Phnom Penh ( , official
Romanization: Phnum Pénh; in Khmer and or in English) is
the capital and largest city of
Cambodia
.
It is also the capital of the Phnom Penh municipality. It is an
economic,
industrial,
commercial,
cultural,
tourist and
historical center in the country.
Once known
as the "Pearl of Asia" in the 1920s, Phnom Penh, along with
Siem Reap
, is a
significant global and domestic tourist destination for
Cambodia. Phnom Penh is known for its traditional Khmer and
French influenced architecture.
Phnom Penh is the wealthiest and most populous city in Cambodia. It
is also the commercial, political and cultural hub of Cambodia and
is home to more than 2 million of Cambodia's population of over 14
million.
Etymology
Phnom Penh
City takes its name from the present Wat Phnom
or Hill
Temple. Legend has it that in
1372,
an old nun named Penh went to fetch the water in the
Mekong river and found a dead Koki tree
floating down the stream. Inside the hole of that dead Koki tree
contained four bronze and one stone
Buddha
statues in it.
Daun
(Grandma) Penh brought the statues ashore and ordered people to
pile up earth at northeast of her house and used those Koki trunks
to build a temple on that hill to house the five Buddha statues, then named the temple after her as
Wat Phnom Daun Penh,
which presently known as Wat Phnom, a small hill of 27 metres
(89 ft) in height.
Phnom Penh was also previously known as
Krong Chaktomuk (
) meaning "City of Four Faces".
This name refers to the junction where the
Mekong, Bassac
, and
Tonle Sap
rivers cross
to form an "X" where the capital is situated. Krong
Chaktomuk is an abbreviation of its ceremonial name given by
King Ponhea Yat which full named Known as
"Krong Chaktomuk Mongkol Sakal Kampuchea Thipadei Sereythor
Inthabot Borei Roth Reach Seima Maha Nokor" ( ). This ceremonial
name is composed into
Pali, translates clearly
but not official right as " The Place of Four river that give a
happiness and success of Kampuja Kingdom, the highest leader as
well as impregnable city of God
Indra of the
enormous Kingdom".)
History
Left
Phnom Penh
first became the capital of Cambodia after Ponhea Yat, king of the Khmer Empire, moved the capital from Angkor Thom
after it was
captured by Siam
a few
years earlier. There are
stupa behind
Wat Phnom that house the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family
as well as the remaining
Buddhist statues
from the Angkorean era. There is a
legend that tells how Phnom Penh was
created. In the 1600s,
Japanese
immigrants settled on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.Phnom Penh
remained the royal capital for 73 years from
1432 to
1505 when it was abandoned
for 360 years from 1505 to 1865 by subsequent kings due to internal
fighting between the royal pretenders.
Later kings moved the
capital several times and established their royal capitals at
various locations in Tuol Basan (Srey Santhor), Pursat
, Longvek
, Lavear Em
and Oudong
.
It was not
until 1866, under the reign of King Norodom I, that Phnom Penh became the
permanent seat of government, and the current Royal Palace
was built. Beginning in
1870, the
French
Colonialists had turned a a riverside village into a city when
it started to build hotels, schools, prisons, barracks, bank,
public works offices, telegraph offices, Law courts, and health
services buildings. In 1872, the first glimpse of a modern city
took shape when the colonial administration contracted a French
contractor, Le Faucheur, to construct the first 300 concrete houses
for sales and rentals to the
Chinese
traders.
By the
1920s, Phnom Penh was known as the Pearl of Asia, and over
the next four decades continued to experience growth with the
building of a railway to Sihanoukville
and the
Pochentong International Airport (now Phnom Penh International
Airport
).Phnom Penh under the period of Sihanouk’s rule had seen the expansion and the
constructions of many modern infrastructures.The city had been
expanded and many infrastructures had been built.)
