Secrets to My Son, Vietnam - The Holyland

My Son - The World Heritage archaeological site was a Cham dynasty capital, between the 4th and 12th centuries AD. It is considered the biggest and most symbolic temple complex of the Champa Kingdom running the length of the southern central coastal area. The complex is comparable to other great structures, which bear the hallmarks of Indian civilization in the Southeast Asian region.

According to 1902 statistics, My Son boasted 71 brick and stone structures. Unfortunately, the complex has been heavily damaged by continuous warfare and as a result, there remain only 32 ancient towers, of which only 20 have their original figures kept relatively intact.

The quadrilateral towers are constructed of red bricks, and their tiered roofs taper off towards the top. All the four sides of every tower have relief carvings depicting deities, human beings or animal creatures on baked brick in an airy style. It is interesting to note that the researchers are still unable to find out how Cham craftsmen have put all the bricks together without using mortar. Inside each main tower, a symbol of Linga or an icon of Shiva is placed for worship together with Bhadravarman. In addition, there are also ingenious relief carved on brick and stone status in the decorative style of the Cham people of thousands of year ago.

You can visit this place by road, 68km from Danang, 30km from Hoi An ancient town.