Of which country is Hanoi the capital?

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. It is located in northern Vietnam on the Red River and serves as the country's political and administrative center.

The city has been associated with Vietnamese capitals for more than a thousand years. In 1010, Emperor Lý Thái Tổ moved the imperial capital to the area and named it Thăng Long, meaning “Ascending Dragon.” The city later carried several names before officially becoming Hanoi in 1831.

Hanoi was the capital of French Indochina from 1902 until 1945. After Vietnam's independence, it became the capital of North Vietnam. When North and South Vietnam were reunified on July 2, 1976, Hanoi became the capital of the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

A common mix-up is confusing Hanoi with Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest city and economic hub. Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, served as the capital of South Vietnam and remains the country's commercial center, while Hanoi remains the seat of the national government. Hanoi is known for the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long, Hoàn Kiếm Lake, and its French colonial architecture.