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The Tay Son uprising began in 1771, when three peasant brothers, Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue and Nguyen Lu, revolted at Tay Son in Binh Dinh province.
The brothers came from the village of Tay Son in central Vietnam and revolted against the Nguyen lord Phuc Thuan. A political crisis lay behind it: Lord Nguyen Phuc Khoat had died in 1765, which put power in the hands of the regent Truong Phuc Loan. Heavy taxes and endemic local corruption added to the anger, and Siam's war in 1769 pushed the Nguyen lords back.
Source: Wikipedia, Tay Son dynasty. Checked October 2026.
The Tay Son dynasty ruled from 1778 to 1802, a span of 24 years, before Nguyen Anh captured its final stronghold.
Nguyen Nhac proclaimed himself emperor in 1778. After Quang Trung died, his young son was enthroned, but the power lay with an uncle who enacted a massive political purge and weakened the regime. Nguyen Anh then occupied the Quy Nhon citadel in 1800 and Phu Xuan in 1801 before he besieged Thang Long.
Source: Wikipedia, Tay Son dynasty. Checked October 2026.
In 1789 Nguyen Hue defeated the Qing army at the Battle of Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da, with a surprise attack launched during the lunar new year.
The attack came while the Qing army was celebrating the Lunar New Year, and it forced the army and Le Chieu Thong to retreat. Four years earlier Nguyen Hue had beaten another invader: Siam occupied part of the Mekong Delta in 1785 and was defeated at the Battle of Rach Gam-Xoai Mut.
Source: Wikipedia, Tay Son dynasty. Checked October 2026.
Vijaya, the Champa capital, stood in what is now An Nhon, in Binh Dinh province, the same province as Quy Nhon. It was the capital from 938 until Dai Viet conquered it in 1471.
Vijaya is Sanskrit for victorious, and the city was also known as Vijayapura. The area was probably an early landfall of the Cham people in what is now Vietnam, but its architecture implies it did not become important until the 11th or 12th century. The Vietnamese attacked its citadel in 1069.
Source: Wikipedia, Vijaya (Champa). Checked October 2026.
Quy Nhon has a coastline 42 km (26 miles) long.
The topography is extremely varied, with mountains and forests, hills, fields, salt marshes, plains, lagoons, lakes, rivers, shorelines, peninsulas and islands. The coast has sandy beaches and abundant seafood resources. Quy Nhon is now a ward in Gia Lai province, with an area of 21.78 square km and a population of 129,326 in 2025.
Source: Wikipedia, Quy Nhon. Checked October 2026.
On 12 June 2025 Binh Dinh province, whose capital was Quy Nhon, was merged into Gia Lai province.
The Tay Son dynasty came from Binh Dinh, which is named after the Tay Son district where its rulers were born. Quy Nhon served as their capital until the civil war of 1789 to 1802, when the province was wracked by warfare and the dynasty collapsed. Binh Dinh then became part of the merged province.
As of 2025. Source: Wikipedia, Binh Dinh province. Checked October 2026.
Vijaya's architecture combined stone and brick, which distinguishes it from other Champa centers.
Stone was more labour-intensive to process than brick, so the mixed material suggests Vijaya had relatively abundant labour compared with other Champa centres. It may also show some influence from Cambodian Angkor. Later writers classified the architecture of the period between the 12th and 14th centuries as the Binh Dinh style.
Source: Wikipedia, Vijaya (Champa). Checked October 2026.
Several Cham towers survive in Binh Dinh province: Duong Long, Banh It, Canh Tien and Hung Thanh.
A relatively large number of towers built at Vijaya survive in Binh Dinh province, among them the ruins of the citadel, the Canh Tien tower and several temple towers. The mix of stone and brick in this architecture seems to have been dominant throughout Champa for some time.
Source: Wikipedia, Vijaya (Champa). Checked October 2026.
Climate, airports and UNESCO status for Quy Nhon are on its destination page. More places are on the fun facts index.