Cochinchina is a region encompassing the southern third of Vietnam including Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City. It was a French colony from 1862 to 1948. The later state of South Vietnam was created in 1954 by combining Cochinchina with southern Annam. The Cham people are remnants of the Kingdom of Champa (7th to 15th centuries), They are nowadays concentrated between Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia and central Vietnam's Phan Rang and southeastern Vietnam??? Phan Thiet, Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang areas. Approximately 4,000 Chams also live in Thailand, mostly in the southern provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala and Songkhla. The Chams form the core of the Muslim communities in both Cambodia and Vietnam.