Waiting for new vitality for Cham relic network

Dense network of Cham relics

As the land where the small state of Amaravati once existed - considered the center of the Champa kingdom for many centuries, the heritage of Champa culture is still strong today in Quang Nam - Da Nang.

The most famous Champa architectural relic complex in Quang Nam (old) is My Son Temple Complex.

Other relics in the province that still preserve tower groups include: Bang An Tower (An Thang ward), Chien Dan Tower (Tay Ho commune), Khuong My Tower (Tam Xuan commune).

Besides, in Dong Duong commune there is also a special national relic Dong Duong Buddhist Institute with the highlight of Sang tower.

The relics and ruins of Champa culture are also scattered in many places in the old Quang Nam province, of which the most concentrated are the My Son - Tra Kieu - Hoi An - Cua Dai - Cu Lao Cham axis, along the Thu Bon River to Hon Lao (Tan Hiep island commune), creating a continuous cultural chain during the prosperous period of Champa civilization.

Meanwhile, in Da Nang city (old), the Cham Sculpture Museum (Hai Chau ward) is the largest and most unique museum of Cham culture in Vietnam.

Here are kept 12 national treasures of Cham culture and most of them originated from Quang Nam - Da Nang.

Recently, the People's Committee of Da Nang city has approved the investment policy to build the second facility of the Museum of Cham Sculpture (Phong Le) with a total investment of more than 140 billion VND from the city budget, with the implementation period until 2027.

Before the merger, the People's Committee of Quang Nam province (old) approved the project to preserve, restore and promote the value of Bang An tower relic and the project to preserve, restore and promote the value of the North tower and the Middle tower (Chien Dan Cham tower).

Meanwhile, the tower groups in My Son have been and are being preserved quite well thanks to the strong support of a number of countries.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong - Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Da Nang city said that the restoration process of Cham relics in the old Quang Nam province will not be interrupted during the merger of the two localities.

Waiting for new vitality from tourism

Tourism activities related to Champa culture in recent times in Quang Nam have mainly focused on two destinations: the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture and My Son Sanctuary, while the remaining destinations have very few visitors.

According to Mr. Cao Tri Dung - Interim Chairman of Da Nang Tourism Association, the merger of the two localities will create a regional tourism route specializing in Cham culture.

The most obvious of these is the connection of the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture with prominent Cham relics in the old Quang Nam area, especially the My Son Temple Complex, to create a specialized tourist route on ancient Champa culture.

"The merger of the two localities will create convenience in connecting tour routes, forming products, implementing promotion and advertising as well as synchronizing resource support instead of being scattered like before," Mr. Dung commented.

According to Mr. Le Quoc Viet - Chairman of Quang Nam Destination Club preserving indigenous values, Tra Kieu is also an important destination related to Cham culture that needs to be promoted in the coming time so that visitors to Da Nang and Hoi An can learn more about this civilization.

From Tra Kieu, visitors can also explore the nearby Sa Huynh - Champa Cultural Museum (Duy Xuyen commune), further away is trekking through Tra Ly lotus fields through the forest through My Son to Tay Vien hot mineral spring... This tour is very potential and is currently being approached and exploited by some local young people.

In the system of Champa relics in Quang Nam, Dong Duong Buddhist Institute is a particularly important relic in the history of Champa art, culture and religion.

According to Mr. Le Quoc Viet, if we really want to promote tourism activities in Dong Duong, we need to promote the preservation and restoration of this relic.

"Dong Duong will be a destination with great potential in attracting tourists for religious and spiritual pilgrimage tourism," Mr. Viet commented.