Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh
Aerial view of Phnom Penh
Official seal of Phnom Penh Seal
Nickname:  Pearl of Asia (pre-1960s)
Location of Phnom Penh Province, Cambodia
Country	Cambodia
Province	Phnom Penh
Subdivisions	7 districts (khans)
Settled	1372
Became Capital	1865
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Mayor & Governor	H.E. Keb Chutema (Khmer: កែប ជុគិមា)
• Vice Governors	H.E. Than Sina, H.E. Map Sarin, H.E. Seng Tong
Area
• Total	376 km2 (145 sq mi)
Population  (2006)
• Total	2,009,264
• Density	5,343.8/km2 (13,840/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC/GMT +7 hours
Area code	855 (023)
Website	http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh

Phnom Penh (official Romanization: Phnum Pénh; IPA: [pʰnum peːɲ]) is the largest, most populous and capital city of Cambodia. It is also the capital of the Phnom Penh municipality.

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 one million of Cambodia's population of over 13 million.

Etymology

Stupas in front of Wat Phnom.

The city takes its name from the Wat Phnom Daun Penh (known now as just the Wat Phnom or Hill Temple), built in 1373 to house five statues of Buddha on a man made hill 27 meters (89 ft) high. It was named after Daun Penh (Grandma Penh), a wealthy widow.

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 was "Krong Chaktomuk Mongkol Sakal Kampuchea Thipadei Sereythor Inthabot Borei Roth Reach Seima Maha Nokor".

History

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.

It was not until 1866, under the reign of King Norodom I, that Phnom Penh became the permanent seat of government, and the Royal Palace (pictured) was built. This marked the beginning of the transformation of what was essentially a village into a great city with the French Colonialists expanding the canal system to control the wetlands, constructing roads and building a port.

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.

The exterior of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Phnom Penh

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. Tuol Svay Prey High School is now the Tuol Sleng Museum in which 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 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 2001 it was estimated at slightly over 1 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 11.55°N 104.91667°E / 11.55; 104.91667 (11°33' North, 104°55' East, [1]). Covers an area of 375 square kilometres (145 sq mi) which some 11,401 hectares (28,172 acres) in the municipality and 26,106 hectares (64,509 acres) of roads. The agricultural land in the municipality amounts to 34.685 square kilometres (13 sq mi) with some 1.476 square kilometres (365 acres) under irrigation.

Climate

Climate Diagram of Phnom Penh

The climate is hot year-round with only minor variations. City temperatures range from 10° to 38 °C (50° 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 raise up to 40 °C (104 °F) around April and is generally accompanied with high humidity. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can drop to 22 °C (72 °F). The best months to visit the city are November to January when temperatures and humidity are lower.

Climate data for Phnom Penh
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: weather.com

Policing

• Law enforcement in Cambodia

Administration

File:Phnom penh districts map.jpg

Administrative districts of Phnom Penh

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 Reussey Keo 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. [2]

List of Phnom Penh Administrative Units
Name of district (khan) (since January 2003)	Number of communes (sangkat) (since September 2006)	Number of villages (phum) (since December 2006)
Chamkarmon	12 sangkats	?
Daun Penh	11 sangkats	?
Prampir Makara	8 sangkats	?
Tuol Kork	10 sangkats	?
Dangkor	15 sangkats	?
Meanchey	8 sangkats	?
Ruessey Keo	12 sangkats	?

Demographics

As of 2006, Phnom Penh had a population of 2,009,264 people, with a total population density of Template:PD km2 to mi2 in a 375 km² (145 sq mi) city area. Population growth in the city is 3.92%.

Phnom Penh is mostly inhabited by Cambodians (or Khmers) - they represent 90% of the population of the city. There are large minorities of Vietnamese and Chinese, other ethnic groups are Thai, Budong, Mnong Preh, Kuy, Chong, Chams. 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

File:French colonial architecture phnom penh.PNG

Example of French colonial architecture in Phnom Penh

Situated at the confluence of the Mekong, Bassac and Tonlé Sap Rivers, Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, has a population of approximately two million people. Despite some dilapidation resulting from decades of war, the city retains its traditional Khmer and colonial charm. French villas along tree-lined boulevards remind the visitor that the city was once considered a gem of Southeast Asia. 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.

Cityscape and architecture

The oldest structure is the Wat Phnom from the founding days of the city, constructed in 1373. The main tourist attractions is 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.

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 famous landmark of the colonial era is the Hotel Le Royal.

Starting with independence from the French in the 1950's and lasting until the era of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's, 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 Institut of Foreign Languages and the National Sports Centre. With the growth of the upper and entrepreneurial middle class, new suburbs were built in the 1950's 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 Frangipani and 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.

The Phnom Penh Shooting range and various golf courses are at the leisure for visitors and locals. The addition of a new urban development called Camko City is meant to bolster the city landscape.

Shopping

The market was built in an intensely art deco style by the colonial French.

Phsar Thom Thmei market was built in the shape of a dome in 1937 and is the capital's main shopping centre.

Nowadays, the market is a tourist hot spot, most tourists that came to Phnom Penh visited this market because they want to see the varieties of products that this market has to offer. 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.

With the economic growth seen since the 1990s, new shops have openend as well as western-style malls such as Sorya Market.

Media

Newspapers

File:Independence monument phnom penh.jpg

The Independence Monument commemorating independence from France in 1953.

