Vientiane (,
Lao Viang-chan / Wiang-chan ) is the
capital city of
Laos, situated in the
Mekong Valley. It is also Laos's largest city. 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). The city will host for the first time the 25th Southeast Asian Games in December celebrating the 50 years of SEA Games.
Sri Sattanak, or
Sisattanak (), is a former name of Vientiane. It is often confused with
Sri Sattanakanahut, the
Pali name of
Lan Xang, the Kingdom of the Million
Elephants. Sisattanak now is the name of one of the five
districts of the city Vientiane.
Origin of the name
The name of the city is derived from
Pali, the
liturgical language of
Theravada Buddhism. Its original meaning is "royal
sandalwood grove" or "city of sandalwood", this tree being highly valued in classical India for its fragrance. In modern
Lao, the meaning of Vientiane is ambiguous, and is often mistakenly believed to mean "city of the moon", because the words for 'moon (candra in
Sanskrit)' and 'sandalwood (candana in Sanskrit)' are written and pronounced identically as 'jan'. However, the name in
Thai, เวียงจันทน์, retains the etymologically correct spelling, and clearly indicates "city of sandalwood" as the meaning. The romanized spelling "Vientiane" is of
French origin, and reflects the difficulty the French had in pronouncing the hard "j" sound in the Lao word; a common English-based spelling is "Viangchan", or occasionally "Wiangchan".
History
Vientiane avenue
Patuxay was built on the capital's main north-south avenue in the 1960s to celebrate the independence struggle.
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 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 Ram, 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.
Vientiane will host the
2009 Southeast Asian Games, with 18 disciplines being dropped from the previous games held in Thailand due to Laos' landlocked state and the lack of adequate facilities in Vientiane.
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:
Geography and climate
Vientiane is situated on a bend of the
Mekong river, which forms the border with
Thailand at this point.
Sights
Vientiane is home to one of Laos's 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
Transportation
From Thailand
Monk repainting a naga (mythical dragon) at Pha That Luang
The
First Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, built in the 1990s, crosses the river 18 kilometers downstream of the city to
Nong Khai in Thailand, and is the major crossing between the two countries. The bridge was built with provision for rail services. Test trains began running on July 4 2008, and the railway was formally inaugurated on March 5 2009. Surveys are underway to continue to the line a further 12 km to Vientiane.
The official name of the bridge was changed in 2007 by the addition of "First", after the Second Friendship Bridge linking
Mukdahan in Thailand with
Savannakhet in Laos was opened early in 2007.
Within Laos
There are regular
bus services connecting Vientiane with the rest of the country.
By air
Vientiane is served by the
Wattay International Airport with international connections to other Asian countries.
Lao Airlines has regular flights to several domestic destinations (several flights daily to
Luang Prabang; a few flights weekly to other destinations).
Morning market in Vientiane
Healthcare
The "Centre Medical de l’Ambassade de France" is available to the foreign community in Laos in April 2007. Also the
Mahosot Hospital is an important hospital in treating and researching diseases and is in connection with the
University of Oxford.
See also
