Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
and
most populous city
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the city proper, cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or th ...
of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
. It has been the national capital since the
French protectorate of Cambodia
The French protectorate of Cambodia ( km, ប្រទេសកម្ពុជាក្រោមអាណាព្យាបាលបារាំង; french: Protectorat français du Cambodge) refers to the Kingdom of Cambodia when it was a Fren ...
and has grown to become the nation's
primate city
A primate city is a city that is the largest in its country, province, Federated state, state, or region, and disproportionately larger than any others in the urban hierarchy. A ''primate city distribution'' is a rank-size distribution that has on ...
and its economic, industrial, and cultural centre.
Phnom Penh succeeded
Angkor Thom
Angkor Thom ( km, អង្គរធំ ; meaning "Great City"), alternatively Nokor Thom ( km, នគរធំ ) located in present-day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire, Khmer Empire. It was established in ...
as the capital of the Khmer nation but was abandoned several times before being reestablished in 1865 by
King Norodom
Norodom ( km, នរោត្តម, ; born Ang Voddey ( km, អង្គវតី, ); 3 February 1834 – 24 April 1904) was Monarchy of Cambodia, King of Cambodia from 19 October 1860 to his death on 24 April 1904. He was the eldest son of ...
. The city formerly functioned as a processing center, with textiles, pharmaceuticals, machine manufacturing, and rice milling. Its chief assets, however, were cultural. Institutions of higher learning included the
Royal University of Phnom Penh
The Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP; km, សាកលវិទ្យាល័យភូមិន្ទភ្នំពេញ; french: Université royale de Phnom Penh) is a national research university of Cambodia, located in the Phnom P ...
(established in 1960 as Royal Khmer University), with schools of engineering, fine arts, technology, and agricultural sciences, the latter at Chamkar Daung, a suburb. Also located in Phnom Penh were the Royal University of Agronomic Sciences and the Agricultural School of Prek Leap.
The city was nicknamed the "Pearl of Asia" for its early 20th century colonial French architecture, which included
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
works. Phnom Penh, along with
Siem Reap
Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia.
Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...
and
Sihanoukville, are significant global and domestic tourist destinations for Cambodia. Founded in 1372, the city is noted for its historical architecture and attractions. It became the national capital in 1434 following the
fall of Angkor
The Fall of Angkor, also known as the Sack of Angkor or Siege of Angkor was a seven-month siege by the Ayutthaya Kingdom on the Khmer capital of Angkor. After the Khmer refused to recognize Thai authority, the Thai besieged Angkor and sacked the ...
, and remained so until 1497. It regained its capital status during the French colonial era in 1865. There are a number of surviving colonial-era buildings scattered along the grand
boulevards.
On the banks of the
Tonlé Sap,
Mekong
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...
, and
Bassac Rivers, Phnom Penh is home to more than 2 million people, approximately 14% of the Cambodian population.
[ The Greater Phnom Penh area includes the nearby ]Ta Khmau
Ta Khmau ( km, តាខ្មៅ ; ) is the capital and largest city of Kandal province in central Cambodia.
The city is about 11 km (7 mi) south of Phnom Penh (directly borders Phnom Penh).
Approximately 60% of the people of Ta Khmau tra ...
city and some districts of Kandal province.
Etymology
Phnom Penh (lit. 'Penh's Hill') takes its name from the present Wat Phnom
Wat Phnom ( km, វត្តភ្នំ, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; "Mountain Pagoda") is a Buddhist temple ( wat), a pagoda, that symbolizes the name of Phnom Penh, and a historical site that is part of the Khmer national identity. Wat Phnom has a t ...
(lit. 'Hill Temple') or from the former Funan Kingdom, an ancient kingdom that existed from 1st to 7th century AD in Southeast Asia and the forerunner of the current Cambodian monarchy
The monarchy of Cambodia is the head of state of the Kingdom of Cambodia. In the contemporary period, the King's power has been limited to that of a symbolic figurehead. The monarchy had been in existence since at least 68 AD except during ...
. Legend has it that in 1372, a wealthy widow named Penh
Penh ( km, ពេញ ), commonly referred to as Daun Penh ( km, ដូនពេញ ; meaning "Grandmother Penh" or "Old Lady Penh") or Lady Penh, was a wealthy woman who is credited as having founded Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំព ...
found a Koki tree floating down the Tonlé Sap river after a storm. Inside the tree were four bronze Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
statues and a stone statue of Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
. 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 in height.
