In 111 BC, Chinese troops invaded Nanyue and established new territories, dividing Vietnam into Giao Chi (Chinese: pinyin: Jiaozhi, now the Red river delta); Cuu Chan from modern-day Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh; and Nhat Nam, from modern-day Quang Binh to Hue. While the Chinese were governors and top officials, the original Vietnamese nobles (Lac Hau, Lac Tuong) still managed some highlands.

In 40 AD, a successful revolt against harsh rule by Han Governor To Đinh (pinyin: Su Ding), led by the two noble women Trung Trac and her sister Trung Nhi, recaptured 65 states (include modern Guangxi), and Trung Trac became the Queen (Trung Nu Vuong). In 42 AD, Emperor Guangwu of Han sent his famous general Mã Viện (Chinese: Ma Yuan) to quell the revolt. After a torturous campaign, Ma Yuan defeated the Trung Queen, who committed suicide. To this day, the Trung Sisters are revered in Vietnam as the national symbol of Vietnamese women. Learning a lesson from the Trung revolt, the Han and other successful Chinese dynasties took measures to eliminate the power of the Vietnamese nobles. The Vietnamese elites would be coerced to assimilate into Chinese culture and politics. However, in 225 AD, another woman, Trieu Thi Trinh, popularly known as Lady Trieu (Bà Triệu), led another revolt which lasted until 248 AD.

During the Tang dynasty, Vietnam was called Annam (Giao Châu), until early 10th century AD.

Giao Chi (with its capital around modern Bac Ninh province) became a flourishing trading outpost receiving goods from the southern seas. "History of Later Han" (Hậu Hán Thư, Hou Hanshu) recorded that in 166 AD the first envoy from the Roman Empire to China arrived by this route, and merchants were soon to follow. The 3rd-century "Tales of Wei" (Ngụy Lục, Weilue) mentioned a "water route" (the Red River) from Jiaozhi into what is now southern Yunnan. From there, goods were taken overland to the rest of China via the regions of modern Kunming and Chengdu.

At the same time, in present-day central Vietnam, there was a successful revolt of Cham nations. Chinese dynasties called it Lin-Yi (Lin village). It later became a powerful kingdom, Champa, stretching from Quang Binh to Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan).

In the period between the beginning of the Chinese Age of Fragmentation to the end of the Tang Dynasty, several revolts against Chinese rule took place, such as those of Ly Bôn and his general and heir Trieu Quang Phuc; and those of Mai Thuc Loan and Phùng Hưng. All of them ultimately failed, yet most notable were Ly Bon and Trieu Quang Phuc, whose Anterior Ly Dynasty ruled for almost half a century (544 AD to 602 AD) before the Chinese Sui Dynasty reconquered their kingdom Van Xuan.