Nha Trang (/ ˌnɑːˈtʃæŋ /; Vietnamese: [ɲaː˧ ʈaːŋ˧] ( listen)) 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 square kilometres
(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 square kilometres (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.[citation needed] 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 Of. 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.

Etymology[edit]

According to some researchers, the name Nha Trang derives from a Vietnamese spelling of
the Cham language name of the site Ya Trang (literally "Reed River"), the name of the Cai
River as referred to by the Cham people. From the name of this river, the name was
adopted to call what is now Nha Trang, which was officially made Vietnam's territory in
1698. Ya Drang is a common Cham and Montagnard place name, same as Ia Drang Valley.

As far as the recorded naming of Nha Trang is concerned, in Toàn tập Thiên Nam Tứ Chí Lộ
Đồ Thư, a geographical book written by a Vietnamese scholar with the family of Đỗ Bá in
the second half of the 18th century, the name Nha Trang Môn ("Nha Trang gate") was
mentioned.[2] In another map dating to the 17th century, known as Giáp Ngọ Niên Bình
Nam Đồ by a noble called Đoan Quận công Bùi Thế Đạt, the name Nha Trang Hải môn (Nha
Trang Sea Gate) was also cited.[2] In Vietnamese recorded historic bibliographies, these
books are perhaps the earliest ones that mentioned this place name.
In a work by Lê Quý Đôn called Phủ biên tạp lục (1776), many Nha Trang-related names
were mentioned, such as đầm Nha Trang, dinh Nha Trang, nguồn Nha Trang, and đèo Nha
Trang. Some would say that the Nha Trang is actually a part of the Dead Sea in the early
1700s but the idea was then removed in 1738.
History[edit]

Po Nagar towers at the mouth of Cái River

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.

On 27 March 1978, the provincial government by Decision 54-BT founded Phước Đồng
Commune under Nha Trang City.

On 1 July 1989, Khanh Hoa was split from Phu Khanh Province to become Khánh Hòa
Province as it was before, Nha Trang was made the capital of Khánh Hòa Province. On April
22, 1999, the prime minister by Decision 106/1999 recognized Nha Trang City the second
class municipal city. On April 22, 2009, the prime minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng recognized
Nha Trang City at the first class municipal city.

Geography[edit]
Nha Trang city has a metropolitan area of 251 km² and population of about 500,000. It
borders Ninh Hòa town in the north, Cam Ranh city in the south, Diên Khánh town in the
west and the East Sea to the east. The city is on the beautiful Nha Trang Bay, which was
chosen by Travel + Leisure in two succeeding years as one of 29 most beautiful bays in
the world. Nha Trang is surrounded on all three sides by mountains and a large island and
four smaller ones on the fourth side (in the ocean directly in front of the city's main area),
blocking major storms from potentially damaging the city.

Climate[edit]
Nha Trang has a tropical savanna climate with a lengthy dry season from January to August
and a shorter wet season from September to December, when 1,029 millimetres (41 in) of
the city's total annual rainfall of 1,361 millimetres (54 in) is received from the north-east
monsoon. During the wet season extremely heavy rainfall from typhoons is not
uncommon,[7] though the city is shielded from the worst winds.
Administrative divisions[edit]

Nha Trang city hall

Trầm Hương tower (literally: Agarwood), a city's icon

Nha Trang is subdivided into 27 wards and communes, of which 20 are urban wards: Vĩnh
Hải, Vĩnh Phước, Vĩnh Thọ, Xương Huân, Vạn Thắng, Vạn Thạnh, Phương Sài, Phương Sơn,
Ngọc Hiệp, Phước Hòa, Phước Tân, Phước Tiến, Phước Hải, Lộc Thọ, Tân Lập, Vĩnh Nguyên,
Vĩnh Trường, Phước Long (founded in November 1998), Vĩnh Hòa (founded in April 2002);
and 8 suburban communes: Vĩnh Phương, Vĩnh Trung, Vĩnh Thạnh, Vĩnh Thái, Vĩnh Hiệp,
Vĩnh Ngọc, Vĩnh Lương, and Phước Đồng. Since 1998, due to the high pace of urbanization,
many urban planned zones have been built: Hòn Rớ, Bắc Việt, Thánh Gia, Đường Đệ, and
Nam Hòn Khô.

Education[edit]
Nha Trang is home to the multidisciplinary Nha Trang University (formerly Nha Trang
Fishery University); the Naval and Aviation Academy; a teacher's training college; Khanh
Hoa University, as well as the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute a unique institute of
oceanography in Vietnam and the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang, one of the many
famous Pasteur Institutes.

Nha Trang Pasteur Institute[edit]

The French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin, discoverer of the Yersinia
pestis bacterium lived in Nha Trang for 50 years and was afectionately known as Ông
Năm. He established the Indochinese Pasteur Institute (now known as the Pasteur Institute
of Nha Trang), devoted to researching the bubonic plague. Yersin died in Nha Trang on 1
March 1943. A street in the city is named after him, and a shrine has been built over his
tomb. There is a Yersin Museum dedicated to his achievements.

Economy[edit]
Nha Trang's economy relies largely on tourism. In the suburban areas around the city, the
shipbuilding industry has developed and contributed significantly to the local economy.
Fishery and services are also important to the city. Khánh Hòa Province in general and Nha
Trang is particular are among the largest contributors to Vietnam's annual budget
revenues. Lobster farming on the sea is an important industry for the people living in
suburb areas.

To the south of the city, by Cam Ranh Bay, several industrial parks are under construction
and have been partly available for investors. Once the construction of the deep-water port
on Vân Phong Bay has been completed, this area will become the third important
economic zone in the province (besides Nha Trang and Cam Ranh).