Phnom Penh, formerly known as Krong Chaktomuk is the capital and most populous city of the Southeastern Asian country of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonization of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security, politics, cultural heritage, and diplomacy of Cambodia.
Once known as the "Pearl of Asia," it was considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina in the 1920s. Phnom Penh, along with Siem Reap and Sihanoukville, is a significant global and domestic tourist destination for Cambodia. Founded in 1434, the city is noted for its beautiful and historical architecture and attractions. There are a number of surviving French colonial buildings scattered along the grand boulevards.
Situated on the banks of the Tonlé Sap, Mekong, and Bassac rivers, the Phnom Penh metropolitan area is home to about 1.5 million of Cambodia's population of over 14.8 million.
Etymology
Phnom Penh (literally, "Penh's Hill") takes its name from the present Wat Phnom ("Hill Temple"). Legend has it that in 1372, a wealthy widow named Lady Penh found a Koki tree floating down the Tonle Sap river after a storm. Inside the tree were four bronze Buddha statues and a stone statue of Vishnu. Daun Penh ordered villagers to raise the height of the hill northeast of her house and used the Koki wood to build a temple on the hill to house the four Buddha statues, and a shrine for the Vishnu image slightly lower down. The temple became known as Wat Phnom Daun Penh, which is now known as Wat Phnom, a small hill 27 meters (89 ft) in height.
Phnom Penh's official name, in its short form, is Krong Chaktomok (Khmer: ក្រុងចតុមុខ) meaning "City of Four Faces". Krong Chaktomuk is an abbreviation of the full name which was given by King Ponhea Yat, Krong Chaktomuk Mongkol Sakal Kampuchea Thipadei Serey Thereak Borvor Inthabot Borei Roth Reach Seima Maha Nokor (Khmer: ក្រុងចតុមុខមង្គលសកលកម្ពុជាធិបតី សិរីធរបវរ ឥន្ទបត្តបុរី រដ្ឋរាជសីមាមហានគរ). This loosely translates as "The place of four rivers that gives the happiness and success of the Khmer Kingdom, the highest leader as well as the impregnable city of the God Indra of the great kingdom".
History
First recorded a century after it is said to have taken place, the legend of the founding of Phnom Penh tells of a local woman, Penh (commonly referred to as Daun Penh ("Grandmother Penh" or "Old Lady Penh") in Khmer), living at Chaktomuk, the future Phnom Penh. It was the late 14th century, and the Khmer capital was still at Angkor near Siem Reap 350 km (217 mi) to the north. Gathering firewood along the banks of the river, Lady Penh spied a floating koki tree in the river and fished it from the water. Inside the tree, she found four Buddha statues and one of Vishnu.
The discovery was taken as a divine blessing and to some a sign that the Khmer capital was to be brought to Phnom Penh from Angkor.[citation needed] To house the new-found sacred objects, Penh raised a small hill on the west bank of the Tonle Sap River and crowned it with a shrine, now known as Wat Phnom at the north end of central Phnom Penh. "Phnom" is Khmer for "hill" and Penh's hill took on the name of the founder, and the area around it became known after the hill.
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 and destroyed by Siam a few years earlier. There is a stupa behind Wat Phnom that houses the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family as well as the remaining Buddhist statues from the Angkorean era. In the 17th century, Japanese immigrants also settled on the outskirts of present-day Phnom Penh. A small Portuguese community survived in Phnom Penh until the 17th century, undertaking commercial and religious activities in the country.
Phnom Penh remained the royal capital for 73 years, from 1432 to 1505. 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 (1860–1904), the eldest son of King Ang Duong, who ruled on behalf of Siam, that Phnom Penh became the permanent seat of government and capital of Cambodia, and also where the current Royal Palace was built. Beginning in 1870, the French colonial authorities turned a riverside village into a city where they built hotels, schools, prisons, barracks, banks, 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 employed the services of French contractor Le Faucheur to construct the first 300 concrete houses for sale and rental to Chinese traders.
