Văn Lang in the context of "Dong Son culture"

Âu Lạc (chữ Hán: 甌貉/甌駱; pinyin: Ōu Luò; Wade–Giles: Wu-lo Middle Chinese (ZS): *ʔəu-*lɑk̚ < Old Chinese *ʔô-râk) was a supposed polity that covered parts of modern-day Guangxi and northern Vietnam. Founded in 257 BCE by a figure called Thục Phán (King An Dương), it was a merger of Nam Cương (Âu Việt) and Văn Lang (Lạc Việt) but succumbed to the state of Nanyue in 179 BCE, which, itself was finally conquered by the Han dynasty. Other historical sources indicate that it existed from 257 BC to 208 BC or from 208 BC to 179 BC. Its capital was in Cổ Loa, present-day Hanoi, in the Red River Delta.

Phú Thọ is a province in northern Vietnam. Its administration center Việt Trì ward is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Hanoi and 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Nội Bài International Airport. The province covers an area of 9,631.38 km (3,718.70 sq mi) and, as of 2025, it had a population of 4,022,638.

The history of Phú Thọ is linked to the 18 dynasties of Hùng kings who were credited with building the nation of Văn Lang. Because of its strategic location, the province is known as the "West Gate of Hanoi". It is located at the confluence of two large rivers: the Red River and the Da River, and in a transitional area between the Red River Delta the country's northern mountainous provinces. The Xuân Sơn National Park, established in February 2002, is located in the province about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from Việt Trì. The park covers an area of 15,048 hectares (37,180 acres), with over 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) of natural forest and 1,396 hectares (3,450 acres) of limestone-mountain forests. Phú Thọ is one of the poorest areas of Vietnam and the poorest households earn below US$6 per person per month. Tea is important to the economy of the province. The Hung Kings temple complex, located on Nghĩa Lĩnh mountain in Việt Trì, is a complex of majestic architecture enclosing Hạ Temple (built in the 15th century), Thiện Quang pagoda, Giếng, Trung and Thuong temples, and King Hung's tomb.

Vietnam, with its coastal strip, rugged mountainous interior, and two major deltas, became home to numerous cultures throughout history. Its strategic geographical position in Southeast Asia also made it a crossroads of trade and a focal point of conflict, contributing to its complex and eventful past. The first Ancient East Eurasian hunter-gatherers arrived at least 40,000 years ago. Around 4,000 years ago during the Neolithic period, Ancient Southern East Asian populations, particularly Austroasiatic and Austronesian peoples, began migrating from southern China into Southeast Asia, bringing with them rice-cultivation knowledge, languages, and much of the genetic basis of the modern population of Vietnam. In the first millennium BCE the Đông Sơn culture emerged, based on rice cultivation and focused on the indigenous chiefdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc.

Following the 111 BCE Han conquest of Nanyue, much of Vietnam came under Chinese dominance for a thousand years. The period nonetheless saw numerous uprisings, and Vietnamese kingdoms occasionally enjoyed de facto independence. Buddhism and Hinduism arrived by the 2nd century CE, making Vietnam the first place which shared influences of both Chinese and Indian cultures.