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Vientiane
VientianeCategory:Capitals in Asia
Image:Vientiane-pha_that_luang.jpg|thumbnail|190px|right|Pha That Luang temple. One of the most important places in Vientiane and Laos.
'''Vientiane''' is the name of a province, prefecture, and city situated in the Mekong Valley of Laos. The estimated population of the city is 716,000 (2004).
Vientiane prefecture is comprised of the following districts;
*Chantabuly
*Sikhottabong
*Xaysetha
*Sisattanak
*Hadxaifong
Vientiane is situated on a sweeping bend on the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point. The Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, built in the 1990s, crosses the river a few miles downsteam of the city and forms one of the major border crossings between the two countries. Currently, the rails for an international railway link do run over the bridge, but service terminates several kilometers south of the river on the Thai side.
== History ==
King Setthathirath established it as the capital of Lan Xang in 1560. When Lan Xang fell apart in 1707 it became an independent kingdom. In 1779, it was conquered by the Siamese general Phraya Chakri and made a vassal of Siam.
When King Anouvong raised an unsuccessful rebellion, it was obliterated by Siam|Siamese armies in 1827. It eventually passed to France|French rule in 1893. It became the capital of the French protectorate of Laos in 1899.
Vientiane is located in the Vientiane prefecture (''kampheng nakhon Vientiane''). There is also the Vientiane province - the prefecture was split off from the province in 1989.
The name of the city is derived from Pali, the literary language of Theravada Buddhism, and its original meaning was "The king's grove of sandalwood", the latter species of tree being prized for its fragrance in classical India. Modern Lao pronounciation and orthography do not clearly reflect the Pali etymology. The romanized spelling "Vientiane" is of French language|French origin, and reflects the difficulty the French had in pronouncing the hard "ch" syllable of the Lao word; a common English-based spelling is "Viangchan", or occasionally "Wiangchan".
Category:Laos
de:Vientiane
es:Vientiane
fr:Vientiane
io:Vientiane
ja:ビエンチャン
nl:Stad Vientianne
pl:Wientian
pt:Vientiane
fi:Vientiane
== External links ==
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/vientiane Pictures of Vientiane on Flickr]
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