By expanding the city limits, Haiphong has become Vietnam’s third most populous city (in reality Danang has a higher population). It is the north’s main industrial centre and one of the country’s most important seaports. The French took possession of Haiphong then a small market town- in 1874. The city soon developed and became a major port; industrial concerns were established here in part because of its proximity to coal supplies.

One or the immediate causes or the Franco-Viet Minh War was the infamous French bombardment 01′ the ‘native quarters’ or Haiphong  in 1946, in which hundreds of civilians were killed and injured (a contemporary French account estimated civilian deaths at than 6000).

Haiphong came under US air and naval attacks between 1965 and 1972. In May 1972 President Nixon ordered the mining or Haiphong harbour to cut the flow of Soviet military supplies to North East Vietnam. As part or the Paris cease-fire accords of 1973, the USA agreed to help clear the mines from Haiphong harbour – 10 US navy minesweepers were involved in the effort.

Since the late 19705 Haiphong has experienced a massive exodus, including many ethnic-Chinese refugees, who have taken much or the city’s fishing fleet with them. In spite or being n major port and one or Vietnam’s largest cities, Haiphong today is a relatively sleepy place with little traffic and many beautiful French-colonial buildings. A Haiphong travel pamphlet suggests the town’s current touristic ambitions may be at odds with its Socialist heritage:

Nowadays Haiphong is one or the creative and active cities in the socialist construction and in the defence of the socialist country, The people in Haiphong are sparing no effort to build it both into a modern port city with developed industry and agriculture and a centre or import and export, tourism and attendance and at the same time an iron fortress against foreign invasion.

While it may not be worth a special trip, Haiphong makes a reasonable stopover en route to/from Cat Ba Island or Halong Bay. In general the city is far less postcard vendor/shoeshine-boy ridden than Hanoi, though you should take usual caution around the train station and ferry landing:

Beware! By far our most unpleasant experience in Vietnam was at the ferry port in Haiphong. A group of schoolgirls by the pier ostensibly selling postcards and giving ‘friendly advice’ were suspiciously, but almost convincingly, enthusiastic in trying to persuade us not to take the ferry to Hon Gai They claimed that ‘there’s no place to Stay’ in Hon Gai, They almost succeeded in stopping the lour or us from having what turned out to be a wonderful experience. They and their ‘student ‘ Friend (a young man in his early 20s) wanted us to go in a minibus to who-knows-where instead. I’ll leave it to the readers to imagine what their purpose might have been, but we all felt ill at case and our sixth senses told us something was wrong.