Vietnam TravelTravel Special FeaturesVietnam - A Coastal JourneyMy Son - Carved in Stone

My Son - Carved in Stone

As national highway No.1 runs along Vietnam's arid central coast, it passes a number of crumbling brick temple towers, a legacy of the long-ago kingdom of Champa, From the second to 15th centuries, much of the area that is now central Vietnam was ruled by the seafaring Chams, a people whose art, religion and architecture were heavily influenced by contacts with Indian traders and priests.

The Cham people were renowned as traders, sailors and warriors. At the kingdom's height, its trade-network includes India, Chine, Japan, the Middle East, and Indonesia. Since arable land is scarce on Vietnam's dry central coast, as well as cultivating rice, the ancient Chams fished and collected valuable hardwoods and forest products from the inland jungles.

They also staged regular raids on passing trade ships - a practice that led to constant conflicts with the neighboring Khmer to the south and the Viets and Chinese to the north. In the 12th century the Chams sacked Cambodia's Angkor Wat. But by the 1400s the once powerful Cham Empire was in a stat of decline from which it never recovered. Today, some 76,000 people of Cham descent remain in Vietnam's central and southern provinces, where they fish, farm, and weave distinctive, colorful fabric.

The most impressive Cham site to have survived the ravages of time, albeit in a ruined state, is the kingdom's ancient religious capital of My Son. Located in a green valley 68 km southwest of Da Nang City, My Son was founded late in the fourth century by King Bhadravarman, who commissioned more than 70 temples. New temples were added for the next seven centuries, with most of the shrines dedicated to Cham kings who were associated with Hindu divinities, especially Shiva.

At the peak of Champa's glory, My Son must have made a spectacular sight indeed. Intricate carvings of Indian deities, dancing girls and mythical beasts adorned the brick temples, some of which had spires covered in real gold. Time and warfare, however, have taken their toll. Bombing demolished many of the structures, while others are pockmarked with bullet holes. Declared a Work Heritage Site by UNESCO, the temple complex is now being slowly restored, and researchers are unearthing new insights into this once-mighty kingdom.

The central city of Da Nang, meanwhile, is home to a museum that houses the World’s finest collection of Cham sculptures, all dating from between the seventh and 15th centuries. Founded by the French in 1916, this delightful museum is set in a garden of flowering frangipani trees, facing the sea.

The statues are stunning, ranging from dancing girls so little that they seem to wiggle, to a massive seventh century altar, its pedestal decorated with scenes from the Hindu Ramayana epic. If art speaks, these ancient sculptures-at once graceful and playful - could be said to sing.

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