 Buddhaghosa had with him the famous Emerald Buddha statue, for many centuries thereafter a state treasure of Cambodia and later Laos, until it was carried away by Thai invaders to be placed at its present location in the Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok.Cancao was established by a group of a few Hoa people, mostly men who helped the Ming dynasty and were opposed to the Qing dynasty, led by Mạc Kính Cửu.When they arrived in Nam Hà, the Nguyễn-phước rulers ordered the king of Cambodia (then a vassal state of Nam Hà) to grant land to these Hoa people, and made an active business town.