[3] It first appeared on Cham inscriptions around the tenth century as Paṅrauṅ or Panrāṅ,[4] and after that, it has been Vietnamese transliterated into Phan Rang.

Following the Dai Viet attack on Vijaya in 1471, Panduranga became the Champa kingdom's capital, serving in this role until 1693.

The two were again combined in 1992 to become Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm, the capital of Ninh Thuận Province, achieving city status in 2007.

Although belonging to the tropical region, Phan Rang is among the cities with the least rainfall in the country, only about ⁠1/3⁠ of the national average, and the lowest in Southeast Asia outside the Myanmar Dry Zone.

Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm city has a very large contribution rate to the socio-economic development of Ninh Thuận province.

Economic development reached a growth rate of 9.6%; Total social investment is over 4,515 billion VND.

[8] Trade and services are a key industry, with a total production value of over 20,700 billion VND, an increase of 9.6%, accounting for 62.3%.

With a 10-km-long coastline, Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm's seafood industry plays an important role in the local economy.

Much of the city is occupied by Cham people where they have rice paddies, orchards of grapes and peaches, flocks of goats and Brahman cattle.

Architecturally, the towers are intricately built in small red bricks, almost dry stone construction with very fine mortar lines.

Taking the opposite direction (west) on 21 Thang 8, 1 km gets to the Po Klong Garai towers and cultural center.

The railway was abandoned during the Vietnam War and dismantled after the North Vietnamese victory in 1975, to provide materials for the restoration of the heavily damaged north–south line.

[13] A proposed renewal project, backed by provincial and local governments, aims to restore the entire Đà Lạt–Tháp Chàm railway to handle both passenger and cargo transportation.