Bà Rịa

BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa () was a city in the former BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»ÂaÃ¢ÂÂVÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u province in the Southeast region of Vietnam. BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa was adjacented to VÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u by CÃ¡Â»Â May river and connected by CÃ¡Â»Â May Bridge on National Route 51. This was the de jure seat of the province since most of the provincial administration agencies are located here. In May 2012, BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa officially replaced VÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u to become the provincial capital of BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»ÂaÃ¢ÂÂVÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u.

The City of BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa ceased to exist on July 1, 2025, following the elimination of district level units in Vietnam.

Location and administrative divisions

BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa is located 90 km east southeast of Ho Chi Minh City and 20 km northwest to the centre of the petroleum and beach city of VÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u. BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa borders ChÃÂ¢u ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â©c District and part of PhÃÂº MÃ¡Â»Â¹ City to the north, VÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u to the south, Long ÃÂiÃ¡Â»Ân District to the east, and PhÃÂº MÃ¡Â»Â¹ to the west.

BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa has an area of 91.04 km<sup>2</sup>, including seven urban wards (phÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âng) (Long ToÃÂ n, PhÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âc HiÃ¡Â»Âp, PhÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âc HÃÂ°ng, PhÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âc NguyÃÂªn, PhÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âc Trung, Long HÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng, and Kim Dinh), with 3 rural communes (xÃÂ£) (HÃÂ²a Long, TÃÂ¢n HÃÂ°ng, and Long PhÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âc). As of 2011, the town has 122,424 inhabitants; the density is 3,500 inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.

History

The city was promoted from the town of BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa to the capital city on 22 August 2012. It was the capital town (thÃ¡Â»Â trÃ¡ÂºÂ¥n BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa) of the district of ChÃÂ¢u ThÃÂ nh (was part of ÃÂÃ¡Â»Âng Nai province before 1991 then BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa Ã¢ÂÂ VÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u province), then in 1994, the district was split into the districts of ChÃÂ¢u ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â©c, TÃÂ¢n ThÃÂ nh (PhÃÂº MÃ¡Â»Â¹ City), and BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa district-level town (thÃ¡Â»Â xÃÂ£). Many provincial agencies have been relocated from VÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u to BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa. By 2007, this city was a 3rd-class municipality in Vietnam and was upgraded to 2nd-class municipality on 27 November 2014.

Transportation

BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa is an important transport hub of the province, with some national routes are Route 51, Route 56 (starts from Route 51), Route 55A and Provincial Road 52. BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa is situated about 48 km southeast of the planned Long ThÃÂ nh International Airport on National Route 51 and BiÃÂªn HoÃÂ Ã¢ÂÂVÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u Expressway. BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa has BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa Secres Port. The city also serves as a transit point between Ho Chi Minh City and XuÃÂ¢n LÃ¡Â»Âc (ÃÂÃ¡Â»Âng Nai province) with seaside resorts at the Long HÃ¡ÂºÂ£i and BÃÂ¬nh ChÃÂ¢u hot springs by road.

Tourism

The City of BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa has several historical sites and scenic spots such as: PhÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âc LÃ¡Â»Â Village Temple, Cathedral of BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa, BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa Round House, Long PhÃÂ°Ã¡Â»Âc tunnels, Dinh Hills with the green stone lake, BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa Square and Park, with many coffee shops...

Public spaces: The city has dozens of public spaces of various sizes serving the recreational needs of the people. Notable examples include LÃÂª ThÃÂ nh Duy Park, HoÃÂ BÃÂ¬nh Park, EastÃ¢ÂÂWest of Dinh River Park (CÃÂ´ng viÃÂªn ÃÂÃÂ´ng TÃÂ¢y bÃ¡Â»Â sÃÂ´ng Dinh; inaugurated in 2016), BÃÂ RÃ¡Â»Âa Square and Park (2022), and many smaller parks in various wards and neighborhoods.

References