By the 1920s, Phnom Penh was known as the "Pearl of Asia", and over the next four decades, Phnom Penh continued to experience rapid growth with the building of railways to Sihanoukville and Pochentong International Airport (now Phnom Penh International Airport). Phnom Penh's infrastructure saw major modernization under the rule of Sihanouk.
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 2-3 million, the bulk of whom were refugees from the fighting. The Khmer Rouge cut off supplies to the city for more than a year before it fell on April 17, 1975. Reports from journalists stated that the Khmer Rouge shelling "tortured the capital almost continuously," inflicting "random death and mutilation" on millions of trapped civilians. The Khmer Rouge forcibly evacuated the entire city after taking it, in what has been described as a death march: Francois Ponchaud wrote that "I shall never forget one cripple who had neither hands nor feet, writhing along the ground like a severed worm, or a weeping father carrying his ten-year-old daughter wrapped in a sheet tied around his neck like a sling, or the man with his foot dangling at the end of a leg to which it was attached by nothing but skin"; John Swain recalled that the Khmer Rouge were "tipping outpatients from the hospitals like garbage into the streets...In five years of war, this is the greatest caravan of human misery I have seen." All of its residents, including the wealthy and educated, were evacuated from the city and forced to do difficult labor on rural farms as "new people". Tuol Sleng High School was taken over by Pol Pot's forces and was turned into the S-21 prison camp, where people 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 the 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), 15 kilometers (9 mi) 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 the 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, and the 2008 census was 1.3 million.
Geography
Phnom Penh is located in the south-central region of Cambodia and is fully surrounded by the Kandal Province. The municipality is situated on the banks of the Tonlé Sap, Mekong, and Bassac rivers. These rivers provide freshwater and other natural resources to the city. Phnom Penh and the surrounding areas consist of a typical flood plain area for Cambodia. Although Phnom Penh is situated at 11.89 meters (39 ft) above the river, monsoon season flooding is a problem, and the river sometimes overflows its banks.
The city, located at 11.55°N 104.91667°E (11°33' North, 104°55' East), covers an area of 678.46 square kilometers (262 sq mi), with some 11,401 hectares (28,172 acres) in the municipality and 26,106 ha (64,509 acres) of roads. The agricultural land in the municipality amounts to 34.685 km2 (13 sq mi) with some 1.476 km2 (365 acres) under irrigation.
Climate
Phnom Penh has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). The climate is hot year-round with only minor variations. Temperatures typically range from 22 to 35 °C (72 to 95 °F) and the weather is subject to the tropical monsoons. The southwest monsoon blows inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand and the 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 in January and February.
The city has two distinct seasons. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, sees high temperatures accompanied by high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can drop to 22 °C (72 °F). But temperatures can approach 40 °C (104 °F) in April.
Administration
List of Phnom Penh Administrative Districts
Name of district (khan) Number of communes (Sangkat) Number of villages (Krom) Population as of 2008
Chamkar Mon 12 sangkats 95 kroms 182,004
Doun Penh 11 sangkats 134 kroms 126,550
Prampir Meakkakra 8 sangkats 33 kroms 91,895
Tuol Kouk 10 sangkats 143 kroms 171,200
Dangkao 13 sangkats 143 kroms 257,724
Mean Chey 4 sangkats 16 kroms 327,801
Ruessei Kaev 6 sangkats 21 kroms 196,684
Sen Sok 3 sangkats 32 kroms 147,967
Pou Senchey 13 sangkats 158 kroms 183 826
Chrouy Changvar 5 sangkats 22 kroms
new district
Preaek Pnov 5 sangkats 59 kroms
new district
Chbar Ampov 8 sangkats 30 kroms
new district
Demographics
As of 2008, Phnom Penh had a population of 2,009,264 people, with a total population density of 5,358 inhabitants per square kilometer (13,877/sq mi) in a 678.46 square kilometers (262 sq mi) city area. The population growth rate of the city is 3.92%. The city area has grown fourfold since 1979, and the metro area will continue to expand in order to support the city's growing population and economy. Phnom Penh's population is expected to increase to 3 million at the end of 2016.
