Nha Trang City

### **Location:**

**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 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.

### **Characteristic:**

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 Off. Nha Trang has been
approved to host the 2016 Asian Beach Games.

### **History:**

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
Khánhcity (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.

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 — Vĩnh Hải, Vĩnh Phước,
Vĩnh Trường, Vĩnh Nguyên, and villages Phước Hải (Vĩnh Thái Commune), Vĩnh Điềm
Hạ (Vĩnh Hiệp Commune), Ngọc Thảo, Ngọc Hội, Lư Cấm Villages (Vĩnh Ngọc
Commune) under the administration of Vinh Xuong County, together with islands
Hòn Lớn, Hòn Một, Hòn Mun, Hòn Miễu, Hòn Tằm. Nha Trang Town was made the
capital of Khanh Hoa Province. The town included two districts. District 1
covered communes Nha Trang Đông, Vĩnh Hải, Vĩnh Phước, and villages Ngọc Thảo,
Ngọc Hội and Lư Cấm of Vĩnh Ngọc Commune, Vĩnh Điềm Hạ village of Vĩnh Hiệp
Commune. District 2 covered communes Nha Trang Tây, Vĩnh Trường, Vĩnh Nguyên
(inclusive of islands of Hòn Tre, Hòn Một, Hòn Mun, Hòn Tằm), Phước Hải village
of Vĩnh Thái Commune.

Following that establishment, the government by Decree
357-ĐUHC/NC/NĐ dated 5 June 1971 divided Nha Trang into 11 urban zones, of
which, district 1 covered urban zones of Vĩnh Hải, Vĩnh Phước, Ngọc Hiệp, Vạn
Thạnh, Duy Tân; district 2 covered urban wards of Vĩnh Nguyên, Vĩnh Trường,
Phương Sài, Tân Phước, Tân Lập, Phước Hải. Decree 553-BNV/HCĐP/NV dated 22
August 1972 renamed urban zones into urban wards. Decree 444-BNV/HCĐP/26.X
dated 3 September 1974 merged islands of Hòn Một, Hòn Cậu, Hòn Đụn, Hòn Chóp
Vung, Hòn Đỏ into Vĩnh Hải ward (district 1) and Hòn Ngọc into Vĩnh Nguyên ward
(district 2) of Nha Trang Town.

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.

### **Tourism:**

Nha Trang is one of the most important tourist hubs of
Vietnam, thanks to its beaches with fine and clean sand and the clear ocean
water with mild temperatures all year round. There are several resorts — such
as Vinpearl, Diamond Bay and Ana Mandara — and amusement and water parks, in
the city and on islands off the coast. The possibly most beautiful street of
Nha Trang is Tran Phu Street along
the seaside, sometimes referred to as the Pacific Coast Highway of
Vietnam.

Lying off Nha Trang is the Hon Tre Island (Bamboo
Island), with a major resort operated by the Vinpearl Group. The Vinpearl Cable Car, a gondola
lift system, links the mainland to the five-star resort and theme park
on Hon Tre Island.

Nha Trang is a stopover for annual yacht races starting
in Hong
Kong. In recent years, the city has welcomed many five-star sea cruises. In
addition to sailboat racing, Nha Trang provides a rich variety of tourist
activities for visitors. Island hopping, scuba diving, water sports and other
sporting activities can be enjoyed. The Nha Trang Tourist Information Center (a
non-governmental organisation), located near the Cho Dam Market has been
set up to provide information for visitors.[13]

The local cuisine is most famous for fresh seafood and
barbecued pork rolled in rice paper. The area's bird's
nest soup is deemed one of the best in Vietnam. Bird's nests are
collected in the wild, on bird farms on the islands off the coast and even in
some houses in the inner city. The farmed bird in question belongs to the swiftlet group,
popularly referred to as *yến hàng*(*Aerodramus fuciphagus* and *A. germani*).

Long Sơn Pagoda is prominent for its statue
of Gautama Buddha.