Two of the rural districts cover islands in the South China Sea: Bạch Long Vĩ and Cát Hải.

[9][10] The city's economy has strength in manufacturing, as evident by large industrial parks and numerous smaller traditional handicraft villages.

In the Annamese imperial era, the Bạch Đằng River in Haiphong was a place of many legendary victories, led by now-legendary commanders Ngô Quyền and Trần Quốc Tuấn.

In the 16th century, Mạc dynasty promoted the coastal settlement as a secondary capital, growing to become an important port town of Đàng Ngoài.

It was one of directly controlled municipalities of a reunified Vietnam with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 1976.

In the 21st century, Haiphong is under active land reclamation, the most recent effort being the construction of South Đình Vũ dike in 2022.

Haiphong is a popular seaside vacation spot and known for biological reservations in Cát Bà Island.

Lê Chân was known to have established the Hải tần Phòng thủ (“Defenced Sea-coast”) during the war against general Ma Yuan of the Han dynasty.

Despite the damages, Haiphong was developed by the French to serve as Indochina's main naval base over the ensuing decades.

Following the defeat of Japan in World War II, Vietnamese nationalists agitated for independence against French return.

In retaliation, the French ships, among them the cruiser Suffren, shelled the city, setting it ablaze[14] and precipitating the First Indochina War.

U.S. Admiral Thomas H. Moorer ordered the mining of Haiphong harbor on 8 May 1972, effectively sealing the port.

[13] On 20 February 2025 the Vietnamese parliament approved an $8 billion railroad investment to upgrade under Xi Jinping's Belt and road initiative the old French-built Kunming–Haiphong railway, which serves the Chinese border city Hekou Yao, Lao Cai, Hanoi and Haiphong.

Tidal flat ecosystems occur adjacent to the city, however, many have been reclaimed for agriculture or development purposes.

Tourists can easily catch a coach from Niem Nghia bus station to Hanoi or Cat Ba island, either Quang Ninh, or South of Vietnam.

The Port of Haiphong on the Cấm River is divided into three main docks: Hoang Dieu (Central terminal) located near the city's center, Chua Ve, and Dinh Vu both farther downstream to the east.

Built at by the French during their occupation, the railway once connected Haiphong to the city of Kunming in Yunnan, China, although service along the Chinese portion of the line is currently suspended.

Seafood restaurants in the Do Son area are famous for having very fresh shrimp, crab, fish, and squid at affordable prices.

The seafood processing style in Hai Phong is simple, emphasizing the essence and freshness of ingredients, not spices.

Dishes such as bánh đa cua (red noodle soup with crab), bún cá (fish rice noodle soup), bánh mỳ que cay (spicy stick-bread), cơm cháy hải sản (crispy rice cracker with seafood), nem cua bể (square crab spring rolls) are notable and popular dishes.

Hai Phong cuisine has been promoted to Europe at the Brest Maritime Festival 2008 (France) and resonated greatly.

In 2023, the province received its highest scores on the 'Labor Policy' and 'Time Costs' criterion and lowest on 'Policy Bias' and ‘Transparency’.

PetroVietnam set up a joint-venture PVTex with textile manufacturer Vinatex to build Vietnam's first polyester fiber plant in Haiphong.