Hanoi, located on the right bank of the Red River, is the capital of Vietnam and the country’s second largest city. Its population was estimated at 3 million. From 1010 until 1802 it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Hue during the Nguyen dynasty period (1802-1945), but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam, and it became the capital of a reunified Vietnam in 1976.