During the
Vietnam War, Cambodia was
used as a base by the
North
Vietnamese Army and the
Viet Cong, and
thousands of refugees from across the country flooded the city to
escape the fighting between their own government troops, the
NVA/NLF, the
South Vietnamese and its
allies and the
Khmer Rouge. By 1975, the
population was 2,000,000, the bulk of them refugees from the
fighting. The city fell to the Khmer Rouge on
April 17. Many of its residents, those who were
wealthy and educated, were forced to do labor on rural farms as
"
new people".
Tuol Svay Prey High
School was taken over by Pol Pot's forces
and was turned into the S-21
prison camp, where Cambodians were detained and
tortured. Pol Pot sought a return to an agrarian economy and
therefore killed many people perceived as educated, "lazy" or
political enemies. Many others starved to death as a result of
failure of the agrarian society and the sale of Cambodia's rice to
China in exchange for bullets and weaponry.
The former high
school is now the Tuol Sleng Genocide
Museum where Khmer Rouge torture devices and photos of
their victims are displayed. Choeung Ek (The Killing
Fields
), away, where the Khmer Rouge marched prisoners
from Tuol Sleng to be murdered and buried in shallow pits, is also
now a memorial to those who were killed by the regime.
The
Khmer Rouge were driven out of Phnom
Penh by the Vietnamese
in 1979 and
people began to return to the city. Vietnam is historically
a state with which Cambodia has had many conflicts, therefore this
liberation was and is viewed with mixed emotions by the Cambodians.
A period
of reconstruction began, spurred by continuing stability of
government, attracting new foreign investment and aid by countries
including France
, Australia, and Japan
.
Loans were made from the
Asian
Development Bank and the
World Bank
to reinstate a clean water supply, roads and other infrastructure.
The 1998 Census put Phnom Penh's population at 862,000; by the next
census in 2008 it was 1.3 million.
Geography
Satellite view of Phnom Penh
Phnom
Penh is located in the south-central region of Cambodia, at the
confluence of the Tonlé Sap
, Mekong, and Bassac
rivers. These rivers provide potential freshwater and other
resources. The city, located at (11°33' North, 104°55' East,
[8261]). Covers an area of which some in the
municipality and of roads. The agricultural land in the
municipality amounts to with some under
irrigation.
Climate
Climate Diagram of Phnom Penh
The climate is hot year-round with only minor variations. City
temperatures range from 18° to 38 °C (64° to 100 °F) and
experiences tropical
monsoons.
Southwest monsoons
blow inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand
and
Indian Ocean
from May to
October. The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season,
which lasts from November to March. The city experiences the
heaviest precipitation from September to October with the driest
period occurring from January to February.
It has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May
to October, can see temperatures rise up to around April and is
generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from
November to April when temperatures can drop to . The best months
to visit the city are November to January when temperatures and
humidity are lower.
Policing
Administration
Administratively, Phnom Penh is a municipality standing at 375 square kilometers
and is governed with a status that is equal to provinces of
Cambodia. As
such, it has a similar political structure to its provinces. The
municipality is subdivided into 7 administrative divisions called
Khan (district)
and of the 7 Khans,
Dangkor,
Meanchey and
Russei Kaev
are considered the outskirts of the city. All Khans are under the
governance of the Phnom Penh Municipality. The Khans are further
subdivided into 76
Sangkats (communes), and
637
Kroms.
The municipality is governed by the
Governor who acts as the top executive of the city
and manages the general affairs as well as overlooking the
Municipal Military Police, Municipal Police and Bureau of Urban
Affairs. Below the Governor is the First Vice Governor and 5 Vice
Governors. The Chief of Cabinet who holds the same status as the
Vice Governors, heads the Cabinet that consists of 8 Deputy Chiefs
of Cabinet which in turn are in charge of the 27 Administrative
Departments. Every khan (district) also has a head Chief.
[8262]
Demographics
As of 2008, according to preliminary census results, Phnom Penh had
a population of 1,325,681 people, with a total
population density of in a city area.
Annual population growth in the city over the period 1998-2008 is
2.82%.
Phnom
Penh is mostly inhabited by Cambodians
(or
Khmers) - they represent 90% of the
population of the city . There are also large minorities of
ethnic
Vietnamese and
Chinese people. Other ethnic groups are
Thais, Budong, Mnong Preh, Kuy, Chong,
and
Chams . There is also a local community of
ethnic Nigerians living in Phnom Penh. The Nigerians living in the
capital city make up the largest African nationality in Cambodia.