Phnom Penh's former official name is Krong Chaktomuk Serei Mongkol ( km, ក្រុងចតុមុខសិរីមង្គល, lit. 'City of the Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
's Faces'), in its short form as Krong Chaktomuk (lit. "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 Serei Theakreak Bavar Intabat Borei Roat Reach Seima Moha Nokor'' ( km, ក្រុងចតុមុខមង្គលសកលកម្ពុជាធិបតី សិរីធរបវរ ឥន្ទបត្តបុរី រដ្ឋរាជសីមាមហានគរ ). This loosely translates as "The place of four rivers that gives the happiness and success of Khmer Kingdom, the highest leader as well as impregnable city of the God Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
of the great kingdom".
History
The initial settlement of Phnom Penh is believed to have been established since the 5th century AD, according to the discovery of ancient kiln site in Choeung Ek commune of Dangkao district, southern part of central Phnom Penh in the early 2000s. Choeung Ek archaeological site was one of the largest kiln pottery center in Cambodia and the earliest known kiln sites in Southeast Asia to produced the ceremonial vessels known as kendi from 5th to 13th century. Archaeologist stated that a large community is surrounded by a circular earthwork structure that is 740 metres in diameter and 4 metres high, built in the 11th century. In addition, there are remnants of other ancient village infrastructure, irrigation system, inscription, Shiva linga
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...
as well as an ancient brick temple foundation and its ornate remains which dated back to Funan
Funan (; km, ហ៊្វូណន, ; vi, Phù Nam, Chữ Hán: ) was the name given by Chinese cartographers, geographers and writers to an ancient Indianized state—or, rather a loose network of states ''(Mandala)''—located in mainla ...
era.
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
Penh ( km, ពេញ ), commonly referred to as Daun Penh ( km, ដូនពេញ ; meaning "Grandmother Penh" or "Old Lady Penh") or Lady Penh, was a wealthy woman who is credited as having founded Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំព ...
(commonly referred to as ''Daun Penh'' (''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 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. 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
Angkor Thom ( km, អង្គរធំ ; meaning "Great City"), alternatively Nokor Thom ( km, នគរធំ ) located in present-day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire, Khmer Empire. It was established in ...
after it was captured and destroyed by Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
a few years earlier. There is a stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
behind Wat Phnom that houses the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family as well as the remaining Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
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 activity 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
Longvek or Lavek ( km, លង្វែក, or , ; meaning "intersection" or "crossroads") was a city in Cambodia. It was the second capital city during the Cambodia's Post-Angkor period which began after the Angkor era. The city was known to ear ...
, Lavear Em and Oudong
( km, ឧដុង្គ; also romanized as Udong or Odong) is a former town of the post-Angkorian period (1618–1863) situated in present-day ''Phsar Daek'' Commune, Ponhea Lueu District, Kandal Province, Cambodia. Located at the foothill of th ...
.
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
This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent.
Africa
* Abdin Palace, Cairo
* Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo
* Koubbeh Palace, Cairo
* Tahra Palace, Cairo
* Menelik Palace
* Jubilee Palace
* Guenete Leul Palace
* Imperial Palace- Massa ...
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 International Airport ( km, អាកាសយានដ្ឋានអន្តរជាតិភ្នំពេញ; french: Aéroport international de Phnom Penh) is the busiest and largest airport in Cambodia, occupying a land ar ...
). Phnom Penh's infrastructure saw major modernisation under the rule of Sihanouk.
During the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, Cambodia was used as a base by the People's Army of Vietnam
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
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 People's Army of Vietnam, the Viet Cong, the South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
ese and their allies, the Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
, and American air strikes. 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: François Ponchaud
François Ponchaud (born 1939 in Sallanches) is a French Catholic priest and missionary to Cambodia. He is best known for his documentation of the genocide which occurred under the Khmer Rouge (KR), and for being one of the first people to expos ...
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"; Jon Swain
Jon (John) Anketell Brewer Swain (born 1948) is a British journalist and writer.
Swain's book ''River of Time: A Memoir of Vietnam '' chronicles his experiences from 1970 to 1975 during the war in Indochina, including the fall of Cambodia.
Ea ...
recalled that the Khmer Rouge were "tipping out patients 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 labour on rural farms as " new people". Tuol Sleng High School was taken over by Pol Pot
Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
'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", spies, 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
The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum ( km, សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) or simply Tuol Sleng ( km, ទួលស្លែង, link=no, ; lit. "Hill of ...
, where Khmer Rouge torture devices and photos of their victims are displayed. Choeung Ek (the Killing Fields
The Killing Fields ( km, វាលពិឃាត, ) are a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than one million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime (the Communist Party of Kampuchea) during its rule of t ...
