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A corner of Cho Don intersection (Bien Hoa ward, Dong Nai province). Photo: Dang Tung |
In the book "Administrative, Historical, and Cultural Place Names of Dong Nai," compiled by the Dong Nai Historical Science Association, edited by Master Tran Quang Toai, former Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Chairman of the Dong Nai Historical Science Association, and published by Dong Nai Publishing House in 2013, the place name Cho Don is included in the section on historical place names. The book received the Trinh Hoai Duc Award, a testament to its scientific reliability, and was commissioned by Dong Nai province and received funding.
The entry for Chợ Đồn is explained on page 723 of the first edition: “Chợ Đồn is now located in Bửu Hòa ward, Biên Hòa city. Formerly known as Chợ Lò, it belonged to Bình Long village, Chánh Mỹ Thượng commune, Phước Chánh district, Biên Hòa province. The area had very prosperous streets and many pottery kilns. When the Tây Sơn rebels entered Gia Định, they stationed themselves here, hence the place name Chợ Đồn. In 1956, the merchants of Chợ Đồn closed their markets and demanded negotiations for a general election… In 1959, women cadres moved here to work in the Biên Hòa area.”
Thus, according to this book, the origin of the place name Cho Don is due to the Tay Son army setting up camp there.
The History of Vietnam, compiled by the Institute of History under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and published by the Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi , 2017, in Volume 4, covers the 17th-18th centuries with subheadings about four instances of the Tay Son army entering Gia Dinh to compete for power with the Nguyen lords. The first subheading, titled "The Tay Son Army Attacks the Nguyen Army in Gia Dinh for the First Time," on page 347, states: In February 1776, Nguyen Lu, acting as commander-in-chief, led the navy to attack the Nguyen army in Gia Dinh. The Nguyen lord fled to Tran Bien, encamping at Dong Lam (now Hai Dong). The Tay Son army captured Saigon.
Page 349 of this book contains a subheading titled "The Tay Son Army's Second Victorious Attack on the Nguyen Army in Gia Dinh." The book states: "In March 1777, the Tay Son army, under the command of Nguyen Hue, with two land and naval forces, attacked the Nguyen lords in Gia Dinh."
Page 353 contains a subheading: The Tay Son army's third successful attack on the Nguyen army in Gia Dinh, this time in 1782, led by Nguyen Nhac after Do Thanh Nhan was assassinated by Lord Nguyen Anh on suspicion of treason.
The fourth time was in February 1783, commanded by Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu, and it was on this occasion that Nguyen Hue decisively defeated the Siamese army.
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The former Don Market is now the Buu Hoa Market. |
Thus, the Tay Son army entered Gia Dinh four times, and between each time, the Nguyen lord's army recaptured Gia Dinh. The first time the Tay Son army entered, it was under the command of Nguyen Lu, while the Nguyen lord fled to Tran Bien, and the Tay Son army established a garrison there to prevent the Nguyen army from returning to Gia Dinh.
In the entry for Cù lao Phố, Vương Hồng Sển's Dictionary of Southern Vietnamese Dialects states: "At the southern end of the island (Cù lao Phố - PV), there was a ferry landing, with ferries transporting people across to Bình Tiên market. When the Tây Sơn army arrived, they encamped at this place, which became known as Chợ Đồn (Fort Market), and it is still called that today" (page 250, Nhà xuất bản Trẻ, 1999).
In the book Gia Dinh Thanh Thong Chi, translated by Pham Hoang Quan, the commentary and research section includes an entry for Cho Don, also known as Lo Giay Market, Binh Tien Market, or Binh Long Market. Page 62 of this book states: "At the southern end, there was also a ferry crossing to Binh Tien Market, popularly called Lo Giay Market. When the Tay Son army encamped there, it was called Cho Don, belonging to Binh Tien village. This book was compiled by Trinh Hoai Duc, a high-ranking official of the Nguyen dynasty, and the reason for naming it Cho Don is thus proven."
The book "Brief History of Bien Hoa" by Luong Van Luu mentions Cho Don twice, with the origin of the name as above, and adds the detail that this was the place of battle between the army of Ly Tai, who had previously followed the Tay Son but had now abandoned the Tay Son, and the Dong Son army of Do Thanh Nhan, who belonged to the Nguyen lords' side, settling a past feud. Ly Tai lost the battle and was killed.
During the reign of Gia Long, Binh Tien village was renamed Binh Long, and during the French colonial period, it was renamed Buu Hoa. From July 1, 2025, the wards of Buu Hoa, Tan Van, Hoa An, and Tan Hanh will merge to form Bien Hoa ward.
Buu Hoa also has Thu Huong Bridge, a character from folk tales, the Nguyen Tri Phuong Temple National Monument (a bronze statue of which was donated and erected by the Vietnam Historical Association), Thanh Luong Pagoda (a provincial-level monument), and a Cao Dai temple. Cho Don is famous for its grilled pork skewers and snakehead fish noodle soup; Nguyen Tri Phuong Street, which runs through the area, has been upgraded from the Cho Don intersection, the Bui Huu Nghia - Nguyen Tri Phuong intersection, to Cau Hang on Nguyen Ai Quoc Street in Bien Hoa Ward.
Tran Chiem Thanh
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202601/dia-danh-cho-don-o-bien-hoa-2a409f0/
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