The state religion is
Theravada
Buddhism, hence more than 90% of the people in Phnom Penh are
Buddhists with the Chams practicing
Islam and over the years since 1993, there has
been an increase in the practice of
Christianity which was practically wiped out
after 1975 when the
Khmer Rouge took
over.
English and
French are widely used in the city, but the
official language is
Khmer.
Economy
Double-digit economic growth rates in recent years have triggered
an economic boom, with new hotels,
restaurants, bars, and residential buildings
springing up around the city. Phnom Penh's wealth of historical and
cultural sites makes it a very popular tourist destination.
The $2.6 Billion USD new urban development, Camko City, is meant to
bolster the city landscape. The Bureau of Urban Affairs of Phnom
Penh Municipality has plans to expand and construct new
infrastructure to accommodate the growing population and economy.
High rise buildings will be constructed at the entrance of the city
and near the lakes and riverbanks. Furthermore, new roads, canals,
and a railway system will be used to connect the city.
Opponents have accused that the construction of
Camko City would cause more flooding, traffic
problems and environmental hazards. Such modernization could lead
to higher deforestation rates due to construction. Cambodia already
has one of the worst deforestation rate. Other projects
include:
With the
economic growth seen since the 1990s, new shops have opened as well
as western-style malls such as Sorya Shopping
Center
and the new Sovanna Shopping Center. Two
international franchises have also opened up in Phnom Penh.
Dairy Queen has already opened up inside
Phnom Penh International
Airport and Kentucky
Fried Chicken (KFC) has opened up a
restaurant on Monivong Boulevard
and plans to open more soon.The same company
that opened up KFC in Cambodia has now obtained franchise
rights to open Pizza Hut in the
country.
Nowadays, the market is a tourist hot spot. The four wings of the
yellow coloured Phsar Thom Thmei are teeming with numerous stalls
selling gold and silver jewellery, antique coins, clothing, clocks,
flowers, food, fabrics and shoes.
Cambodia Angkor Air has its head
office in Phnom Penh.
Culture
Phnom Penh is notable for "Ka Tieu Phnom Penh", its variation on
rice-noodle soup. Phnom Penh also has its own dialect. It is also
known for depicting
New Khmer
Architecture. The city is associated as the most modern of
Cambodian cities. The capital is center of Cambodia's politics as
well as being a commercial center.
Cityscape and architecture
The
oldest structure is the Wat Phnom from the
founding days of the city, constructed in 1373. The main tourist
attractions are the Royal
Palace with the Silver
Pagoda
, which dates to the mid 1800s; the National Museum, constructed
during the French colonial era in the late 1800s in the classical
Khmer style hosts a vast collection of Khmer antiquities; the
Independence Monument
(Khmer: Vimean Akareach), although modern
from the 1950s, is also constructed in the ancient Khmer
style.
Example of French colonial
architecture in Phnom Penh
The
French, who were the colonial masters from the 1800s to the 1940s,
also left their mark, with various colonial villas, French
churches, boulevards, and the Art deco
market Phsar Thom Thmei
. A notable landmark of the colonial era is
the
Hotel Le Royal.
Starting with independence from the French in the 1950s and lasting
until the era of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, Phnom Penh underwent
tremendous growth as the capital city of a newly independent
country. King Sihanouk was eager to present a new style of
architecture and thus invigorate the process of nation building. A
new golden era of architecture took off, with various projects and
young Khmer architects, often educated in France, given
opportunities to design and construct.
This new movement was
called "New Khmer Architecture" and was often characterised by a
fusion of Bauhaus, European post-modern
architecture, and traditional elements from Angkor
. The
most prominent architect was
Vann
Molyvann, who was nominated chief national architect by the
king himself in 1956.