), 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
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
were driven out of Phnom Penh by the People's Army of Vietnam in 1979, and people began to return to the city. Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
is historically a state with which Cambodia has had many conflicts, therefore this liberation
Liberation or liberate may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War
* "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode
* "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode
Gaming
* '' Liberati ...
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
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Loans were made from the Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...
and the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
to reinstate a clean water supply, roads and other infrastructure. The 1998 Census put Phnom Penh's population at 862,000;[General Population Census of Cambodia 1998, National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Phnom Penh, Cambodia] and the 2008 census was 1.3 million.[Cambodian 2008 census preliminary results, Statistics Japan](_blank)
2–6, Tables 2.2–2.6 By 2019, its population reached over 2.2 million, based on general population census.
Geography
Phnom Penh is in the south-central region of Cambodia, and is fully surrounded by the Kandal province. The municipality is on the banks of the Tonlé Sap, Mekong
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...
, 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
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
area for Cambodia. Although Phnom Penh is at above the river, monsoon season flooding is a problem, and the river sometimes overflows its banks.
The city, at (11°33' North, 104°55' East), covers an area of , with some in the municipality and of roads. The agricultural land in the municipality amounts to with some under irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
.
Climate
Phnom Penh has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Aw''). The climate is hot year-round with only minor variations. Temperatures typically range from and weather is subject to the tropical monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
s. The southwest monsoon blows inland bringing moisture-laden winds from the Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...
and Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
from May to November. The northeast monsoon ushers in the dry season, which lasts from December to April. 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 November, sees high temperatures accompanied by high humidity. The dry season lasts from December to April; when overnight temperatures can drop to .
Administration
Phnom Penh is an autonomous municipality of area with a government status equal to that of the provinces. The autonomous municipality is subdivided into 14 administrative divisions called ''khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
s'' (sections). The district s are subdivided into 105 ''sangkat
Administrative divisions of Cambodia have several levels. Cambodia is divided into 24 provinces (''Khaet''; km, ខេត្ត, ) and the special administrative unit Phnom Penh. Though a different administrative unit, Phnom Penh is at provin ...
s'' (quarters), and further subdivided into 953 '' phums'' (villages). All ''khans'' are under the governance of Phnom Penh. Dangkao, Meanchey
Mean Chey ( km, មានជ័យ, , lit. "Victorious") is an administrative district ('' khan'') located in the south-eastern part of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. As of 2019, due to boundary changes, its population decreased from 2008 but is the seco ...
, Porsenchey
Pou Senchey ( km, ខណ្ឌពោធិ៍សែនជ័យ) is an administrative district ('' khan'') of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Phnom Penh International Airport is in Pou Senchey District.
Administration
Khan Pou Senchey was established ...
, Sen Sok
Sen Sok ( km, សែនសុខ) is an administrative district (''Administrative divisions of Cambodia, khan'') of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It contains the Sen Sok International University Hospital.
Administration
Khan Sen Sok was established in ...
and Russey Keo
Russey Keo ( km, ប្ញស្សីកែវ ; meaning "Crystal Bamboo"), also spelled as Russei Keo, is a district (''Administrative divisions of Cambodia, khan'') in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This district consists of the northern and north-easter ...
are considered the outskirts of the city.
Phnom Penh is governed by the governor who acts as the top executive of the city as well as overseeing the Municipal Military Police, Municipal Police, and Bureau of Urban Affairs. Below the governor is the first vice governor and five vice governors. The chief of cabinet, who holds the same status as the vice governors, heads the cabinet consisting of eight deputy chiefs of cabinet who in turn are in charge of the 27 administrative departments. Every ''khans'' also has a chief.
Demographics
, Phnom Penh had a population of 2,129,371 people, with a total population density of 3,136 inhabitants per square kilometre in a 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.
A survey by the National Institute of Statistics in 2017 showed that 95.3% of the population in Phnom Penh are Khmer, 4% Chams, and 0.7% others, predominantly Chinese, Vietnamese, and other small ethnic groups who are Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
, Budong, Mnong Preh, Kuy
Kuy, also known as Kui, Suay or Kuay ( th, ภาษากูย; km, ភាសាកួយ), is a Katuic language, part of the larger Austroasiatic family spoken by the Kuy people of Southeast Asia.
Kuy is one of the Katuic languages with ...
and Chong.
The official language is Khmer, but English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
are widely used in the city.
The number of slum
A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inh ...
-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.''
Religion
The state religion is Theravada Buddhism
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
. More than 97.8% of the people in Phnom Penh are Buddhists. Chams have been practicing Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
for hundreds of years. Small percentage follow Christianity.
