Located nearly 70 kilometers from Da Nang city, in the Duy Phu commune, Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province, My Son Sanctuary appeared with an architectural complex of many Champa temples and extremely unique architecture. unique. Forgotten for a long time up to centuries, it was not discovered until 1885 and in 1999 was selected by UNESCO as a world heritage site as the only proof of citizenship. Asia has disappeared. If you are a tourist who likes to explore and learn about ancient cultures, this is a place worth exploring.
What is My Son Sanctuary tourism?
The mysterious architecture of My Son Sanctuary (Photo collection)
My Son’s holy site is the Cham Pa temple relic complex in Duy Phu commune, Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province. 20km from Tra Kieu to the West, 45km from Hoi An city to the West, 68km southwest of Da Nang city, 145km south of Hue. This area is located in a valley about 2 km in diameter, surrounded by mountains and hills. This used to be the place to hold rituals as well as the tomb area of the kings and princes of the ancient Champa dynasties. In 1999, the My Son relic of Vietnam was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage.
The holy place – magnificent – majestic (Photo collection)
Starting your journey to discover the most mysterious Holy Land in Vietnam, you can easily travel here by any motorbike or car. From Hoi An, about 50 km from My Son, the starting point is Hung Vuong Street, running straight along National Highway 1A to reach My Son. Normally, for travelers who are passionate about traveling, love adventure, especially backpackers, it only takes you nearly 2 hours to arrive. The price of renting a motorbike is about 150,000 – 200,000 VND / day. Note that you should refill the fuel tank before going and remember to follow the weather forecast.
Bring a long history
.. “My Son relic is a historical complex with more than 70 temples and towers bearing many sculptural architectural styles typical for each historical period of the Champa kingdom” (Photo collection)
My Son Sanctuary dates back to the fourth century – the earliest in My Son, King Bhadresvara built a temple dedicated to King Bhadravarman – the founding king of the first Amaravati region at the end of the fourth century, assimilated. with Siva, becoming a god of worship – king and royal ancestors. This is a complex of many temples of the Champa kingdom, located in a small valley about 2 km in diameter, surrounded by mountains and hills.
Architecture boldly imprinted in My Son
The fine art and sculptural architectures still imprint on My Son (Photo: Collectibles)
This place is a complex with more than 70 temples and towers bearing many sculptural architectural styles typical for each historical period of the Champa kingdom. Architectural styles here are divided into 6 categories: ancient style, Hoa Lai, Dong Duong, My Son, PoNagar and styles of the people of Binh Dinh. Most of the buildings and sculptures in My Son are influenced by Hinduism.
“… The highlight of the Cham sculpture art is to show the vitality of people with inside, at the moment of joyful flight, at times of calmness, anxiety, and anxiety” (Photo collection)
The carving technique on brick of the Cham people rarely appears in other arts in other areas. The towers are pyramidal, the symbol of the holy Mount Meru, the residence of Hindu gods. The tower gates often turn to the east to receive sunlight. The outside walls of the tower are often decorated with S-shaped leaves. The decorations are sandstone sculptures of Makara (mythical beast with sharp fangs and long hose), Apsara dancer, lion, elephant, Garuda bird, prayer man statue.
They are arranged snugly together and up to now there is no research work to determine the adhesive, the human figure, the shape of the tower. The highlight of the Cham sculpture art is to show the intense vitality of the people with the inside, at the moment of joyful flight, at times of calmness, concern, and anxiety. Each historical period has its own mark with distinct architectural lines. My Son Sanctuary Quang Nam not only shows the remarkable masterpiece of a Champa architecture but also the culture of Southeast Asia.
The temple in My Son was built with very sustainable materials that still exist today (Photo collection)
Overall My Son relics
The whole holy place: consists of two hills, facing each other in the East – West direction and at the intersection of a stream, the streams have become the natural boundary dividing this place into four areas A, B, C , D. This division is suitable for the feng-shui factor while avoiding the situation of tearing up the whole architecture. The Center of the Sanctuary is a main tower (Kalan) and is surrounded by many small sub-towers. The main tower has two doors in the east-west direction, each door has 8 steps to go up and the arches.
On each dome is a miniature tower, according to the documents left, this is the tallest tower in the holy towers in My Son.with a height of 24m, the bottom of the tower is square, each side is 10m long. In the tower worship a large Linga – Yoni (now only one stone Yoni pedestal). The upper part of the tower has 3 floors, the floors gradually smaller and the top is the top of the sandstone tower. There are fake doors on each floor, with a human figure standing under the canopy. Two fake doors on the two sides are two overlapping arches, decorated with sophisticated patterns.
This place attracts many domestic and foreign tourists to visit (Photo collection)
Time and war have devastated these monuments. But what remains here is still mysterious beauty, unique architecture with distinctive features of the Champa people. This has attracted the curiosity of domestic and foreign tourists coming here to visit and explore. Children under 15 years old free of charge to visit (including fee for tram ride to monuments and to watch performances). The local guides who are here are very friendly, enthusiastic and hospitable. They have national pride, so the information they give you will be very different from going with a group guide.
