Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà district, on the south by Cam Ranh town and on the west by Diên Khánh District. The city has about 392,000 inhabitants, a number that is projected to increase to 560,000 by 2015 and 630,000 inhabitants by 2025.[1] An area of 12.87 km2 (4.97 sq mi) of the western communes of Diên An and Diên Toàn is planned to be merged into Nha Trang which will make its new area 265.47 km2 (102.50 sq mi) based on the approval of the Prime Minister of Vietnam in September 2012.
Nha Trang is well known for its beaches and scuba diving and has developed into a popular destination for international tourists, attracting large numbers of backpackers, as well as more affluent travelers on the south-east Asia circuit; it is already very popular with Vietnamese tourists, with Nha Trang Bay widely considered as among the world's most beautiful bays. Tourists are welcomed to participate in the Sea Festival, held biennially. Nha Trang was the site of the Miss Universe 2008 Pageant on July 14, 2008 and Miss Earth 2010 was held on December 4, 2010. It was also the site for the April 14, 2015 season 8 finale of Face Off. Nha Trang was approved to host the 2016 Asian Beach Games.
Historically, the city was known as Kauthara under rule of the Kingdom of Champa. The city is still home to the famous Po Nagar Tower built by the Champa. Being a coastal city, Nha Trang is a centre for marine science based at the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute. The Hon Mun marine protected area is one of four first marine protected areas in the world admitted by the IUCN.
Culture and history info
Kauthara, also translated as ancient clam, is a constituent state of the empire-leading kingdom and its ruling area is located in the area from today's Fu An province to Cam Ranh. Yanpunagara, the capital of Yangpu, occupies the faith of a man and is deeply influenced by religions such as Brahmanism and Buddhism. However, in addition to that, the gods who formerly occupied ruled the indigenous faith in the motherland, such as Çri Maladakuthara (釋利摩落陀古笪羅) in the ancient Gur'an region in the south, are one of those who can preserve the old God Most of the old gods who dominated the motherland were replaced by brahmanist gods such as the goddess Yan Pu Nagara (楊浦那竭羅) [3] and the Bhagavati (妻婆伽婆底), Replaced, located in Nha Trang near today. Bhagavati is mixed with Yan Pu Nagara, a goddess in the local faith, which is quite revered by the people and has dedicated ancestral temples to enshrine it.[4]
From 1653 to the 19th century, Nha Trang was a deserted area rich in wildlife (animals like tigers) and was a part of Hà Bạc, Vĩnh Xương County, Diên Khánh Province. After just two decades in the early 20th century, Nha Trang underwent a rapid change. On August 30, 1924, the Governor-General of French Indochina decreed Nha Trang as a townlet (urban centre).[5] Nha Trang Townlet was established from the ancient villages of Xương Huân, Phương Câu, Vạn Thạnh, Phương Sài, and Phước Hải.
During French Indochina, Nha Trang was seen as de facto capital of Khánh Hòa Province. The colonial administration offices (like Envoy Office, Commanding Office, Trade Office, Post Office) were situated in Nha Trang. Local royal offices like Province Chief, Provincial Judge, Military Commander are in Diên Khánh city (a walled military city 10 km south-west of Nha Trang).
On 7 May 1937, the Governor-General of French Indochina by another decree upgraded Nha Trang Townlet to town.[6] At this time, Nha Trang Town had five wards based on the ancient villages merged to make the town: Xương Huân, Phương Câu, Vạn Thạnh, Phương Sài, and Phước Hải.
On 27 January 1958, the president of the Republic of Vietnam, Ngô Đình Diệm by Decree 18-BNV abrogated the town status of Nha Trang and divided Nha Trang into two rural communes: Nha Trang Đông (Eastern Nha Trang) and Nha Trang Tây (Western Nha Trang), under the administration of Vĩnh Xương County.
During the late 1960s, the U.S. Army's First Field Force, Vietnam (1FFV)was headquartered in Nha Trang. 1FFV was a corps-level major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV).
On 22 October 1970, the government of the Republic of Vietnam by Decree 132-SL/NV reestablished Nha Trang Town on the ground of Nha Trang Đông and Nha Trang Tây and other rural communes. Following that establishment, the government by Decree 357-ĐUHC/NC/NĐ dated 5 June 1971 divided Nha Trang into 11 urban zones.
On 2 April 1975, communist (Viet Cong/PRG/VPA) forces captured the city. On 4 April 1975, Khánh Hòa Military Commission (Ủy ban Quân quản Khánh Hòa) divided Nha Trang into three administrative districts: District 1, District 2 and Vĩnh Xương District. In September 1975, the districts were merged to become one entity, the town of Nha Trang.
On 30 March 1977, the Council of the Government (now the cabinet) of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam by Decision 391-CP/QĐ upgraded Nha Trang to city status, a county-level city under the administration of Phú Khánh Province (a province created by merger of now Phú Yên Province and Khánh Hòa Province). Seven communes of former Vĩnh Xương County, namely Vĩnh Thái, Vĩnh Ngọc, Vĩnh Hiệp, Vĩnh Lương, Vĩnh Trung, Vĩnh Thạnh, Vĩnh Phương was split from Khánh Xương County to become Nha Trang City territory.