File:Silver pagoda royal palace phnom penh.jpg

The Silver Pagoda as part of the Royal Palace complex.

File:National museum entrance phnom penh.jpg

The National Museum houses the world's largest collection of Khmer art.

File:Phnom penh waterfront.jpg

View of the waterfront.

The Phnom Penh Post is a fortnightly English-language newspaper published in Phnom Penh. Founded in 1992 by publisher Michael Hayes, it is Cambodia's oldest English-language newspaper. It is printed in full-color Berliner format.

It has a staff of Cambodian and foreign journalists covering national news, and also prints a police blotter, which has items translated from local Khmer-language dailies.

Since its founding in Phnom Penh in July 1992, the printed edition has been published on a fortnightly basis, and read in Cambodia and worldwide by over 20,000 people in more than 40 countries.

The Cambodia Daily is Cambodia's only English-language daily newspaper based in Phnom Penh. It was started in 1993 by Bernard Krisher, an American journalist. Krisher hired two young and relatively inexperienced journalists, Barton Biggs and Robin McDowell, as the paper's first editors. The first issue was published in 1993, and the paper has published ever since. It is printed in an A4-size format and is delivered six days a week, Monday to Saturday, with the Saturday edition a full-color Weekend magazine. The Monday to Friday editions are black and white. The Daily has access to many major wire services (Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post) and has a staff of Cambodian and foreign journalists covering local and national news. A daily section in Khmer language carries articles translated from the main English-language section. An international edition is available by annual subscription for US$200; each weekly edition compiles the staff-produced content from the previous week.

Khmer language daily newspapers include:

• Sralagn' Khmer[3]
• Chakraval Daily
• Kampuchea Thmei Daily
• Kampuchea Thnai Nes (Cambodia Today)
• Kanychok Sangkhum
• Ka-set.info[4]
• Koh Santepheap (Island of Peace) [5]
• Moneaksekar Khmer (Khmer Conscience) - Published by the Sam Rainsy Party.
• Rasmei Kampuchea (Light of Kampuchea) - Cambodia's largest daily, it circulates about 18,000 copies.
• Samleng Yuvachun (Voice of Khmer Youth)
• Udomkate Khmer (Khmer Ideal)
• Wat Phnom Daily

French language daily newpapers:

• Cambodge Soir [6]
• Ka-set [7]

Transport

File:Phnom penh intl airport.jpg

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 rail service. There are two bus companies, Phnom Penh Public transport and GST Express, servicing to Sihanoukville, Kompong Chang, Udong & Takeo.

Also Phnom Penh Sorya Transport Co. offers bus service to several provincial destinations along the National Routes as well as Ho Chi Minh City. Motocycles 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:

National Highway	Code	Length		Origin	Terminal
National Highway 1	10001	167.10 km	103.83 mi	Phnom Penh	Vietnam Border
National Highway 2	10002	120.60 km	74.94 mi	Phnom Penh	Vietnam Border
National Highway 3	10003	202.00 km	125.52 mi	Phnom Penh	Veal Rinh
National Highway 4	10004	226.00 km	140.43 mi	Phnom Penh	Sihanoukville
National Highway 5	10005	407.45 km	253.18 mi	Phnom Penh	Thailand Border
National Highway 6	10006	416.00 km	258.49 mi	Phnom Penh	Bantey Meanchey

Education

File:Royal university of phnom penh building.jpg

One of the main buildings on the campus of the Royal University of Phnom Penh

The Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP) is the oldest and largest institution of higher education in Cambodia. As of 2007, the university has over 5,000 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).

Sport

Main article: Sport in Cambodia

File:National olympic stadium and sports complex.jpg

Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium

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.

Football and the martial arts as in the rest of the country are popular in particular.

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

• Francois Chau, actor
• Narath Tan - painter
• Norodom Ranariddh, politician
• Norodom Sihamoni, king of Cambodia since 2004
• Norodom Sihanouk, king of Cambodia until 2004
• Rithy Panh, film director
• Sam Rainsy, politician
• Tioulong Saumura, politician
• Vann Molyvann - architect
• Vann Nath - painter
• Yim Guechse - poet and author

Sister cities

• Long Beach, California, USA
• Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
• Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Literature

• LeBoutillier, Kris (2003). Journey Through Phnom Penh. Times Editions. pp. 80 pages. ISBN 978-9812325969.
• Hoskin, John. Dreams of Cambodia Phnom Penh. pp. 56 pages. ISBN 978-9889814021.
• Igout, Michel (1993). Phnom Penh Then and Now. White Lotus Ltd. pp. 56 pages. ASIN B000UCLNR2.
• Denise Affonço: To The End Of Hell: One Woman's Struggle to Survive Cambodia's Khmer Rouge; ISBN 978-0955572951

External links

Official

• Phnom Penh Government Website in English
• Profile

Other

• Template:Wikitravel
• Khmer Architecture Tours - bicycle tours around Phnom Penh highlighting architecture from the 1950's-70's
• A web site designed and managed in Cambodia by Cambodians - jobs, maps, cultural translation, digital phrase-book of the Khmer language
• 2006 Cambodia Travel Guide - Phnom Penh
• Official website of the Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia's oldest English-language newspaper, issued fortnightly.
• Detailed Phnom Penh map at the website of Cambodia Yellow Pages

• Visit Phnom Penh? Destinations in Cambodia
• PPCTV ISP The first cable modem internet service provider in Phnom Penh