My Son
Strictly speaking, the sprawling complex of ruined temples at My Son is considered to represent the ceremonial and religious centre of the Cham kings, while the actual administrative capital and main population centre lay some 10 kilometres distant at the site of Tra Kieu (Trà Kiệu). (Unlike the Khmer walled capital at Angkor Thom with its spectacular royal temples, Cham culture appears to have preferred to keep the spiritual and secular apart.) Today, little remains at Tra Kieu apart from the earthen ramparts; however, My Son, occupied from at least the 4th to 13th centuries, is estimated to have housed some 70 Hindu temples in its heyday.
My Son; set in a valley amid forested hills Although tragically the latter site was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War, subsequent painstaking restoration efforts have succeeded in restoring the site to some of its former glory with the still ongoing work facilitated by UNESCO recognition in 1999.
The little-known Cham civilisation flourished in what are today the coastal plains and river valleys of central and southern Vietnam and at its peak rivalled the mighty Angkor civilisation for dominance in mainland Southeast Asia. Champa, as the polity is known, flourished due to an extensive maritime trading network which stretched as far as China to the north and the Indian subcontinent to the west. Its culture was heavily influenced by the latter with the Cham language (part of the Austronesian linguistic family) borrowing from Sanskrit as Cham kings, along with their Khmer neighbours, adopted the Hindu, principally Shivaite, religion.
Reliefs on one of the restored sanctuaries The World Heritage site of My Son lies some 35 kilometres south of Danang and around a 1-hour drive from our accommodation in Hoi An. The historic port of Hoi An – also a recipient of UNESCO status – was an important port during the Champa period.
The brick temples at My Son are relatively small in size and while the individual temples hardly compare to the huge sandstone structures at Angkor or the contemporary (9th to 10th century) sites of Borobudur and Prambanan (Buddhist and Hindu respectively) in Java, the overall site of My Son is nonetheless highly impressive and the valley setting picturesque.
A few of the ruined, Hindu sanctuaries Optimum visiting time, in our opinion, is early morning, when the light is at its best and there are few visitors around. It means a pre-dawn start and breakfast on the road, but it’s certainly worth it with the ancient site at its most atmospheric.
A tour to My Son is included on both our small group tours to Vietnam, Hanoi to Saigon and Vietnam World Heritage Sites, which also both feature a visit to the Cham Museum in Danang, where you can see some of the best sculptures and reliefs salvaged from My Son.
