A huyện (Vietnamese pronunciation: [hwîˀən]), also known as rural district, in modern Vietnam is a second administrative subdivision of a province or municipality. There are three administrative tiers of local government in Vietnam: * First tier: provinces (tỉnh) and municipalities (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương); * Second tier: provincial cities (thành phố trực thuộc tỉnh), town (thị xã), rural districts (huyện) and urban districts (quận); * Third tier: communes (xã), township (thị trấn) and wards (phường).