Phnom Penh is mostly inhabited by Cambodians (or Khmers) – they represent 90% of the population of the city. There are large minorities of Chinese, Vietnamese, and other small ethnic groups who are Thai, Budong, Mnong Preh, Kuy, Chong, and Chams. The state religion is Theravada Buddhism. More than 90% of the people in Phnom Penh are Buddhists. Chams have been practicing Islam for hundreds of years. Since 1993, there has also been an increase in the practice of Christianity which was practically wiped out after 1975 when the Khmer Rouge took over. The official language is Khmer, but English and French are widely used in the city.
The city has the highest Human development index in the country, with an HDI of 0.936 compared to the worst HDI indicator of 0.220 in Mondulkiri—a rural area inhabited largely by hill tribes and aborigines. The number of slum-inhabitants at the end of 2012 was 105,771, compared with 85,807 at the start of 2012.
Note: As stated in the "History" paragraph (The 1998 Census put Phnom Penh's population at 862,000, and the 2008 census was 1.3 million.) the information collides with the information provided in the "Historical population" table. Needs editing.
Politics
Phnom Penh was one of five provinces that were won by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, capturing more than 57% of the vote, and 7 of the 12 allocated seats.
Parliament
Name Political Party
1 Tioulong Saumura CNRP
2 Yim Sovann CNRP
3 Son Chhay CNRP
4 Ho Vann CNRP
5 Keo Sambath CNRP
6 Ly Srey Vina CNRP
7 Dam Sethy CNRP
8 Keat Chhon CPP
9 Kep Chuktema CPP
10 Hou Sry CPP
11 Krouch Sam An CPP
12 Lauk Kheng CPP
Economy
Phnom Penh is Cambodia's economic center as it accounts for a large portion of the Cambodian economy. Double-digit economic growth rates in recent years have triggered an economic boom in Phnom Penh, with new hotels, restaurants, bars, high rises, and residential buildings springing up around the city.
The main economy is based on commercial interests such as garments, trading, and small and medium enterprises. In the past few years, the property business has been booming, with rapidly increasing real estate prices. Tourism is also a major contributor in the capital as more shopping and commercial centers open, making Phnom Penh one of the major tourist destinations in the country along with Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism made up 17.5 percent (US$2,053 million) of Cambodia's GDP in 2009 and accounts for 13.7 percent of total employment. One of the most popular areas in Phnom Penh for tourists is Sisowath Quay, alongside the Tonle Sap River. Sisowath Quay is a 3-mile strip of road that includes restaurants, bars, and hotels. The US$2.6 billion 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 Camko City and Phnom Penh. Other projects include:
Grand Phnom Penh International City (under construction)
De Castle Royal Condominium (Completed)
International Finance Complex (Under construction)
Gold Tower 42 (On hold 32 floors)
OCIC Tower (Completed)
Kolling super second-floor house
River Palace (Under construction)
Vattanac Capital Tower (completed)
The Peak (under construction
With booming economic growth seen since the 1990s, new shopping retails have opened as well as western-style such as Sorya Shopping Center, City Mall, Aeon Mall, and Parkson Mall. Many international brands had opened such as Mango (clothing), Salvatore Ferragamo, Montagut (clothing), Hugo Boss, Padini, and so on. Phnom Penh is coming to the center of many international financial banks and shopping centers in the middle of Southeast Asia lately.
The tallest skyscraper in Phnom Penh is Vattanac Capital Tower at a height of 9,800 meters (32,152 ft), dominating Phnom Penh's skyline with its neighbor skyscraper Canadia Tower (OCIC Tower). The tower was topped out in May 2012 and scheduled for completion in late 2012. Modern high rises have been constructed all around the city, not concentrated in any one particular area.