Politics
Phnom Penh is allocated 12 seats in the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
, making it the largest constituency.
Members of Parliament
Economy
Phnom Penh is Cambodia's economic centre 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, schools, bars, high rises and residential buildings springing up in the city.
The 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 centres open, making Phnom Penh one of the major tourist destinations in South East Asia along with Siem Reap
Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia.
Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...
and Sihanoukville. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism made up 19.2 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
Sisowath Quay ( km, តីរវិថីព្រះស៊ីសុវត្ថិ, Preah Sisowath Quay) is a 3-kilometre riverfront strip along the Tonlé Sap River in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, lined with hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops ...
, alongside the Tonle Sap River. Sisowath Quay is a five kilometre strip of road that includes restaurants, bars, and hotels.
The billion new urban development, Camko City
CamKo City ( km, កាំកូស៊ីធី) is a $2 billion urban development project in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. ''CamKo City'' means Cambodia and Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it h ...
, 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)
* Gold Tower 42 (On hold 32 floors construction begins again in the mid of 2018)
* OCIC Tower (Completed)
* Kokling super second floor house
* Vattanac Capital Tower
Vattanac Capital ( km, វឌ្ឍនៈកាពីតាល) is a , 39-storey building in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is owned by Vattanac Properties Limited, an affiliate of the Vattanac Bank. Construction started in 2009 and the building toppe ...
(completed)
* The Bridge (Completed)
* The Peak (Completed)
With booming economic growth seen since the 1990s, new shopping venues have opened, such as Sorya Center Point, Aeon Mall Phnom Penh, Aeon Mall Sen Sok City and Olympia Mall. Many international brands have opened such as Mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, Padini Concept Store, Lily, Timberland, Jimmy Choo, CC Double O, MO, Brands Outlet, Nike, Converse, Pony
A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...
, Armani Exchange
Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and ...
, and Super Dry
is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo.
In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: alcoholic beverage business ( ...
.
The tallest skyscraper in Phnom Penh is Vattanac Capital
Vattanac Capital ( km, វឌ្ឍនៈកាពីតាល) is a , 39-storey building in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is owned by Vattanac Properties Limited, an affiliate of the Vattanac Bank. Construction started in 2009 and the building toppe ...
Tower at a height of , dominating Phnom Penh's skyline with its neighbour skyscraper Canadia Tower (OCIC Tower). The tower was completed in December 2014. Modern high rises have been constructed all around the city, not concentrated in any one particular area.
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 under a major renovation, along with the creation of newer stalls.
Education
Universities and colleges
Norton University
Primary and secondary schools
International schools
Supplementary and extra schools
The Japanese Supplementary School of Phnom Penh, formerly known in English as the Phnom Penh Japanese School,[アジアの補習授業校一覧(平成25年4月15日現在)]
(). Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...
. Retrieved on February 13, 2015. "プノンペン Phnom Penh Japanese School No,3EO St.390 PhnomPenh Cambodia" is a part-time Japanese School, operated by the Japanese Association of Cambodia (JACAM;カンボジア日本人会 ''Kambojia Nihonjin-kai''). It is in Sangkat Toek Thla in Sen Sok. It was established in 2002. It had 60 students in June 2011.
Culture
Phnom Penh also has its own dialect of Khmer. Speakers of the Phnom Penh dialect often elide
In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run toget ...
syllables, which has earned it a reputation for being lazy speech. Phnom Penh is also known for its influence on New Khmer Architecture
New Khmer Architecture ( km, ស្ថាបត្យកម្មបែបថ្មី) was coined by authors Helen Grant Ross and Darryl Leon Collins to describe an architectural movement in Cambodia during the 1950s and 1960s. The style blended e ...
. Phnom Penh is notable for Ka tieu
''Kuyteav'' ( km, គុយទាវ, UNGEGN: ) is a Cambodian noodle soup consisting of rice noodles with pork stock and toppings. A popular breakfast dish in Cambodia, ''kuyteav'' can be found at marketplace stalls, roadside vendors, resta ...
Phnom Penh, its variation on rice noodle soup, a dish available in sit-down cafes as well as street cafes.
The city hosts a number of music events throughout the city. Indie bands have grown in number due also in part to the emergence of private music schools such as SoundsKool Music (also operating in the city of Siem Reap), and Music Arts School (registered as a non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
). The Cambodian fishing dance originated in Phnom Penh at the Royal University of Fine Arts in the 1960s.
The two most visited museums in the city are the National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
, which is the country's leading historical and archaeological museum, and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum ( km, សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) or simply Tuol Sleng ( km, ទួលស្លែង, link=no, ; lit. "Hill of ...
