Sa Huynh shimmering in the summer sun

In the middle of a summer day, Sa Huynh appears like a vivid picture. The blue sea stretches to the horizon, the golden sunlight casts a metallic light on each wave. The sand is soft and smooth to the feet. The wind blows gently. The waves whisper like the echoes of the ancients from a thousand years ago still resounding somewhere.

The old marks echo back

Sa Huynh is not only about the sea. This land was once the cradle of three great cultures: Sa Huynh - Champa - Dai Viet, creating the most valuable cultural stratum in the region.

PHOTO: TRANG THY

More than a century ago, French archaeologist M. Vinet discovered hundreds of jar coffins at Ma Vuong hill, a sandbank between An Khe lagoon and the open sea. The successive excavations of the terracotta jars opened up a vivid archive of documents about the Sa Huynh culture, dating back about 3,000 years, distributed from Quang Tri to the South Central Coast, the Central Highlands and even some archipelagos.

The ancient Sa Huynh people were identified as residents who knew how to cultivate, were skilled at seafaring, and were good at metallurgy. Hoes, knives, crowbars, spearheads, etc. made of iron still have their original shapes; bronze mirrors from the Western Han Dynasty, bronze peaks from the Eastern Han Dynasty, and elaborate necklaces of jewelry found in jar tombs, all demonstrate a vibrantly developed culture that had extensive exchanges with the civilizations of Southeast Asia, China, and India.

In 2022, the Sa Huynh Cultural Relic was ranked as a special national relic by the Prime Minister .

PHOTO: TRANG THY

Also in Sa Huynh, next to the seaport where boats come and go day and night, there is a temple to worship Thien YA Na, a sacred goddess in the minds of the Cham people. Legend has it that once upon a time, fishermen discovered a statue drifting ashore and built a temple there. The simple temple has now been renovated and is a place where people place their faith, pray for safety, good harvests, and peace for each trip out to sea.

Coming to Sa Huynh… will make you drunk

Nature has endowed Sa Huynh with a charming landscape. The green mountain slopes stretch out to the sea like the mountain god's arms spreading out to embrace the water god. The curved sand beaches are like a crescent moon falling to earth. The poplar trees cast cool green shadows on the golden sand slopes. The emerald sea water shimmers under the summer sun. The waves lapping softly, as if lulling and telling stories of the past. The entire poetic sea is like a watercolor painting, transforming in the harmony of wind, waves and sunlight.

PHOTO: TRANG THY

Walking along the Sa Huynh coast, you will meet hardworking, honest fishermen. They live off the sea and protect it with all their love. Basket boats and small boats bob in the early morning, pulling nets, raking squid, fishing. Some people dive, wearing goggles, holding guns and arrows, weaving between the reefs to hunt fish and catch octopus. The silvery spoils of war under the sunlight are gifts from the sea and the efforts of many generations of fishermen.

Then from the sea to the market, then from the market to the restaurant. Sa Huynh seafood is always fresh and delicious. Fish, squid, octopus are boiled, grilled, steamed, fried... dipped in Sa Huynh salt, a spice made from salt fields of more than a hundred hectares, with a characteristic mild salty taste, making up the soul of the coastal cuisine here.

PHOTO: TRANG THY

The most interesting thing is to sit at a small restaurant near the edge of Sa Huynh beach, order a plate of fragrant grilled squid, add a bowl of salt, pepper and lemon, breathe in the salty wind, watch the sea sparkle with golden sunlight... That feeling is not easy to find anywhere else.

Before leaving Sa Huynh, don’t forget to buy some local specialties such as dried squid, yellowstripe scad, shrimp paste, salt… as gifts. The gifts are not elaborate, but contain the flavor of the sea, the sun, the wind and human love.

PHOTO: TRANG THY

Sa Huynh is not noisy, not ostentatious, but once you come here, you breathe in the scent of the sun and wind here, listen to the sound of the waves lapping at the old things, sit on the sandy shore and enjoy the salty taste of salt, the sweetness of fish, then you will definitely keep Sa Huynh in your heart, like a beautiful and unforgettable memory.