Phan Rang 6.05

Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm, also called Panduranga, is a new city in Vietnam and the capital of Ninh Thuận Province. The community has a population of 161,000, of which 91,000 live in the main city. During the Vietnam War, Phan Rang was the site the United States Air Force's Phan Rang Air Base. The airfield had been established by the Japanese in World War II and was later used by the French.HistoryThe ancient Panduranga, the capital of the southernmost of city-states of Hindu-Buddhist Champa was located where Phan Rang is now. The town of Phan Rang was established in 1917 by edict of Emperor Khải Định and remained the provincial capital of Ninh Thuận Province until 1976, when the province merged with Bình Thuận Province to form Thuận Hải Province. The town was divided into Phan Rang in the east, which became part of Ninh Hải District and Tháp Chàm in the west, which became part of An Son district. The two were again combined in 1992 to become Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm, the capital of Ninh Thuận Province, achieving city status in 2007.Cham CultureTháp Chàm and Pham Rang district has become a centre for the maintenance of Cham culture. Much of the district is occupied by Cham people where they have rice paddies, orchards of grapes and peaches, flocks of goats and Brahman cattle. Their towers (the 'Thap') are beautiful memorials to their kings and queens. There are several Cham sites with dilapidated towers along the central coast of Vietnam and major sites in Mỹ Sơn and Nha Trang.