Gentle and graceful Cham dance at My Son (Photo collection)
My Son Sanctuary not only has a distinctive architecture, but it also has bold Cham culture with gentle and graceful Cham dances. Unique with the ritual dance is the sacred dance towards the gods in the temples. Visitors will see the Cham girls who often wear candles, water, flowers, betel and areca to celebrate, look lively. Or the Apsara dance is the dance for the stage. The smooth, smooth beauty compliments the beauty, the beautiful curves that nature has bestowed on the beauties to easily enter the heart of visitors when coming to My Son. In addition, there are many special art activities such as folk performing arts, fire-biting dance, ceremony dancing, water team dance … Surely not to disappoint visitors. This place is also an attractive destination for photographers who love the occult, separately in the holy place. As one of the places for those who love to explore and explore, stop here to take some souvenir photos with friends or relatives.
Beautiful sunset at sunset (Photo collection)
Tourists not only stop to experience at My Son relic but around here there are also a few places you should visit such as Tra Kieu Church, Our Lady of Tra Kieu, Sa Huynh – Champa Cultural Museum.
Or enjoy delicious, nutritious and cheap special dishes here: filter flour cake, Tam Ky chicken rice, Quang Nam green eel porridge, nest cake, Quang noodles … with family and friends. Believe me you will definitely want to come back here a second time.
Ticket price to visit My Son Holy Land
- Overseas: 150,000 VND (including entrance fees and services).
- Vietnam: 100,000 VND (including entrance fee and service fee).
Katie festival
If you come right on the occasion of the festival taking place at My Son Sanctuary, the trip will become much more enjoyable and complete. You will witness the opening of the festival as Cham religious dignitaries performing rituals for peace at the tower according to the custom passed down to now. Many other traditional rituals are taking place one after another such as dress ceremony, procession, procession of water and Katê, … there are still many cultural exchanges, performances of Cham ethnic instruments, Cham dances of the Flexible and skillful artists, …
The festival is an opportunity for indigenous people and tourists to visit at home and abroad to have more knowledge about this place as well as contribute to maintaining and protecting the values of art. pure art of the ancient Cham culture.
Procession procession (Photo ST)
Katie Festival (Photo ST)
A thousand years old road in My Son Holy Land
The road was discovered by an Indian expert during the excavation and the K tower center is located in the core zone of the My Son World Cultural Heritage population. Up to 8m wide, the road is led by two parallel walls, the depth where the buried path is nearly 1 meter in the ground and according to recorded documents, this is the first gateway to the kings. , members of the royal family, the most noble dignitaries of Champa are allowed to enter the central temples to worship the gods and hold ceremonies.
After excavation, experts were amazed at the magnificence of this road with a very clever and skillful wall system, very characteristic materials such as terracotta and special adhesive additives to build. erection was also discovered. Thanks to this interesting discovery, it has helped to enrich the long historical values, architecture, culture,
Experts were surprised when they discovered an ancient road and a wall leading underground (Photo ST)
The ancient route just discovered at the My Son World Cultural Heritage has the beginning at the base of K tower, also known as the Gate tower, and the end point cannot be determined (Photo ST)
As the first gateway only kings, noblest dignitaries of Champa can enter the central temples to worship the gods (Photo ST)
Fanciful Apsara dance
Inspired by the Apsara stone statues (dancer Yang Naitri) in the sandstone reliefs or statues, transforming from the rock into smoother dances, softer than ever showing the beauty of the road. The beautiful beauty of the creation for women, the Apsara dances are performed at the public art shows and even to professional stages. In all cultural events in Quang Nam in general or in My Son Holy Land in particular, during the Katê festival, you will witness the fanciful dance – this enchanting dance of “soul of rock” makes you. like lost in the ancient Cham culture with the image of girls with curvy arms, full breasts, charming curves in colorful, sparkling costumes, in the sound of Paranut and the sound of Sarainai,
During festivals in Quang Nam, dances are played as an integral part (Photo ST)
Apsara dance captivates tourists (Photo ST)
This place not only preserves ancient traces of a culture but also contains extremely unique historical, cultural, architectural and artistic values. If you come to Quang Nam and ignore the World Cultural Heritage My Son Holy Land , it is really a great omission for your journey there.
My Son Sanctuary is an ancient temple-tower relic of the ancient Champa culture. Thanks to its architectural and cultural values, this place was recognized by Unesco as a world cultural heritage in 1999. Thus, after Hoi An ancient town, My Son Sanctuary is cultural heritage. the second world of Quang Nam province. How proud! That is how we can see the great values that this historic relic preserves and passes on to our generation.
