From 22–25 June 2026, the international conference Hinterland Connections: The Central Region in the Making of Global Vietnam will take place in Quy Nhơn and An Khê, bringing together scholars from Vietnam, Japan, Europe, and beyond to examine the historical role of Central Vietnam as a dynamic zone of connectivity between mountains, rivers, coastlines, islands, and the wider maritime world.

The conference will be hosted at the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE), Quy Nhơn, Bình Định Province, Việt Nam.

The conference is organized by:

• University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University, Hanoi (USSH-Hanoi)
• École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO)
• Alumnae of the HYI Visiting Scholars Program

with support from the Gia Lai People’s Committee.

The program explores themes including maritime trade, upland–lowland interactions, Champa networks, political geography, religion, intermediary trade spaces, colonial transformations, and the environmental histories of Central Vietnam from the 8th/9th century to the 20th century.

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

22 June 2026 — DAY ONE (ICISE)

Opening Remarks

8:00 — Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich
Welcome to Quy Nhơn

8:10 — Hoang Anh Tuan
Introduction

8:20 — Andrew Hardy
Introduction to the Conference

The Central Region at Sea and on Land

Session 1 | 8:30–10:00

8:30 — Tran Duc Anh Son
Reconceptualizing Central Vietnam’s Maritime Geobody

9:00 — Edyta Roszko
Hydro Histories Below Ground: Phu Quy Island

9:30 — Discussion

10:00 — Coffee Break

Connectivities of the Champa Hinterlands

Session 2 | 10:30–12:00

10:30 — Nguyen Thi Tu Anh
Archaeological and Anthropological Indices at the Cat Tien (Lam Dong) Holy Site of Interactions between the Central Highlands and the Mekong Basin

11:00 — Tran Ky Phuong
Cham Buddhist Vestiges of Economic Interactions between the Mekong Basin and the Central Highlands

11:30 — Discussion

12:00–1:00 — Lunch

Maritime Connectivities in the Cham Era

Session 3 | 1:00–2:30

1:00 — Pham Thi Thanh Huyen
Champa Aloeswood in the Islamic World

1:30 — Kikuchi Seiichi, Yuriko Kikuchi & Dang Hong Son
Glass Objects from the Middle East on Cham Island

2:00 — Discussion

Session 4 | 2:30–4:00

2:30 — Endo Satoshi
Vijaya as Hub for Tribute and Commerce in the Song Dynasty Era

3:00 — Momoki Shiro
An Attempt to Compare Central Vietnam as a Medieval to Early Modern Space with Japan

3:30 — Discussion

4:00 — Coffee Break

Post-Champa Domestic and Foreign Trade in Forest Products

Session 5 | 4:30–6:00

4:30 — Nguyen Van Kim
Tu Nui den Song: San vat Trung Nguyen trong giao thuong Dang Trong, The ky 16–18

5:00 — Bui Thi Bich Ngoc
From the Forest to the Sea: the Production, Trade and Consumption of Dau Rai Resin

5:30 — Discussion

6:00 — End of Day One

23 June 2026 — DAY TWO (ICISE)

Headwaters and Checkpoints

Session 6 | 8:00–10:00

8:00 — Phan Thuy Giang
The “nguon” Institution: the Case of Thanh Bong, Quang Ngai

8:30 — Le Thi Mai
Social, Economic and Cultural Flows in the “nguon” of Thu Bon, Quang Nam, 1600–1900

9:00 — Discussion

9:30 — Coffee Break

Session 7 | 10:00–11:30

10:00 — Federico Barocco & Nguyen Thi Nga
Phu Tai Checkpoint as Hub for Upland-Lowland Trade in Tra Bong, Quang Ngai

10:30 — Pham Van Trieu & Hoang Nhu Khoa
Intermediary Spaces in the Flow of Trade between Mountain and Coast, 17th to 19th Century

11:00 — Discussion

11:30–12:30 — Lunch

Session 8 | 12:30–2:00

12:30 — Nguyen Dang Anh Minh
Power Dynamics Along the Ba River, Quang Ngai

1:00 — Dao The Duc
The Role of Chinese Middlemen as Links between Upland and Lowland

1:30 — Discussion

The Politics of Connectivity in the Uplands and on the Coast

Session 9 | 2:00–4:00

2:00 — Andrew Hardy
Gatekeepers of the Ecotone: Trade, Tax and Power in the Borderlands and the Origins of the Tay Son Rebellion

2:30 — Nguyen Quoc Vinh
From Highland Betel Trader to Emperor Thai Duc (r. 1778–1793): Repositioning the Role of Nguyen Nhac in Tay Son Littoral History

3:00 — Nicolas Weber
Making Kings in the Uplands: Religion and Political Possibility in Panduranga, 1796–1835

3:30 — Discussion

4:00 — Coffee Break

Session 10 | 4:30–6:00

4:30 — Phan Phuong Thao
Land Reform in Binh Dinh: Eradicating Tay Son Bases of Support

5:00 — Vu Thi Xuyen
The “nguon” Institution in the Nguyen Taxation System: The nguon of Cam Lo (Quang Tri)

5:30 — Discussion

6:00 — End of Day Two

24 June 2026 — DAY THREE: AN KHÊ

• Travel to An Khê
• Nguyen Quang Ngoc — In Search of An Khe
• Lunch in An Khê
• Visit to Quang Trung Museum, Phu Phong Town
• Return to Quy Nhơn

25 June 2026 — DAY FOUR (ICISE)

The Past in the Present

Re-making the Highlands

Session 11 | 8:30–10:00

8:30 — Peter Bille Larsen
Colonial and Post-Colonial Hinterland-Making Narratives in Quang Binh

9:00 — David Biggs & Ho Thanh Tam
From Plei Piom to thon Le Chi: Villagization in the Longue Duree in Gia Lai

9:30 — Discussion

10:00 — Coffee Break

Religion and Community at Sea and in the Highlands

Session 12 | 10:30–12:00

10:30 — Nguyen Thi Phuong Cham and Hoang Cam
Maintaining Connections between Ly Son Island and the Mainland through Religious Rituals

11:00 — Quang Dai Tuyen
From Rituals to Collective Memory: The Rija Ritual System and the Reproduction of the Cham Village Cultural World in Central Vietnam
(to be presented in his absence)

11:30 — Discussion

12:00–1:00 — Lunch

Summing Up

Session 13 | 1:00–2:00

1:00 — Roundtable
Momoki Shiro, Do Thi Thuy Lan, Vu Thi Kim Van, Do Truong Giang

Mountains, Rivers and Sea: The Geography of Central Vietnam’s Global Role

1:30 — Discussion

Departure