, a former Khmer Rouge prison. The National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
hosts celebrations of Cambodian dance and music, including a popular classic Apsara dance show of traditional folk dances as well as original creations.
Cambodian New Year
At this time, Phnom Penh celebrates Cambodian New Year
Cambodian New Year (or Khmer New Year; km, បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំខ្មែរ ), also known as Choul Chnam Thmey ( km, ចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី ; ) and Moha Sangkranta ( km, មហាសង្ក្រាន្ ...
, 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 harvest.
Water Festival
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, 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.
Ancestors' Day
Ancestors' Day, also called 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
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
Wat Phnom ( km, វត្តភ្នំ, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; "Mountain Pagoda") is a Buddhist temple ( wat), a pagoda, that symbolizes the name of Phnom Penh, and a historical site that is part of the Khmer national identity. Wat Phnom has a t ...
from the founding days of the city, constructed in 1373. The main tourist attractions are the Royal Palace
This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent.
Africa
* Abdin Palace, Cairo
* Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo
* Koubbeh Palace, Cairo
* Tahra Palace, Cairo
* Menelik Palace
* Jubilee Palace
* Guenete Leul Palace
* Imperial Palace- Massa ...
with the Silver Pagoda
The Silver Pagoda is located on the south side of the Royal Palace in Chey Chumneas, Phnom Penh. The official name is Wat Ubaosoth Ratanaram ( km, វត្តឧបោសថរតនារាម), also known as Wat Preah Keo Morakot (Khmer: វ ...
, and the National Museum
A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...
, 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
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
market Phsar Thom Thmei
The Central Market ( km, ផ្សារធំថ្មី, ; meaning "New Grand Market") is a market and an art deco landmark in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The bright yellow building completed in 1937 has a 26-metre high central do ...
. 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
Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in various capacities throughout his ...
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
New Khmer Architecture ( km, ស្ថាបត្យកម្មបែបថ្មី) was coined by authors Helen Grant Ross and Darryl Leon Collins to describe an architectural movement in Cambodia during the 1950s and 1960s. The style blended e ...
" and was often characterised by a fusion of Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
, European post-modern architecture
Postmodern architecture is a style or movement which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the austerity, formality, and lack of variety of modern architecture, particularly in the international style advocated by Philip Johnson and Henry- ...
, 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
The Preah Suramarit National Theatre or the Bassac Theatre was the former national theatre of Cambodia in the capital Phnom Penh.
Designed by chief national architect Vann Molyvann in 1966, it opened in 1968 as the Grand Théâtre Preah Bat Norod ...
or the Vann Molyvann House. Other architects helped construct the newly founded Royal Khmer University
The Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP; km, សាកលវិទ្យាល័យភូមិន្ទភ្នំពេញ; french: Université royale de Phnom Penh) is a national university, national research university of Cambodia, lo ...
, 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 1960s. 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 razed in 2008. A movement is rising in Cambodia to preserve this modernist heritage. Old villas are sometimes being converted into boutique hotel
Boutique hotels are small inventory, design driven, unique hotels with their own character, personality and storytelling at the heart of their concept. Positioning is secondary for these hotels as they focus on authenticity and personalization ...
s, such as the ''Knai Bang Chatt''.
Monuments and memorials to the genocide of the Khmer Rouge era in the 1970s are the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum ( km, សារមន្ទីរឧក្រិដ្ឋកម្មប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍ទួលស្លែង) or simply Tuol Sleng ( km, ទួលស្លែង, link=no, ; lit. "Hill of ...
(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 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.
2035 master plan
Originally intended to be completed by 2020, the 2035 master plan is a French-funded project for the development of Phnom Penh. Although the plan was approved by the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction in 2005, it has yet to be ratified by the Cabinet of Cambodia
The Cabinet of Cambodia, officially known as the Office of the Council of Ministers ( km, ទីស្ដីការគណៈរដ្ឋមន្ត្រី, ), is the executive body of the Kingdom of Cambodia led by the Prime Minister, assis ...
. The original plan details five edge-city projects connected to the historical city centre by waterways and tree-lined corridors.
Media
Dailies
Khmer
*''Sralagn' Khmer
''Sralanh Khmer'' ( km, ស្រឡាញ់ខ្មែរ, ; lit. "Love Khmer") is a weekly Khmer-language newspaper published in Cambodia with its headquarters in Phnom Penh.
See also
*List of newspapers in Cambodia
Below is a list of news ...
