What is Vientiane?

This article is about the city. For other administrative entities see Vientiane Prefecture and Vientiane Province.

Vientiane
The national memorial, Patuxay, was built on the capital's main north-south avenue in the 1960s to celebrate the independence struggle. The national memorial, Patuxay, was built on the capital's main north-south avenue in the 1960s to celebrate the independence struggle.
Coordinates:
Country	Laos
Population (2005 est)
- City	200,000

Vientiane (IPA: /vjɛnˈtjɑn/, Lao ວຽງຈັນ Viangchan) is the capital city of Laos, situated in the Mekong Valley. The estimated population of the city is 200,000 (2005) while the number of people living in the Vientiane metropolitan area (the entire Vientiane Prefecture and parts of Vientiane Province) is believed to be over 730,000. Vientiane is located at 17°58' North, 102°36' East (17.9667, 102.6). ^[1]

Administration

Vientiane is located in and is the capital of the Vientiane Prefecture (kampheng nakhon Vientiane). There is also the Vientiane Province — the prefecture was split off from the province in 1989.

Vientiane city comprises the following districts:

• Chantabuly
• Hadxaifong
• Sikhottabong
• Sisattanak
• Xaysetha

Geography

Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.

History

The great Laotian epic, the Phra Lak Phra Lam, claims that Prince Thattaradtha founded the city when he left the legendary Lao kingdom of Muong Inthapatha Maha Nakhone because he was denied the throne in favor of his younger brother. Thattaradtha originally founded a city called Maha Thani Si Phan Phao on the western banks of the Mekong River; this city was told to have later become today's Udon Thani, Thailand. One day, a seven-headed Naga told Thattaradtha to start a new city on the eastern bank of the river opposite Maha Thani Si Phan Phao. The prince called this city Chanthabuly Si Sattanakhanahud; which was told to be the predecessor of modern Vientiane.

Contrary to the Phra Lak Phra Lam, most historians believe Vientiane was an early Khmer settlement centered around a Hindu temple, which the Pha That Luang would later replace. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the time when the Lao and Thai people are believed to have entered Southeast Asia from Southern China, the few remaining Khmers in the area were either killed, removed, or assimilated into the Lao civilization, which would soon overtake the area.

In 1354, when Fa Ngum founded the kingdom of Lan Xang, Vientiane became an important administrative city, even though it was not made the capital. King Setthathirath officially established it as the capital of Lan Xang in 1560. When Lan Xang fell apart in 1707, it became an independent kingdom. In 1779, it was conquered by the Siamese general Phraya Chakri and made a vassal of Siam.

When King Anouvong raised an unsuccessful rebellion, it was obliterated by Siamese armies in 1827. It eventually passed to French rule in 1893. It became the capital of the French protectorate of Laos in 1899.

Origin of the name

The name of the city is derived from Pāli, the literary language of Theravada Buddhism, and its original meaning was "The king's grove of sandalwood", this tree being prized for its fragrance in classical India. It is also believed that the original name of Vientiane (Viangchan) means "City of the Moon" in the native Lao language. Modern Lao pronunciation and orthography do not clearly reflect the Pali etymology. The romanized spelling "Vientiane" is of French origin, and reflects the difficulty the French had in pronouncing the hard "ch" syllable of the Lao word; a common English-based spelling is "Viangchan", or occasionally "Wiangchan".

Sights

• Buddha Park

• Haw Phra Kaew, former temple, now museum and small shops
• Lao National Museum
• Patuxay, monument
• Pha That Luang, Buddhist stupa
• Talat Sao Morning Market
• That Dam, large stupa
• Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan
• Wat Si Muang
• Wat Si Saket, Buddhist wat
• Wat Sok Pa Luang, Buddhist temple

Vientiane is home to one of Laos' only bowling alleys (the other bowling alley being in Luang Prabang) and its only mosques. There are many upper-class hotels in Vientiane.

Colleges and universities

• National University of Laos

Transportation

The Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, built in the 1990s, crosses the river a few miles downstream of the city to Nong Khai in Thailand, and is the major crossing between the two countries. Rails for an international railway link run on to the bridge, but service terminates several kilometers south of the river on the Thai side.

Vientiane is served by the Wattay International Airport.

Further reading

• Askew, Marc, William Stewart Logan, and Colin Long. Vientiane: Transformations of a Lao Landscape. London: Routledge, 2007. ISBN 0415331412
• Flores, Penelope V. Good-Bye, Vientiane: Untold Stories of Filipinos in Laos. San Francisco, CA: Philippine American Writers and Artists, Inc, 2005. ISBN 0976331616
• Renaut, Thomas, and Arnaud Dubus. Eternal Vientiane. City heritage. Hong Kong: Published by Fortune Image Ltd. for Les Editions d'Indochine, 1995.
• Schrama, Ilse, and Birgit Schrama. ''Buddhist Temple Life in Laos: Wat Sok Pa Luang". Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2006. ISBN 9745240737
• Women's International Group (Viangchan, Laos). Vientiane Guide. [Vientiane]: Women's International Group, 1993.

References

See also

• Country of Laos
• Kingdom of Lan Xang
• Mekong River

External links

• Pictures of Vientiane on Flickr
• Map of Vientiane
• Vientiane photos year 2006
• * Maps and aerial photos for Coordinates:
• Maps from Google Maps, Live Search Maps, , Yahoo! Maps, or MapQuest
• Topographic maps from TopoZone
• Landuse survey from GlobalGuide

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