Thua Thien Hue province today was originally located in Chau O and Chau Ly – the two provinces offered to Dai Viet as wedding presents by Champa’s Emperor. Under Tran dynasty, administrative units below central level were divided into 9 “lo” (province), 4 “phu”(similar to district today) and 7 “tran” (town). At the time, Thua Thien Hue province was located in Thuan Hoa. Under Ming dynasty, Thua Thien Hue was renamed as “lo” Thuan Hoa by Emperor Le Loi.
Under the reign of Emperor Le Thanh Tong, entire country was divided into 12“thua tuyen” (similar to province today).Administrative units under the controlled of central level were “xu”. Thua Thien Hue province was under Thuan Hoa which once included Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue province.
In Trinh - Nguyen period, Thua Thien Hue province was the metropolis of Nguyen Emperors in Dang Trong (South region) and known as Phu Xuan capital under Tay Son dynasty.
Under Nguyen dynasty, Emperor Gia Long divided the country into 23 “tran” (town) and 4 “dinh”. Thua Thien Hue province today is under “tran” Quang Duc. In 1822, Quang Duc was renamed as Thua Thien by Emperor Minh Mang. From 1831 to 1832, Emperor Minh Mang divided entire country into 31 province-level administrative units and 01 “phu”. Thua Thien Hue province today was in Thua Thien “phu”.
Under French colonial period, French colony divided entire country into 3 regions (i.e. North, South and Central). Provinces basically remained the same. Besides, a number of province were established in 3 regions. Thua Thien Hue province was located in Central region.
From 1945 to 1954, the entire country was divided into 3 regions i.e. North, Central and South with 65 provinces. The number of province located in these regions is 27, 18 and 20, respectively. Thua Thien Hue was located in Central region and had its basic boundary as observed today.
In 1954-1975 period, after Geneva agreement was signed: Pursuant to Decree No. 143-NV dated October 22nd, 1956 of the Republic of Vietnam, there were 35 provinces in entire country. In 1954-1975 period, there were 44 provinces in South Vietnam due to abolition and establishment. Thua Thien Hue province was under the management of the Republic of Vietnam’s government. In terms of military, tactical zones were established in 1961. In July 1970, they were renamed as military zones. Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri province today belonged to the 11th tactical zone.
After country reunification - 1976, there were 38 province-level administrative units including 35 provinces and 3 cities. Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue province were known as Binh Tri Thien province. In 1989, Binh Tri Thien was divided into 3 sub-provinces namely Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue province.
In conclusion, the name and administrative boundary of Thua Thien Hue province was changed through ups and downs of national history. Since 1989, province has been known as Thua Thien Hue.