'' (''Love Khmer'')
*''Chakraval Daily
''Chakraval Daily'' is a Khmer language newspaper published in Cambodia with its headquarters in Phnom Penh.
Khmer-language newspapers
Newspapers published in Cambodia
Mass media in Phnom Penh
Publications with year of establishment missing
{ ...
'' (''Universe'')
*''Kampuchea Thmei Daily
''Kampuchea Thmei Daily'' is a daily newspaper published in Cambodia. The papers headquarters are in Phnom Penh. The newspaper focuses on business and politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making dec ...
'' (''New Cambodia'')
*'' Kampuchea Tgnai Nis'' (''Cambodia Today'')
*''Kanychok Sangkhum
''Kanychok Sangkhum'' is a Khmer language newspaper published in Cambodia with its headquarters in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital sin ...
'' (''Social Reflection'')
*''Koh Santepheap
''Koh Santepheap'' ( km, កោះសន្តិភាព, ; ) is a Khmer language daily newspaper published in Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country ...
'' (''Island of Peace'')
*''Moneaksekar Khmer
''Moneaksekar Khmer'' ( km, មនសិការខ្មែរ, ; lit. "Khmer’s Conscience") is a Khmer-language newspaper published in Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingd ...
'' (''Khmer Conscience'') – Published by the Sam Rainsy
Sam Rainsy ( km, សម រង្ស៊ី, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; ; born 10 March 1949) is a Cambodian activist, economist and politician who most recently served as the Leader of the Opposition. He is now the interim leader of the Cambodia Nation ...
Party.
*''Rasmei Kampuchea
''Rasmei Kampuchea'' ( km, រស្មីកម្ពុជា; "Brightness of Cambodia") is Cambodia's largest daily newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about curre ...
'' (''Light of Kampuchea'') – Cambodia's largest daily, it circulates about 18,000 copies.
*''Samleng Yuvachun ''Samleng Yuvachun'' (''Voice of Khmer Youth'') is a Khmer language newspaper published in Cambodia with its headquarters in Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been th ...
'' (''Voice of Khmer Youth'')
*''Udomkate Khmer ''Udomkate Khmer'' (''Khmer Ideal'') is a Khmer language newspaper published in Cambodia with its headquarters in Phnom Penh.
Around the time of the 2003 Cambodian general election, National Assembly elections in 2003, ''Udomkate Khmer'' shifted it ...
'' (''Khmer Ideal'')
*''Wat Phnom Daily ''Wat Phnom Daily'' is a Khmer language newspaper published in Cambodia with its headquarters in Phnom Penh.
Khmer-language newspapers
Newspapers published in Cambodia
Mass media in Phnom Penh
Publications with year of establishment missing
{{As ...
'' (''Mount Temple'')
English
*'' Phnom Penh Post'', a daily English-language newspaper published in Phnom Penh.
*''The Cambodia Daily
''The Cambodia Daily'' is an English and Khmer language news site that writes and aggregates news about Cambodia. It was originally an English-language daily newspaper based in Cambodia from 1993 to 2017, and was considered a newspaper of record ...
'', an English-language daily newspaper (closed in 2017).
*
The Khmer Times
', an English-language daily newspaper.
Chinese
*《柬華日報》(''Jianhua Daily''), a daily Chinese-language newspaper published in Phnom Penh.
*《星洲日報》('' Sin Chew Daily''), a Chinese-language daily newspaper, the Cambodian edition of the Malaysian Chinese daily of the same name.
*《華商日報》(''Huashang Daily''), a Chinese-language daily newspaper.
*《高棉日报》(''Khmer Daily''), a Chinese-language daily newspaper.
*《新柬埔寨》(''New Cambodia''), a Chinese-language daily newspaper.
Magazines
*'' AsiaLIFE Guide Phnom Penh'', a monthly English-language lifestyle magazine published in Phnom Penh. (Ceased in 2018)
* ''F Magazine
F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
'', the first fashion-forward magazine in Cambodia. Bi-lingual, written in English and Khmer.
* '' SOVRIN Magazine'', is the fashion glossy magazine in Cambodia which written in khmer language.
Online news
*'' Thmey Thmey Phnom Penh''
*'' Sabay News Phnom Penh''.
*''Fresh News
Fresh or FRESH may refer to:
People
*DJ Fresh (born 1977), UK-based drum and bass artist
*DJ Fresh (producer), US-based R&B producer born Marqus Brown
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
*Fresh (1994 film), ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime fil ...
