 Danang is the largest city in central Vietnam and one of the country's most important ports. Ringed by mountains on one side and the East Sea on the other, Danang has numerous sites of natural beauty and historical interest.
The city’s origins date back to the ancient Champa Kingdom, established by Indonesian settlers in 192AD. At its peak, the Cham’s sphere of influence stretched from Hue to Vung Tau. The expansion of the Chinese, Vietnamese and Khmer led to the decline and fall of the Cham by the mid-15th century.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, French and Spanish traders and missionaries made landfall at Hoi An, just south of Danang. By the 19th century, Danang had superceded Hoi An as the most important seaport in the central region. The presence of the French in the 19th and early 20th centuries and the Americans in the 1960s, led to continued growth of Danang, and it is now Vietnam's fourth largest city. |
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