1. Geographical Location
Three kilometers from the center of Bien Hoa city up to the North, along Bui Huu Nghia Street directing towards War zone D is the area of Tan Hanh Commune.
Tan Hanh is a suburban commune to the West of Bien Hoa City and borders:
- Dong Nai river to the East and Northeast
- Hoa An to the Southwest
- Binh Duong Province to the West and Southwest
The commune has a natural land area of 606.8 ha, accounting 3.9% the total area of Bien Hoa City.
Bui Huu Nghia Street, 2.6 kilometers of length, across the commune is the main route in the area interconnecting different communes and wards in Bien Hoa City and Binh Duong Province. This is a route of great quality and advantage for external transport thanks to the recent up-gradation.
The commune’s contiguous location to Dong Nai river results in good conditions for sea traffic development that serves for goods transport and exchange and economic development. Besides, the beautiful natural landscapes may be combined in the urban architectural construction.
2. Hamlets and quarters:
Tan Hanh Commune is divided into four hamlets (five sections):
+ Hamlet 1A: divided into 10 groups of people.
+ Hamlet 1B: divided into 8 groups of people.
+ Hamlet 2: divided into 8 groups of people.
+ Hamlet 3: divided into 9 groups of people.
+ Hamlet 4: divided into 8 groups of people.
3. Topographical features
Being an agricultural commune with a level and even terrain, with the altitude changing from two to 3 meters, Tan Hanh has favorable conditions for manufacture arrangement and construction. The terrain becomes lower from the Southeast down to the Northwest, contiguous to Dong Nai river with a thick network of ditches, which is very propitious for irrigation and drainage in rainy seasons. Some channels cutting through the commune’s terrain cause specific limitations in infrastructure construction, but with regard to the target of urban building and development, will create particular conditions and beautiful landscapes for development.
3. Climate - Hydrology
Located in a zone of tropical monsoon and sub-equatorial climate, with mild climate of the South, the commune suffers little from natural disasters and has it climate divided into two distinct seasons:
Rainy season: the precipitation varies according to seasons; on average reaches from 1,600 – 1,800 mm per year; rainy season lasts 6 months from May to October; it rains heavily mainly in this season leading the precipitation to make up 85-90% of the total amount in the whole year. In this season, the amount of vaporization is bigger and the atmospheric temperature is lower than those in sunny seasons.
Sunny season: lasts from November to April of next time with little precipitation accounting 10 -15% of the total amount in a year while a large amount of temperature and evaporation causes droughts in many places.
Temperature: high temperature all year round, on average 23 - 290C in a year.
A part of Dong Nai river which adjoins the commune to the East and the Northeast is influenced by the semi-diurnal tide from the East Sea under the regulation of Tri An Lake. Besides, in the commune, there is an interlacing system of springs and channels including Lai Bong, Ong Tiep and Soi channels and Ho Ngua Spring that help to drain rainwater, and supply running and manufacturing water to the area. Simultaneously, it helps to create conditions for developing entertaining models of fishing service and urban architectural landscapes.
5. The commune’s historical briefings
Tan Hanh’s land runs along Dong Nai river, established quite early when pioneering Vietnamese settlers set their foot here at the end of the 17th century. Up to Minh Mang King’s Dynasty (1832), Tan Hanh was one of nine villages belonging to Chanh My Thuong Canton, Tan Uyen District, Bien Hoa Province. In 1930, Tan Hanh became a village of Chanh My Thuong Canton, Chau Thanh District, Bien Hoa Province. At that time, Bien Hoa Province included five districts with the total population of less than 1,000 people. In 1957, Tan Hanh commune was claimed to belong to Di An, Bien Hoa Province till the Reunion Day. Since 1976, it has been directly under Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province.
Tan Hanh people worship their ancestors in accordance with their long-lasting customs. While the main religion is Buddhism, some are the followers of Caodaism, Christianity, etc. Currently, all over the commune, there are a pagoda named Hanh Son, a Cao Dai oratory, a temple named Tan Hanh, five shrines for ancestor worship and a war memorial.
In two periods of war resistance against France and America, Tan Hanh was a temporarily occupied area but there always existed secret political bases and places for officers and “bo doi” on duty to hide. It had close connection with inner Bien Hoa and adjacent regions.