Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Nội) , estimated population 3,058,000(2004), is the capital of Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, it was the political center of an independent Vietnam with a few brief interruptions. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyen Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but served as the capital of French Indochina from 1887 to 1945.