The Thái Nguyên uprising in 1917 was the "largest and most destructive" anti-colonial rebellion in French Indochina between the Pacification of Tonkin in the 1880s and the Nghe-Tinh Revolt of 1930–31.

With the aid of the freed inmates – common criminals as well as political prisoners – and weapons captured from the provincial arsenal, the rebels were able to take control of local government offices.

They then established a fortified perimeter, executed French colonial officials and local collaborators, and called for a general uprising.

Although they were only able to hold the city for five days, French forces were not able to pacify the surrounding countryside until six months later, leaving heavy casualties on both sides.

[5] During the First Indochina War, the province played an important role as a safe area (abbreviated ATK in Vietnamese for An Toan Khu, 安全区) for the Viet Minh.

Originally a small township including four residential quarters, two towns, and six communes with a combined population of approximately 140,000, Thái Nguyên became a city on 19 October 1962.

Thái Nguyên City has long been famous throughout Vietnam for the quality of its green tea, with Tân Cương Commune producing the most widely recognized brand.

Although its primary production mills are located just south of Thai Nguyen City, it now has 17 branches and 6,000 employees, with another 8 partially owned subsidiaries in 9 northern provinces.

Samsung’s establishment of a mobile phone manufacturing complex in the province has dramatically boosted Thai Nguyen’s FDI.

In December 2020, Hong Kong’s electronic firm, DBG Technology, was awarded an investment certificate by provincial authorities to set up a US$80 million manufacturing facility.

In November 2020, South Korean touchscreen manufacturer Samju Vina, injected capital to add a second plant in Thai Nguyen.

For enhancing its overall competitiveness, Thai Nguyen is actively encouraging the private and high-tech sectors to develop production clusters and connect value chains.

In 2023, the province received its highest scores on the ‘time costs’ and ‘law and order’ criteria and lowest on ‘transparency’ and ‘policy bias’.

The province is promoting infrastructure investment in its 105-hectare Quyet Thang Hi-Tech Industrial Park that is situated eight kilometers away from Thai Nguyen city center.

The investment locations promoted by Thai Nguyen include the industrial zones in Yen Binh, Diem Thuy, and Song Cong.

To raise funds, Thai Nguyen provincial authorities encouraged investors to lease land for 50 years for a one lump sum payment.

TNU is also home to one of four national Learning Resource Centers, the others being in Hanoi, Huế, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho.

It is housed in a pink-coloured building where an assortment of impressive exhibits of more than 10,000 documents and artefacts, which belong to the cultural heritage of 54 ethnic tribes of Vietnam, can be seen.