This paper focuses on an emerging urban development strategy in Asian satellite cities. These cities are small and intermediate urban areas, located near a larger metropolitan centre, and often appearing in various forms like city gardens, new towns, eco-towns or new capital cities. By examining how urban imaginaries and inclusive planning shape the construction of a satellite province of Hanoi, Vietnam, Hung Yen from a comparative lens with China, Japan and India, this research aims to contribute to the knowledge production of Asian urbanism and new town development in particular across various Asian contexts, and extending Asian situated insights to theorising cities in the world. Regarding research methods, my research conducts content analysis of archival data, ethnography with forty in-depth interviews with government officials, local inhabitants in Hung Yen City, combined with existing literature on satellite city-building in other Asian countries. Examining small and medium-sized cities within this satellite province, namely Hung Yen City and Van Giang, reveals a disconnect between elite and public imaginaries of its green and smart future, alongside tensions between state-led, neoliberal urban planning and public desires for involvement, mirroring broader Asian satellite city trends in governance, branding, and infrastructural challenges. The case of Vietnam illustrates an inevitable trend in satellite city strategies across Asia, where city branding like eco-city or smart city will continue to shape urban regeneration in the future.