Description : Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm, commonly known as Phan Rang, is a city in Vietnam and the capital of Ninh Thuận Province. The community has a population of 161,000 (2004), of which 91,000 (2004) live in the main city. The name Phan Rang' is the Vietnamese pronunciation of Panduranga (a Sanskrit word of Hindu origin) or Parang. The name Tháp Chàm means "Cham Temple/Tower" and is named after the Po Klong Garai Temple in the northern part of the city. What is now Phan Rang was formerly known as Panduranga, the capital of the kingdom of Champa. The town of Phan Rang was established in 1917 during the Nguyễn dynasty, by edict of Emperor Khải Định, and remained the provincial capital of Ninh Thuận Province until 1976, when the province merged with Bình Thuận Province to form Thuận Hải Province. When the Japanese occupied the country in World War II, they established an airfield and it was later used by the French. During the Republic of Vietnam, Phan Rang was the site of the United States Air Force's Phan Rang Air Base in the Vietnam War. The town was divided into Phan Rang in the east, which became part of Ninh Hải District and Tháp Chàm in the west, which became part of An Son district. The two were again combined in 1992 to become Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm, the capital of Ninh Thuận Province, achieving city status in 2007. What is now Phan Rang was formerly known as Panduranga, the capital of the kingdom of Champa between 757 and 1832
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