Outside view of Central market
The Central market Phsar Thmei is a tourist attraction. The four wings of the yellow-colored market are teeming with numerous stalls selling gold and silver jewelry, antique coins, clothing, clocks, flowers, food, fabrics, and shoes. Phsar Thmei is undergoing a major renovation, along with the creation of newer stalls.
Education
Universities and colleges
The University of Cambodia (UC) Khmer: សាកលវិទ្យាល័យកម្ពុជា
The Phnom Penh International University (PPIU) Khmer: សាកលវិទ្យាល័យភ្នំពេញអន្តរជាតិ
École Royale d'Administration (ERA) or school of administration.
The Royal University of Phnom Penh Khmer: សកលវិទ្យាល័យភូមិន្ទភ្នំពេញ (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 education institutions in Cambodia, most of which have no campuses. Several international charities, like A New Day Cambodia, operate independent educational facilities in addition to public schools for students.
The Royal University of Law and Economic Sciences (RULE) Khmer: សាកលវិទ្យាល័យភូមិន្ទនីតិសាស្រ្ត និង វិទ្យាសាស្រ្តសេដ្ឋកិច្ច
The Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA) Khmer: សាកលវិទ្យាល័យភូមិន្ទវិចិត្រសិល្បៈ
The Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) Khmer: សាកលវិទ្យាល័យភូមិន្ទកសិកម្ម
The National University of Management (NUM) Khmer: សាកលវិទ្យាល័យជាតិគ្រប់គ្រង
The Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC) Khmer: វិទ្យាស្ថានបច្ចេកវិទ្យាកម្ពុជា
The Buddhist Institute Khmer: វិទ្យាស្ថានពុទ្ធសាសនបណ្ឌិត្យ was founded on May 12, 1930, and is the principal state Buddhist institution in Cambodia.
The Royal Academy of Cambodia Khmer: រាជបណ្ឌិត្យសភាកម្ពុជា
The Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute Khmer: វិទ្យាស្ថានស្រាវជ្រាវ និង អភិវឌ្ឍកសិកម្មកម្ពុជា
The National Institute of Education (Cambodia) Khmer: វិទ្យាស្ថានជាតិរអប់រំ
The National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia Khmer: វិទ្យាស្ថានជាតិពហុបច្ចេកទេសកម្ពុជា
The National Technical Training Institute Khmer: វិទ្យាស្ថានជាតិបណ្តុះបណ្តាលបច្ចេកទេស
The Prek Leap National College of Agriculture Khmer: សាលាជាតិកសិកម្មព្រែកលៀប
The University of Health Sciences - Cambodia Khmer: សាកលវិទ្យាល័យវិទ្យាសាស្រ្តសុខាភិបាល
The National Institute of Business Khmer: វិទ្យាស្ថានជាតិពាណិជ្ជសាស្រ្ត
The PreahKossomak Polytechnic Institute Khmer: វិទ្យាស្ថានពហុបច្ចេកទេសព្រះកុសុមះ
The Industrial Technical Institute Khmer: វិទ្យាស្ថានបច្ចេកទេសឧស្សាហកម្ម
Zaman University The university was founded in 2010 which has four faculties divided into eight departments.
Primary and secondary schools
Local schools:
Lycee Sisowath Khmer: វិទ្យាល័យស៊ីសុវត្ថិ
Chaktomuk Secondary School Khmer: អនុវិទ្យាល័យចតុមុខ
Bak Touk High School Khmer: វិទ្យាល័យបាក់ទូក
Chea Sim Samaky High School Khmer: វិទ្យាល័យជាស៊ីមសាមគ្គី
Indradevi High School Khmer: វិទ្យាល័យឥន្ទ្រទេវី
Chea Sim Santhormok High School Khmer: វិទ្យាល័យជាស៊ីមសន្ធរម៉ុក
Chea Sim Chrouy Changvar High School Khmer: វិទ្យាល័យជាស៊ីមជ្រោយចង្វារ
Chbar Ampov High School Khmer: វិទ្យាល័យច្បារអំពៅ
International schools
Zaman International School
Lycée français René Descartes de Phnom Penh (French)
Beijing International School (Chinese)
International School of Phnom Penh
American Intercon School (AiS)
American Intercon Institute (Aii)
Australian Centre for Education (ACE)
Western International School
Culture
Phnom Penh also has its own dialect of Khmer. Speakers of the Phnom Penh dialect often elide syllables, which has earned it the reputation for being lazy speech. Phnom Penh is also known for its influence on New Khmer Architecture. Phnom Penh is notable for Ka tieu Phnom Penh, its variation on rice-noodle soup, a dish available in sit-down cafes as well as 'street' cafes. The city is both the economic and cultural center of Cambodia.
