fought among one another for power. The demand for weapons was great in different territories under control of different families.
In between the 16th and 17th centuries, foreign companies were not allowed to set up business branches in Thang Long, the capital city. They were allowed only at Van Don (50km north of Halong Bay, Quang Ninh Province now) and later Pho Hien (Hung Yen). Foreign trading vessels were allowed to travel as far as Pho Hien only, not allowed any closer to Thang Long.
And as a result of the historical context, Pho Hien experienced its peak prosperity in the 17th century and was visited by merchants from India, China, Holland, England, Japan… Merchants from Europe and Asia also set up branches of their businesses in Pho Hien. It was not only business, foreign traders also brought along their religion and culture to Pho Hien.
Apart from foreign merchants, Pho Hien attracted a large number of craftsmen and merchants from different regions in northern Vietnam (Dang Ngoai then). And the town was a urban settlement second only to Thang Long Citadel in northern Vietnam then.
Decline of Pho Hien
In the 19th century, the feudal wars in Vietnam had ended and the demand for foreign weapons was not so great anymore. The Red River had silted up and the piece of land formed by alluvial soil at Pho Hien was as wide as 800m. Big merchant boats were not able to sail to Pho Hien then. And, goods exported from Pho Hien were competed by different regions in northern Vietnam. By then, Pho Hien had been basically a transit port and not the place where the goods were actually made.
Besides, among the foreign businesses trading at Pho Hien, the Indian and English ones focused on trade while the French and Portuguese were mainly focusing on introducing religions in preparation for invasions later. The latter created doubt among the Trinh and Nguyen rulers which led to anti-foreigner sentiment which turned into policies from 1696. These policies became extreme in the 19th century when Western priests were banned from evangelizing in the kingdom.
Historical Tour of Pho Hien
Join Paradissa on a historical tour to explore Pho Hien and travel back in time to learn about the heyday of this ancient trading port town as well as about the Vietnamese history. Our tour takes a full day from Hanoi.
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