Thanks to its favourable location along the Mekong River in the middle of an enormous fertile valley, Vientiane has been continuously inhabited since the 10th century. The Khmer, Siamese, Burmese and Vietnamese have all had their turn at the wheel, repeatedly conquering and often sacking the city even after it had been integrated into the first Lao kingdom known as Lan Xang, meaning the ‘Land of a Million Elephants’.

Vientiane reached a new height of importance in 1560, when King Setthathirath relocated his capital from Luang Prabang in the north to present-day Vientiane. He built the impressive That Luang stupa on the site of an ancient Khmer temple east of the city. This beautiful Buddhist icon remains a major symbol of Lao sovereignty and a reminder of this communist nation’s Buddhist roots. This was Vientiane’s Golden Era, which came crashing down in the late 1800s when the Siamese razed the city. Only one Buddhist temple was left standing, the stately Wat Sisaket, built in 1818.

All but abandoned until the late 19th century, when the French colonised Laos as part of their Indochina plan, Vientiane has been on a slow path of recovery ever since. The French made Vientiane the capital of their new colony and most of the city we see today dates from this period or later. With so little historical infrastructure left after the Siamese invasion, there are few reminders of the city’s pre-colonial existence.

The French ruled Laos with a relatively fair hand until WWII, after which a number of Lao independence groups emerged and began campaigns for autonomy. Independence was achieved in 1953, when Laos become a constitutional monarchy. Unfortunately, Laos was sucked into the Vietnam War soon after independence, resulting in the dubious honour of being the most heavily bombed country in the history of warfare.

While the countryside bordering Vietnam was being bombed into oblivion by the Americans, extensive aid money from the US was keeping Vientiane insulated from the tragedy afflicting the rest of the nation. This sad irony allowed the capital to thrive during wartime by supplying entertainment services for US soldiers and government officials.

When Saigon fell in 1975, the boom in Vientiane also ended. The communist party, Pathet Lao, took control of the capital and created the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, which still governs the country today. Within days, Vientiane was transformed from a hedonistic haven to a repressed city where anything related to American culture was outlawed. When the Americans withdrew financial aid, the economy of the capital collapsed.

In the chaos that ensued, the Pathet Lao forced the traditional monarchy to abdicate, marking the end of 600 years of Laotian royalty. The communist government also tried to outlaw Buddhism, but massive public protests in 1977 forced the Pathet Lao to back down. The Soviets stepped in to replace the role of the Americans, creating a radically different city. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Laos was forced to re-evaluate its position in the world.

The opening of the Friendship Bridge linking Vientiane and Nong Khai, Thailand in 1994 was the first step towards new foreign policies. Since then, development money from many nations has poured into Laos to help with infrastructure, agriculture and education. The communist government is still in power, but capitalism has made serious inroads into Vientiane’s economy. The future of Laos will greatly depend on how well the government can wean itself off of international aid and assume responsibility for its own sustainability.