Sóc Sơn district

Sóc Sơn is a district (huyện) of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. Nội Bài International Airport is located in this district.

Sóc Sơn district Huyện Sóc Sơn
District
Sóc Sơn temple
Coordinates: 21°15′14″N 105°50′58″E
Country	Vietnam
Region	Red River Delta
Municipality	Hanoi
Capital	Sóc Sơn
Time zone	UTC+7 (Indochina Time)

History

Its name Sóc Sơn in Kinh language was originated from Sōkl ("blessing") and Krung ("mountain") in Tai-Kadai language.

Sóc Sơn district is bordered by the provinces of Bắc Giang and Bắc Ninh to the east, Vĩnh Phúc province to the west, Mê Linh district to the southwest, Đông Anh district to the south and Thái Nguyên province to the north.

The district is subdivided to 26 commune-level subdivisions, including the township of Sóc Sơn (district capital) and the rural communes of Bắc Phú, Bắc Sơn, Đông Xuân, Đức Hòa, Hiền Ninh, Hồng Kỳ, Kim Lũ, Mai Đình, Minh Phú, Minh Trí, Nam Sơn, Phú Cường, Phù Linh, Phù Lỗ, Phú Minh, Quang Tiến, Tân Dân, Tân Hưng, Tân Minh, Thanh Xuân, Tiên Dược, Trung Giã, Việt Long, Xuân Giang, Xuân Thu.

Before the 20th century, the Sóc Sơn area was the east of Bắc Ninh province. This was a deserted mountain for many centuries and only really became important when Tai people from Yunnan began to threaten Annam territory of the Tang Dynasty. Its ruggedness has partly protected the fledgling urban system in the Red River.

When the Trần Dynasty was about to decline, the abnormal forces from the Northwest mountains began to occupy Sóc Sơn as a ceremony address almost like witch. By the time of the Early Lê Dynasty, the Chinese -born Taoists continued to use this area as a basis for developing customs that the court did not welcome. Sóc Sơn, Ba Vì ("three tops") and the Bạch Hạc junction ("white cranes") have been proposed to make sacred places of Annamese Taoism. In the early years of the Mạc Dynasty until the end of the 18th century was the golden age of the Kinh Bắc Cultural Region as the sacred mountains of the Taoists and those who believe in magic.

According to the records of Lê Quý Đôn, Phạm Đình Hổ, Nguyễn Án and some authors smaller than them, the serious weakness of the monarchy regime of the authority combined with long -term civil wars has promoted the unprecedented development of the magician. The witch was even recognized as a profession and was classified as a master. These people were often used in fortune -telling, ceremonies and prayers in the villages. Most of them used to go to Sóc Mountain to practice the charm, which really only based on poor quality literary works from mainland China, not any scientific or religious basis.

After the establishment of the Nguyễn Dynasty, the court advocated to eliminate the root of Taoism. Anyone who is discovered the practice of witches or singing soul tunes may be executed. That is why Sóc Mountain becomes deserted. The only civilized trace was just some simple pagodas.

During the Indochina War, Sóc Sơn was the location where the Trung Giã Conference took place, which led to the taking over Hanoi of Vietminh Forces and the French withdrawal operation from the North of the 17th parallel.

Until the beginning of the 21st century, 2/3 of Sóc Sơn district is still a protective forest and is very important for the safety of Hanoian infrastructure. However, many individuals have taken advantage of the corrupt regime to encroach it illegally. The consequence of this behavior is the massive appearance of the villas at the foot of the Sóc Mountain.

Since 2018, many landslides have been reported with shocking calculations in the public opinion about the extent of damage. Even the meager wet rice field system at the foot of the mountain has been completely removed to be replaced by construction materials.

Culture

The district is home to the Sóc Sơn Temple, a temple notably celebrated as a stopping point in the Gióng Festival.

References