Yên Bái was a former province (1900 – 1975; 1991 – 2025) located in Northwest Vietnam. It shared borders with six provinces which are Hà Giang province, Lào Cai province, Lai Châu province, Sơn La province, Phú Thọ province, and Tuyên Quang province. The province covered an area of about and as of 2022 it had a population of 847,250 people.
Yên Bái's history is important under the French colony, particularly the subsequent "Yên Bái mutiny", an uprising of Vietnamese soldiers in the French colonial army on 10 February 1930 in collaboration with civilian supporters who were members of the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDD, the Vietnamese Nationalist Party).Maurice Rives, pp. 72–73Marr, p. 55
Forestry and farming were the main economic stays of the province. Thác Bà Lake is a natural asset of the country along with its Thác Bà Hydroelectric Plant. Dong Cuong Festival is an important festival of the province.
On June 12, 2025, Yên Bái province was merged with Lào Cai province to form the current province of Lào Cai.
Demographics According to the General Statistics Office of the Government of Vietnam, the population of Yên Bái province as on 2019 was 821,030 with a density of 119 persons per km2 over a total land area of of the province. The male population during this period was 412,977 while the female population was 408,053.
There are multiple ethnic groups in Yên Bái province. The Kinh people, who form the majority population of the country, settled here a long time ago and in union with the local minority tribes established themselves in the region and developed cultivation practices. The Kinh people's ancestry is traced to the Hải Dương Pham Ba Luc for nine generations till date and a monument erected in 1937 in Doc village in Hong Commune is highly revered as an ancestral home.Lam, pp. 83-84
There are 4 ethnic Yao (Dao) branches in Yên Bái province (Nguyễn 2013:12).Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng. 2013. Lễ cưới người Dao Nga Hoàng. Hà Nội: Nhà xuất bản văn hóa thông tin. Dao Đỏ [Red Yao] (Dao Đại Bản, Dao Sừng) Dao Quần Chẹt [Tight-trouser Yao] (Dao Nga Hoàng, Dao Sơn Đầu) Dao Quần Trắng [White-trouser Yao] Dao Làn Tuyển [Indigo Yao] (Dao Tuyển)
History
The area was occupied in ancient times, given the favourable communications along the Hong and Chay Rivers. Several archaeological digs in the province have unearthed ancient temples and other sites. Stone tools have been excavated in Mù Cang Chải District.
Vietnam had gradually become a French colony between 1859 and 1883.Duiker, pp. 157–162. Initially, military resistance to French rule came through the Cần Vương movement led by Tôn Thất Thuyết and Phan Đình Phùng, which sought to install the boy Emperor Hàm Nghi at the head of an independent nation. However, with the death of Phùng in 1895, military opposition effectively ended. The only other notable incidents after this came in 1917 was the Thái Nguyên rebellion. The lack of militant activity changed in the late 1920s with the formation of the VNQDĐ, or Vietnamese Nationalist Party.Marr, pp. 55,62,67-68 The VNQDĐ attempted clandestine activities to undermine French rule, which resulted in French scrutiny of their activities. This led to their leadership group taking the risk of staging a large scale military attack in the Red River Delta in Northern Vietnam. It was only on 10 February 1931 that VNQDĐ could, in collaboration with civilian supporters, launch the Yên Bái mutiny, an uprising of Vietnamese soldiers in the French colonial army. Thus, Yên Bái was the first of the battles during the First Indochina War. Yên Bái and Thái Nguyên were key military posts of the Việt Minh, which were supplied with arms from China to fight the French during this War.
On 9 February 1930 part of the 4th Regiment of Tonkinese Rifles stationed at Yên Bái mutinied against their French officers but were suppressed by loyal troops from the same unit. The attack was the largest disturbance against the colonisation of Vietnam since the Cần Vương monarchist movement of the late 19th century. The aim of the revolt was to inspire a wider uprising among the general populace in an attempt to overthrow the colonial regime and establish independence. The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDĐ, the Vietnamese Nationalist Party) had previously attempted to engage in clandestine activities to undermine French rule, but increasing French scrutiny on their activities led to their leadership group taking the risk of staging a large scale military attack in the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam. This incident led to widespread disturbances against French rule across northeastern Vietnam during 1930–31.
In the "Yen Bai Uprising of 1930" against the French colonial rule, a number of French army officers were killed. To putdown the uprising, the French resorted to aerial bombardment and even napalm bombs were used. The rebellion was put down by the French within a day; a number of Vietnamese soldiers and 12 VNQDĐ leaders were executed. Following this repressive action by the French, there were frequent anti-colonialist strikes and riots throughout the country, which were all put down ruthlessly. This resulted in breaking the backbone of the VNQDD and the Communist Party in North Vietnam for a considerable period.
The French maintained control of their colonies until World War II, when the Japanese war in the Pacific triggered the invasion of French Indochina in 1941.
In 1961, a large bronze cylindrical jar was discovered with carved images of males and females in copulation. In 1964 an 80,000-year-old skeleton was unearthed in Hum Cave in Lục Yên District. In 1996, another bronze jar was discovered along with the 2000-year-old remains of a 6-year-old girl on Choi Mountain in the commune of Hợp Minh, Trấn Yên District.
