Hà Tiên is a
provincial city in
Kiên Giang Province
Kiên Giang was a former province of Vietnam, located in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. It is known for fishing and rice farming. The provincial capital is Rạch Giá, from Ho Chi Minh City. Kiên Giang's area is and its popul ...
,
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...
in
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. Its area is and the population as of 2019 is 81,576. The city borders
Cambodia
Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
to the west. Hà Tiên is a tourist site of the region thanks to its beaches and landscapes.
Etymology
The name "Hà Tiên" is derived from the
Sino-Vietnamese word:
河 僊 or
河 仙, meaning "river spirit".
History
A settlement and a port seem to have existed at the site of the present town of Hà Tiên from a very early period.
Ptolemy's ''Geography'' identified a town there as ''Akadra'' and that it was the port for the Cambodian district of ''Pithonobaste'' -
Banteay Meas, all this being part of the
Kingdom of Funan
Funan (; , ; , Chữ Hán: ; ) was the name given by Chinese cartography, Chinese cartographers, geographers and writers to an ancient Khmer-Mon Greater India#Indianized kingdoms of South East Asia, Indianized state—or, rather a loose netwo ...
. The local capital of this district, also called Banteay Meas, was not on the coast, but located about a
day's journey
A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible and ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance.
In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the ...
up the Giang-thành river. The name ''Banteay Meas,'' (, ; lit: "golden ramparts"), referred to the bamboo fortifications once used about the town. The town of Hà Tiên was originally known under the
Khmer, name of ''Piem'' or ''Peam'' (, , ; also Pie, Pam, Bam), the Khmer for "port", "harbour" or "river mouth", while the Vietnamese called it ''Mang-Kham'', from the Vietnamese term for the Khmers, "mang". It was through this port that
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
is said to have reached Cambodia, brought there by chance when a ship carrying
Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Sinhalese Theravādin Buddhist commentator, translator, and philosopher. He worked in the great monastery (''mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajyavāda schoo ...
was blown there by a storm in 415 AD.
Many works incorrectly referred to Hà-Tiên as “Panthaimas", the early name of the district in which it was located. It was variously spelled as Panday-mas (Khmer), Ponteamass (English), Phutthaimat () or Banthaimat (), Ponthiamas or Pontheaymas (French), Pontiano (Robert's Map, 1751), Panthai-mas, Bantaimas, Pontiamas, Pontaimas, Bantay-mas, Banteay M’eas, Pontiamas, Pontiamasse, Po-taimat, and infinite other variations.
Hà Tiên was established by a small group of Chinese people, mostly men who supported the
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
and were opposed to the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, led by Mo Jiu (
Mạc Cửu
Cửu (, vi-hantu, 鄚玖, ; ''or'' ; 1655– July 18, 1735), also spelled Mok Kui, was an exile from China who founded the Principality of Hà Tiên and ruled as its first monarch. He played a role in the relations between Cambodia and the ...
). When they arrived in
Đàng Trong (as southern Vietnam was called while under the rule of the
Nguyễn lords
The Nguyễn lords (, 主阮; 1558–1777, 1780–1802), also known as the Nguyễn clan (; ), were Nguyễn dynasty's forerunner and a feudal noble clan ruling southern Đại Việt in the Revival Lê dynasty. The Nguyễn lords were membe ...
), the Nguyễn lords ordered the king of Cambodia (then a vassal state of
Đàng Trong) to grant land to these Chinese people. These people built markets in this place and turned it into a busy business town. Vietnamese people gradually arrived there. This town later was merged into Vietnamese territory when Mo Jiu delivered its sovereignty to the Nguyễn Lords. Mo Jiu was then conferred the position of ruler of this town. It was at this time that the name Hà Tiên (河仙 - "River Spirit"), referring to the guardian deity of the Giang-thành river, was conferred on the town by the lord
Nguyễn Phúc Chu.
Climate
Economy
Around 22 km south of Hà Tiên is a large cement plant located in Kiên Lương. Its history goes back to the Republic of Vietnam (
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
), where it was one of the largest industrial projects when construction was started in April 1961.
Transportation
Road transport
Buses connect Hà Tiên to the provincial capital
Rạch Giá and many other towns in the Mekong Delta, including Châu Đốc, Can Tho, Ca Mau, Vung Tau and Saigon.
Sea transport
Daily fast ferries are available to
Phú Quốc island. In the low (wet) season they normally operate twice a day - at approximately 08:00-08:30 and then 13:00-13:30 (times vary a bit according to tides/weather). In the high (dry) season they run more frequently, with up to 3 fast boats (Superdong) each making up to 3 crossings every day. The trip takes about 80–90 minutes. There are also now 4 car ferries operating from Hà Tiên to the north east corner of the island at Bai Thom. These run on demand, not to a fixed schedule and can start as early as 05:00 and run until 21:00. This takes about 2.5 hours.
Border crossing
A road border crossing between Vietnam and Cambodia, called the Hà Tiên International Border Gate, is located 7 km west of Hà Tiên in the village of Xà Xía. On the Cambodian side, the border crossing is known as the Prek Chak International Border Checkpoint in
Kampong Trach District,
Kampot. The border crossing was opened in 2007. It is open from 07:00 to 18:00. Besides conventional Vietnamese visas, this border crossing is also listed as a Vietnamese e-Visa point of entry for foreigners.
See also
*
Kiên Giang
*
Phú Quốc
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ha Tien
Populated places in Kiên Giang province
Populated places on the Mekong River
Districts of Kiên Giang province
Cambodia–Vietnam border crossings
Cities in Vietnam