PANO – My Son Sanctuary is located in Duy Phu commune, Duy Xuyen district of Quang Nam province. Some 70 km and 40 km from Da Nang and Hoi An, this is the holy site of Hinduism of the ancient Kingdom of Champa.
Over time, My Son Sanctuary has become increasingly attractive with its ancient and mysterious beauty to both domestic and foreign tourists.
Traditionally, a Champa king, when coming to the throne, was to choose My Son to hold holy offering ceremonies and to build more temples.
The sanctuary was discovered in 1885 by French troops. Ten years later (1895), Camille Paris, an archaeologist, came and conducted the first study of the site. By 1904, many archaeologists and researchers came to the sanctuary to learn more about the relics.
My Son Sanctuary is located in a valley within the diameter of two kilometers, surrounded by mountains. The place consists of 70 temples and towers divided into different sections with similar architecture principles.
Each section consists of a main temple surrounded by smaller towers and architecture works. The main temple resembles Mt. Meru, or the center of the universe, the venue of the gods and the goddesses and at the same time the place to worship God Shiva. The gate tower is situated in front of the main temple. There are two doors facing each other in the east and the west. Mandapa is the long house behind the gate tower, used as a place to welcome pilgrims and receive offerings. Next to the main temple is the tower with one or two rooms with doors facing the north, used for storage of offerings. Smaller temples are for worshipping the gods looking after the gate to the heaven.
The site incorporated 6 architecture styles namely the ancient, Hoa Lai, Dong Duong, My Son, Po Nagar, and Binh Dinh styles. The often-seen patterns are those depicting flowers, animals like elephants or lions, Kala – Makara (a holy symbol of the Champa), Apsara dancers, musicians, etc.
From 1965 to 1972, Duy Xuyen area became a battleground and the site suffered from heavy damage. Particularly, the bombing in 1969 left heavy destruction to the architecture and ruined most of the towers. In 1980, under the Vietnam - Poland cultural cooperation program, the subcommittee of the restoration of Champa relics was founded and managed by Late Architect Kazimiers Kwiatkowske. Thanks to the subcommittee, the site has been restored and preserved until today.
To further preserve the relics, in 1995, the Management Board of My Son relics was established. In 1998 and 1999, the profile of the relics was submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Center. In December 1999, the site was officially recognized as the World Cultural Heritage.
A green belt (of trees) has been created to protect the relics.
The site is open to tourists all year round. Entrance ticket is VND 60,000/person for Vietnamese and VND 100,000/person for foreigners.
A green and mild path connecting towers and temples
Source: VnExpress Translated by Huu Duong
Đăng ký: VietNam News