Cát Bà became a special zone

This sheet is not a travel story. It gathers what official sources say, and stops where they stop.

Northern Vietnam’s most visited island no longer belongs to a district. It belongs to an administrative category that did not exist before 2025.

01What changed

Hải Dương province merged with the city of Hải Phòng. The result keeps the name Hải Phòng and its status as a centrally governed city. The reform took effect on 1 July 2025.

After reorganisation, Hải Phòng has 114 commune-level units: 67 communes, 45 wards and two special zones — Cát Hải, which includes Cát Bà island, and Bạch Long Vĩ.

02What a special zone is

The special zone (đặc khu) is a category of administrative unit distinct from the ward and the commune. It is reserved for island territories. Phú Quốc, Côn Đảo and Bạch Long Vĩ are also among them.

The status concerns how local government is organised. It does not by itself imply any particular entry or stay rule, and none could be confirmed.

03What it changes in practice

An address reading “Cát Bà, Cát Hải district, Hải Phòng” names a real place through an abolished tier. It is still understood locally.

Lan Hạ Bay, the national park and the ferries have not moved. It is the entity above them that changed nature.

04The principle behind the reform

Vietnam went from 63 provinces and cities to 34, and the district tier was abolished everywhere. Commune-level units drop from 10,035 to 3,321.

05The other special zones

The category was created for island territories that a mainland ward could not govern well. Four are known so far: Cát Hải and Bạch Long Vĩ in Hải Phòng, Côn Đảo in Ho Chi Minh City, and Phú Quốc in An Giang.

Their common point is distance from the coast, not size or population.

06What this sheet does not say

What special zone status will change for a visitor. Ferry times, the price of a crossing, where to sleep on the island.

Nobody here has been. This sheet says what can be checked, not what can be felt.