Banlung
Capital of the Cambodian province Ratanakiri
Banlung (Khmer: បានលុង, Banlŭng [ɓaːnluŋ]) is the capital of Ratanakiri Province in northeastern Cambodia, and is 636 kilometres from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. Ratanakiri Province borders Vietnam and Laos. Banlung had been previously known as Banlung district before it officially gained town status. The town has a population of around 17,000 and the surrounding district has a population of 23,888.
The town became the capital of Ratanakiri Province in 1979, following the fall of the Khmer Rouge. The capital was moved from Veun Sai to Banlung in order to facilitate trade with Vietnam (prior to Veun Sai, the capital was Lumphat). Prior to 1979, Banlung was known as Labansiek.
It is a relatively lively commercial centre; people from surrounding villages often come to the town market to sell their goods.
Three kilometres west of Banlung are the Katieng Waterfalls, where Ratnakiri's last elephants are covered by a conservation programme operated by the Airavata Elephant Foundation.
Transportation
The most convenient way to reach Banlung is by road.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Banlung” is capital of the Cambodian province Ratanakiri. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Banlung, Capital and Cambodian, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “capital of the Cambodian province Ratanakiri” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1350362. Authority coordinates are 13.747, 107.004. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1979.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Banlung” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.