Molyvann created landmark buildings such as
the Preah Suramarit
National Theatre and the Council of Ministers building, other
architects helped construct the newly founded Royal Khmer University
, the Institute of Foreign Languages and the
National Sports Centre. With the growth of the upper and
entrepreneurial middle class, new suburbs were built in the 1950s
and 60's.
Although these buildings survived the Khmer Rouge era and the civil
war, today they are under threat due to economic development and
financial speculation. Villas and gardens from that era are being
destroyed and redeveloped to make place for bigger structures. The
landmark National Theatre by Molyvann was ripped down in 2008. A
movement is rising in Cambodia to preserve this modernist heritage.
Old villas are sometimes being converted into
boutique hotels, such as the
Knai Bang
Chatt.
Monuments
and memorials to the genocide during the Khmer Rouge era in the
1970s are the Tuol Sleng Genocide
Museum (a former high school used as a concentration camp)
and on the outskirt of the city the Choeung Ek Genocide
Center
. The
Cambodia-Vietnam
Friendship Monument was commissioned by the Vietnamese
communists as symbol of Khmer-Vietnamese "friendship" during the
late 1970s following the liberation of Cambodia from the Khmer
Rouge.
Newspapers and Magazines
Dailies
Khmer
English
Chinese
Magazines
- AsiaLIFE Guide Phnom
Penh, a monthly English-language lifestyle magazine
published in Phnom Penh.
- Pocket Guide Cambodia publishes four separate
guides aimed at English-speaking residents and visitors. Titles
include Drinking & Dining, Out & About, After Dark, Door 2
Door as well as one Khmer-language guide called Sabay Sabay
targeting the emerging young professional marketplace
French newspapers
Transport
Phnom Penh International Airport
Phnom Penh International
Airport (Phnom Penh) is the second-largest and
second-busiest airport in Cambodia. It is located 7 km
(4.3 miles) west of central Phnom Penh. Taxis, pick-ups and
minibuses leave Phnom Penh for destinations all over the country,
but are fast losing ground to cheaper and more comfortable buses.
Phnom Penh also has a rail service.
Cambodian's national flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air, launched in 2009,
has a hub at Phnom Penh International Airport, although the
airline's main hub is at Siem Reap's Angkor International Airport
.
There are two bus companies, Phnom Penh Public Transport and GST
Express, running services to Sihanoukville, Kompong Chang, Udong
& Takeo.
Phnom Penh Sorya Transport Co. offers bus travel to several
provincial destinations along the National Routes and to Ho Chi
Minh City. Motorcycles are a popular form of quick travel in the
city streets.
Although the city is 290 km (180 miles) from the sea, it is a
major port on the Mekong River valley, and it is linked to the
South China Sea via a channel of the Mekong delta in Vietnam
Local means of public transportation within the city most often
include the
cycle rickshaw, known in
Khmer as "cyclo" and motorcycle taxis. Private forms of
transportation include bicycles and automobiles.
Highways in Phnom Penh
As the capital of Cambodia a number of National Highways connect
the city with various parts of the country:
Education
The
Royal University of Phnom
Penh
(RUPP) is the oldest and largest institution of
higher education in Cambodia. As
of 2008, the university has over 10,000 students across three
campuses, and offers a wide range of high-quality courses within
the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Social Sciences and
Humanities, and the Institute of Foreign Languages (IFL). There are
about fifty higher institutions in Cambodia, most of which have no
small campuses. Several international charities, like
A New Day Cambodia, operate independent
educational facilities in addition to public schools for
students.
Sport
The martial arts of
Bokator,
Pradal Serey (Khmer kick boxing) and
Khmer traditional wrestling have
venues in Phnom Penh watched by dedicated spectators.
Cambodia has increasingly become involved in modern sports over the
last 30 years.
As with the rest of the country,
Football and the
martial arts are particularly popular.
The most
prominent of venues in the city is the Phnom Penh National Olympic
Stadium
with a capacity of 50,000. Built in 1964 it
is home to the
Cambodian national football
team, although the country never hosted the
Olympic Games. Noted clubs include
Phnom Penh Empire,
Khemara and
Military
Police.
Notable people
Sister cities
References
Literature
External links
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