Music and the arts are making a revival throughout Cambodia, especially in Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh currently hosts a number of music events throughout the city. 'Indie' bands (those without corporate sponsors) have grown in number.
The two most visited museums in the city are the National Museum, which is the country's leading historical and archaeological museum, and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former Khmer Rouge prison.
Chaul Chnam Thmey April 13–15
Main article: Chaul Chnam Thmey
At this time, Phnom Penh celebrates Cambodian New Year, an occasion increasingly popular with tourists. During this typically hottest part of the year, water gets thrown around adding to the party atmosphere along with dancing and music. The precise date changes year-by-year but this holiday lasts, at least, three days. This festival marks the turn of the year based on the ancient Khmer calendar and also marks the end of the prior year's harvest.
Water Festival November
Main article: Bon Om Thook
The largest annual festival in Phnom Penh, this lively gathering celebrates the reversing of the flow of the Tonlé Sap river. The holiday lasts three days as people flood into the city to enjoy the fireworks, colorful boat races, live concerts, eating, and partying. The boat racing dates back to ancient times marking the strengths of the Khmer marine forces during the Khmer Empire.
On November 22, 2010, at least 348 people were crushed to death in a bridge stampede at the festival.
Pchum Ben October 11–15 (2012)
Pchum Ben is a very important aspect of Cambodian culture. It may be translated as "gathering together" to make offerings and is a time of reunion, commemoration, express love and appreciation for one's ancestors. By offering food and good karma to those possibly trapped in the spirit world, living relatives help assuage their misery and guide them back into the cycle of reincarnation.
Visak Bochea May
Main article: Vesākha
Vesākha is an annual holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists in Cambodia. Sometimes informally called "Buddha's Birthday", it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment (nirvāṇa), and passing away (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha.
Cityscape and architecture
The oldest structure is Wat Phnom from the founding days of the city, constructed in 1373. The main tourist attractions are the Royal Palace with the Silver Pagoda, and the National Museum, constructed during the French colonial era in the late 19th century in the classical Khmer style and hosting a vast collection of Khmer antiquities. The Independence Monument (Khmer: Vimean Akareach), although from the 1950s, is also constructed in the ancient Khmer style.
The French, who were the colonial masters from the 19th century 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 characterized 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 classes, new suburbs were built in the 1950s and 60s. Although these buildings survived the Khmer Rouge era and the civil war, today they are under threat due to economic development and financial speculation.[citation needed] 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 outskirts of the city, the Choeung Ek Genocide Center. The Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument was commissioned by the Vietnamese communists as a symbol of Khmer-Vietnamese friendship during the late 1970s following the liberation of Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge.
The population, foreign investment, and urban development in Phnom Penh grew dramatically during the 1990s and early 2000s. The rapid growth resulted in the city's infrastructure distinctly lacking (the drainage system is particularly notorious, and Phnom Penh frequently floods during the wet season), and a need for both residential and commercial spaces. The simultaneous demand for residential and commercial housing and the increase of international investment has led to the planning, if not construction, of several satellite cities. The largest of these cities are Grand Phnom Penh International City, CamKo City, Diamond Island City, Boeung Kak Town, and Chruy Cangva City.
On the outskirts of the city, farmland has been developed into garment factories and housing for lower economic classes and those displaced by the new development in the city center.
Embassy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea:
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