My Son Sanctuary – world cultural heritage (Photo: Collectibles)
In a series of articles about Quang Nam tourism , today Vietnam Travel would like to share with you information about My Son Sanctuary tourism. Come join us on the road to discover the mysterious beauty of My Son Sanctuary!
The relic of My Son Sanctuary is located in a valley surrounded by majestic mountains (Photo: Collectibles)
This relic is a combination of more than 70 architectural works and is scattered on the identical hills, reflecting the traditional culture of the ancient Cham Pa people. In the past, the My Son Sanctuary was the place of worship and the burial tomb of the prince of the great nation in the Champa Dynasty during the period from the 7th to the 13th century. There are also books that record that this was the center of Hinduism in ancient Southeast Asia.
Through so many mulberry pools, time has destroyed many architectural works of the relic, more than 70 magnificent works are now left with only 20 works, and are currently under the state. care, embellish and preserve and preserve.
The majestic mountainous terrain has created a wild and mysterious beauty for the My Son Sanctuary , visitors coming here not only to admire the impressive temples of the years, but also enjoy a fresh air, immersing in the cool nature, listening to the birds chirping on the green trees to see your heart peaceful and calm.
Tourists come here not only to admire the landscape, but also to hear about the heroic victories of history.
Visitors come to My Son to admire the unique landscapes (Photo: Collectibles)
What is unique about the My Son Sanctuary?
Although it is a cultural relic preserved by the State, My Son Sanctuary is still open to welcome tourists to visit, admire and learn about the unique culture of the ancient Champa people.
To be able to fully explore this area, you need to learn the whole and understand the map of the holy place. The whole My Son Sanctuary consists of two hills, facing each other in two directions east and west, in the middle is a small stream, the streams split in the directions and accidentally become the natural boundary dividing. This place is a cluster of small temples and towers named after Latin letters A, B, C, D …
Each relic cluster is surrounded by brick wall, the center is a main tower, and around there will be auxiliary towers or auxiliary structures with smaller and lower sizes. At each main tower, there will be two doors to the east and west, each door has a step leading up to an intricate carved arch.
Unique temple architecture of the ancient Champa people (Photo: Collectibles)
Each tower has a separate function, and worships the gods according to the beliefs of the Cham people. In it the main temple represents Mount Meru, and the sub-temples will worship the gods who keep the heaven and earth.
The center of My Son Sanctuary is a main tower called Kalan, this is the tallest tower with a height of up to 24 meters, the bottom of the tower is square with each side 10 meters long. Inside the tower, a huge Linga – Yoni set is worshiped, but nowadays only Yoni stone pedestal remains.
To build the relic of My Son Sanctuary , the ancient Champa people mainly used baked bricks. The bricks are carved and deftly stacked without using any adhesive, the magic is that it can last for centuries without weathering, only the parts are cracked. If you have broken, you can see signs of mold.
My Son sanctuary lasted the same month in May, witnessing the glorious history of the Cham people (Photo: Collectibles)
In the relic area also preserves a unique cultural treasure of ancient Champa, that is the stone statue system carved into the gods as well as carved patterns in the beliefs of the Champa.
The techniques of construction, sculpture and carving of the Cham Pa people have indeed reached the top level, are decorated meticulously, come alive as real, show respect for the gods, as well as believe in children. People living in nature and the universe always have close harmony.
Sculpture art is extremely sophisticated, lifelike (Photo: Collectibles)
The unique cultural values of My Son Sanctuary
At My Son Sanctuary, there is not only a unique temple and tower architecture but cultural and spiritual values are also extremely valuable and beautiful such as festivals and arts, but if you have the opportunity to travel to Quang Nam, stop by My Son. Visitors must definitely not miss out.
It would be great to visit My Son Sanctuary on the occasion of Kate’s festival taking place in July every year according to the Cham calendar. This is one of the biggest traditional festivals of the Cham people, held to commemorate the gods and ancestors who blessed the perseverance and brought good luck, peaceful rain and wind.
Opening the festival is the ritual of praying for peace that takes place right at the relic, followed by the process of procession, procession of water, performing ancient Cham dances, traditional folk songs, musical instruments of the people. Cham like the paranung drum, the saranai, the rattle, the horn and the erhu.
Performing arts at My Son Sanctuary (Photo: Collectibles)
Besides the traditional festival, the Champa dance is a valuable spiritual cultural feature of My Son Sanctuary, and attracts many visitors when coming here.
Dances are nowadays used in performing arts for tourists, but in the past these were dances performed in traditional festivals as a ritual ceremony, or worship of the gods.
Gorgeous Champa dancers, wearing sparkling jewelry, curvy arms, soft waist, round breasts … bring a charming, healthy beauty. The flexible and graceful body in traditional dances such as fan dancing, Apsara dance, buying a water team, biting fire … captivates so many visitors that have the opportunity to enjoy.
Photo:Internet