Geography and climate
Yên Bái covers an area of , and the Red River passes through the province. Yên Bái is a mountain province, characterised by rugged mountainous scenery and green rice paddy fields in the valleys. The Hoàng Liên Sơn mountain range runs through the province. The Red (or Thao) River and Chay River flow the province. Their origin is in Yunnan, China. The valley created by these two river systems in the Yên Bái province is fertile, though an uneven territory; Muong Lo plain is the rice bowl of the province.Lam, p. 5
The topography is steep, rising from east to west and from south to north. The average elevation is about above sea level and can be divided into two regions: low-lying regions on the left bank of the Red River basin and the high right bank of the Red River and in the plateau between the Red River and Đà River there are multiple mountains. Besides the two main rivers, the Red and the Đà, the province has about 200 canals, small streams and large lakes and swamps. Thác Bà Lake is situated in the province, an artificial lake which has an area of and 1,331 islands and hills. It has a capacity of 3 to 3.9 billion cubic meters of water and its original intention was to run the Thác Bà hydroelectric plant, one of the first large hydropower projects in Vietnam. The water in the lake is clear, and reflects the surrounding green forests. The hills and islands have multiple caves, including Hum, Cau Cuoi and Bach Xa. A Thác Bà Temple is located in the lake area. Thác Bà Lake has changed the climatic pattern in the western districts of the province, to a moderate condition from its hot and dry status.Lam, p.6
The main biomes of the province are rainforest, subtropical and temperate mountainous zones. It experiences a tropical monsoon season. The conservation area Mu Cang Chai Species / Habitat Conservation Area (MCC SHCA) was established in 2004 to protect the endangered mountain wildlife in Cang Chai district on the border of Lào Cai province.
The mean temperature in the province at elevations above 1500m is about and drops to with frost and snow in some parts. December–January are winter months when the climate is dry. Frequent drizzle is experienced during late winter months; this type of rain has earned Yên Bái the epithet "drizzle centre of the country". April to December are summer months and the rainy period. The mean temperature is stable for the district as a whole and is in the range of to .
Archaeological findings Many archaeological findings have been unearthed in the provinces in places, which date human settlement between hoary 8000 years to the recent 2000 years; these have been preserved in the Archaeological Museum in Yên Bái City. The archaeological antiquaries found are; a large cylindrical jar in Dao Thinh Commune depicting scene of human cohabitation, a skeleton of an ancient Viet and another bronze jar containing the remnants of a six-year-old girl in Hum Cave in Luc Yen.
Administrative divisions Yên Bái is subdivided into 9 district-level sub-divisions and 173 commune-level sub-divisions:
Administrative divisions of Yên Bái NamePopulation Commune-level sub-divisions City (1) Yên Bái 125,0009 wards, 6 communes District-level town (1) Nghĩa Lộ 68,206 4 wards, 10 communes Districts (7) Lục Yên District 102,9461 town, 23 communes Name Population Commune-level sub-divisions Mù Cang Chải District 60,7401 town, 13 communes Trạm Tấu District 27,0301 town, 11 communes Trấn Yên District 90,2601 town, 20 communes Văn Chấn District 116,8043 towns, 21 communes Văn Yên District 107,8101 town, 24 communes Yên Bình District 115,0002 towns, 22 communes
Economy
The total area of the province is , out of which the agricultural area is , forest land forms major part of , homestead land accounts for and land used for special purposes is . The per capita production of cereals in 2008 was 289 kg.
Yên Bái is home to 281 cooperatives, which are considered an effective way of generating employment to thousands of workers. These cooperatives are engaged in fields such as agricultural services, industrial services, construction, commerce, transportation, People's Credit Funds and health care. Cooperatives services include the production of black tea (manufacturing and processing), farm and forestry, fertilizers, transportation, electric supply in rural areas, and so forth.
A survey of the economic situation in Yên Bái carried out in 2006 indicated that living standards had increased substantially. For the period 1990 to 2004, Gross domestic product (GDP) tripled with an average increase of 7.5% per year. Poverty index decreased from 58% in 1993 to 16% in 2006 (as per General Statistics Office, 2006). However, underemployment, unstable income, inadequate childcare, limited access to health, child labour, social issues related to old people and social evils, gender inequality needed to addressed.
Farming
Farming, in particular, has been adopted as an important means for the acceleration of socio-economic development in rural areas. A reorganization of farming economy is planned through the establishment of centralized commodities production zones to enhance rural income, value of the land and levels of farming household income through agricultural extension services. In terms of agricultural products, main crops in the province include tea, cinnamon, glutinous rice, grapefruit, orange, taro and fish. About 700 farms are reportedly engaged in growing trees for pulp production, tea, cinnamon trees, breeding poultry, cattle and pigs.
In the mountainous northern region, non-timber forest products in an area of are planned under a reforestation program, which includes about under cinnamon; have been developed.
Farming extension services