Phnom Penh''
Sport
The martial arts of Bokator, Pradal Serey (Khmer kick boxing) and Khmer traditional wrestling
Khmer traditional wrestling ( km, បោកចំបាប់ - ''Baok Cham Bab'') is a folk wrestling style from Cambodia. It has been practiced as far back as the Angkor period and is depicted on the bas-reliefs of certain temples. The earliest ...
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
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and the martial arts are particularly popular. Ultimate fighting and freestyle boxing have also become more common in recent years.
The most prominent sporting venue in the city is the Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium with a capacity of 50,000—although the country never hosted the Olympic Games due to disruption by the civil war and the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Built in 1964, it is home to the Cambodian national football team
The Cambodia national football team represents Cambodia in association football and is administered by the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC). Operated under the name Khmer Republic from 1970 to 1975, it was founded in 1933 and joined FIFA's ...
. On completion the stadium was one of the largest in Asia. Volleyball, basketball, and Tai-Kwon-Do games are often hosted at the stadium. The stadium closed in 2000, but was redeveloped and reopened.
In footballing ventures, Phnom Penh is formally represented by Phnom Penh Crown FC despite being home to numerous football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
teams who plays in the Cambodian League
The Cambodian Premier League ( km, លីគកំពូលកម្ពុជា, ) is the highest professional football division in Cambodia and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Cambodian League 2. Starting with the 2022 se ...
. Including Visakha, Nagaworld, Boeungket and the aforementioned Phnom Penh Crown
Phnom Penh Crown Football Club (PPCFC; km, ក្លឹបបាល់ទាត់ភ្នំពេញក្រោន, ) is a Cambodian professional football club based in Sangkat Toul Sangke II, Khan Russey Keo, Phnom Penh, competing in the C ...
, amongst many others.
The National Sports Centre of Cambodia hosts swimming, boxing, and volleyball competitions. Noted local football clubs include Phnom Penh Empire
Phnom Penh Crown Football Club (PPCFC; km, ក្លឹបបាល់ទាត់ភ្នំពេញក្រោន, ) is a Cambodian professional football club based in Sangkat Toul Sangke II, Khan Russey Keo, Phnom Penh, competing in th ...
, Khemara Keila FC
Khemara Keila FC ( km, ខេមរាកីឡា) was a Cambodian football club based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
History
The club was established in 1997. The name is derived from ''Khemara'' a formal term for ''Khmer'', and ''keila'' meaning ...
and Military Police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...
. The city will host the 2023 Southeast Asian Games
The 2023 Southeast Asian Games ( km, ការប្រកួតកីឡាប្រជាជាតិអាស៊ីអាគ្នេយ៍២០២៣), commonly known as the 32nd Southeast Asian Games, or the 32nd SEA Games, and commonly know ...
and the 2023 ASEAN Para Games )
, nations participating = 11
, athletes participating =
, events = 12 sports
, opening ceremony = 3 June
, closing ceremony = 9 June
, officially opened by =TBA
, athlete's oath =TBA
, stadium ...
, this will mark the first time that Cambodia has hosted a multi-sport event.
Transport
Phnom Penh International Airport
Phnom Penh International Airport ( km, អាកាសយានដ្ឋានអន្តរជាតិភ្នំពេញ; french: Aéroport international de Phnom Penh) is the busiest and largest airport in Cambodia, occupying a land ar ...
is the largest and busiest airport in Cambodia. It is seven kilometres west of central Phnom Penh. The airport is connected to the city center by taxi, train, and shuttle bus.
Cambodia's national flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air, launched in 2009, is headquartered in Phnom Penh and has its main hub there, with an additional hub at the Angkor International Airport.
Air France used to serve Phnom Penh from Paris-Charles de Gaulle but this service has since stopped. Qatar Airways now flies to and from Phnom Penh, via Ho Chi Minh City.
Taxis, pick-ups, and minibuses leave the city for destinations all over the country, but are fast losing ground to cheaper and more comfortable buses. Phnom Penh also has a rail service.
There are numerous bus companies, including Phnom Penh Public Transport and GST Express GST may refer to:
Taxes
* Sales tax, General sales tax
* Goods and Services Tax, the name for the value-added tax in several jurisdictions:
** Goods and services tax (Australia)
** Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
** Goods and Services Tax (Hong Ko ...
, running services to most provincial capitals, including Sihanoukville, Kampong Chhnang, Oudong
( km, ឧដុង្គ; also romanized as Udong or Odong) is a former town of the post-Angkorian period (1618–1863) situated in present-day ''Phsar Daek'' Commune, Ponhea Lueu District, Kandal Province, Cambodia. Located at the foothill of th ...
and Takéo. Phnom Penh Sorya Transport Co. offers bus service to several provincial destinations along the National Routes and to Ho Chi Minh City
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
. Giant Ibis is another bus company based in Phnom Penh, which travels to Sihanoukville, Kampot, Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh, and has free Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
, air conditioning and modest pricing.
