QUANG TRI

town, central Vietnam. It is on the left bank of the Thach Han River, 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Hue, on the national coastal highway. A highway from Dong Ha leads over the Annamite Chain (Truong Son) via the Aihao Pass (1,345 feet ) to Savannakhet, Laos, on the Mekong River. Thon Ai Tu, an ancient Cham (Champa) kingdom centre that in 1558 became the residence of Nguyen Hoang of the Vietnamese Nguyen dynasty, is 3 miles (5 km) north of Quang Tri. The early 19th-century Vietnamese citadel built by Minh Mang was destroyed during prolonged fighting in the Vietnam War (195575). Pop. (1971 est.) 16,906.