Thái Nguyên

Thái Nguyên lies on the Cầu River where the northern Vietnamese hills descend towards the Red River plain. Its valley connected the lowland capital with the mountains and their diverse communities. The area was an important northern administrative region of Đại Việt, although the location of its governing seat changed over time.

In 1397 the Trần court made Thái Nguyên a trấn, and the Ming administration later made it a prefecture. Under Lê Thánh Tông it became one of the administrative regions established in 1466. During the conflict between the Mạc and Lê-Trịnh houses, northern districts were contested for generations. In 1813 the Nguyễn authorities moved the regional seat to Đồng Mỗ on the Cầu River, at the site of Thái Nguyên town.