The city is Cambodia's main freshwater port, a major port on the Mekong River. It is linked to the South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
, 290 kilometres distant, via a channel of the Mekong in Vietnam.
Public transport
Phnom Penh is served by air conditioned public buses. Initial attempts by the Japanese government to develop a Phnom Penh bus service began in 2001. An update of the JICA urban transport master plan for Phnom Penh was completed and implemented in 2014. The city is now served by 17 bus lines, operated by the Phnom Penh municipal government. Private transportation within the city include the cycle rickshaw, known in Khmer as "cyclo", the motorcycle taxi known in Khmer as "moto", the auto rickshaw known locally as "tuk-tuk", the trailer attached to a motorcycle taxi known in Khmer as "remorque", and the standard automobile taxicab known in Khmer as "taxi". Private forms of transportation used by locals include bicycles, motorbikes, and cars.
Highways
As the capital of Cambodia, a number of national highways connect the city with various parts of the country:
Water supply
Water supply in Phnom Penh has improved dramatically in terms of access, service quality, efficiency, cost recovery and governance between 1993 and 2006. The number of customers has increased ninefold, service quality has improved from intermittent to continuous supply, water losses have been cut dramatically and the city's water utility went from being bankrupt to making a modest profit. These achievements were recognized through international awards such as the 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealis ...
and the 2010 Stockholm Industry Water Award
The Stockholm Industry Water Award recognises impressive contributions made by businesses and industries to improve the world water situation. The honorary prize has been awarded annually since its inception in 2000 with an aim to encourage and r ...
. The city's water utility is the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA). Its main water sources are the Mekong River, the Tonle Sap river and the Tonle Bassac
The Bassac River ( km, ទន្លេបាសាក់; Tonlé Bassac) is a distributary of the Tonlé Sap and Mekong River. The river starts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows southerly, crossing the border into Vietnam near Châu Đốc. The n ...
river.
Twin towns – sister cities
Phnom Penh is twinned with:
*Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
, Thailand
*Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China
*Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
, South Korea
*Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
, China
*Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
, Vietnam
*Hefei
Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
, China
*Ho Chi Minh City
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
, Vietnam
*Incheon
Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
, South Korea
*Kitakyushu
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuku ...
, Japan
*Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
, China
*Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
, United States
* Lowell, United States
*Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, China
*Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
, China
Notable people
*George Groslier
George Groslier (; February 4, 1887 – June 18, 1945) was a French polymath who – through his work as a painter, writer, historian, archaeologist, ethnologist, architect, photographer and curator – studied, described, popularized and worked ...
, French polymath, historian, archaeologist
*Norodom Sihamoni
Norodom Sihamoni ( km, នរោត្តម សីហមុនី, ; born 14 May 1953) is King of Cambodia. He became King on 14 October 2004, a week after the abdication of his father, Norodom Sihanouk. He is the eldest son of Norodom Sihano ...
, King of Cambodia
The monarchy of Cambodia is the head of state of the Cambodia, Kingdom of Cambodia. In the contemporary period, the King's power has been limited to that of a symbolic figurehead. The monarchy had been in existence since at least 68 AD exce ...
* Patricia Hy-Boulais, professional tennis player
* Preap Sovath, Cambodian singer
*Theavy Mok
Theavy Mok ( km, ម៉ុក ធាវី; born April 3, 1963) is the first plastic surgeon in Cambodia. He received his medical doctorate in 1990 from the University of Health Sciences, Phnom Penh. Since then he has worked in the general surge ...
(born 1963), first plastic surgeon in Cambodia
See also
* List of markets in Phnom Penh
Gallery
Depo Market (Psar Depo).jpg, Depo Market (Psar Depo)
Central Market (Psar Thom Thmey) August 2022.jpg, Central Market Central Market may refer to:
*Central Market, a 2009 album by Tyondai Braxton
Fresh food markets
* Adelaide Central M ...
* Special Economic Zones of Cambodia
Special Economic Zones of Cambodia are geographical areas within Cambodia's borders that have been specially designated by the government of Cambodia, national government in which business and trade regulations differ from those that apply to the ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Official city website
Time in Phnom Penh
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Municipalities of Cambodia
Provinces of Cambodia
Populated places on the Mekong River
Capitals in Asia
Populated places established in the 1370s
Cities in Cambodia
14th-century establishments in Asia
States and territories established in 1372