Awakening the My Son heritage night with the colors of Cham culture

VHO - From the sacred space of the heritage valley, My Son is gradually "awakening" at night with new cultural products imbued with Cham identity. The legendary My Son Night art program with a series of festivals, folk song and dance performances, Bai Choi singing, cuisine and craft village experiences... is being implemented by the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board as a creative direction in heritage conservation associated with tourism development.

Actors of the Department of Culture and Arts practice to prepare for the program "Legendary My Son Night"

This is an effort to enrich the cultural life of the heritage area, and at the same time a way for My Son to spread intangible cultural values ​​to tourists on their journey to discover the rich Central region.

Awakening the My Son heritage night

The Management Board of the My Son World Cultural Heritage (Thu Bon Commune, Da Nang City) said that the Department of Culture and Arts is currently coordinating with specialized departments to urgently practice to prepare for the launch of the legendary My Son Night art program.

The preparation of costumes and props has been carefully invested in to create an impressive artistic product, with a distinct mark, bringing unique cultural experiences to the people and tourists. The program is expected to become a new highlight promoting the image of Cham culture at My Son temple complex, contributing to stimulating sustainable tourism .

The program is expected to launch on the evening of November 21, serving delegates from 10 world heritage sites in Vietnam, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23, 2005 - November 23, 2025). The legendary My Son Night consists of 3 parts: Valley of Time Story, Legendary My Son Night and Harmonious Light, recreating the beauty of the temple complex through each period, becoming a hyphen between the past and the present, honoring the unique cultural values ​​of the heritage land.

The program has been upgraded and shortened compared to the original version, helping viewers feel more clearly about the formation and development process of My Son as well as the ancient Champa Kingdom. Thereby, honoring the Cham cultural heritage, at the same time bringing newness and attraction to the audience and visitors. This is also the key plan in the future development orientation of the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board - to diversify products, improve the quality of tourism services, increase the length of stay, spending of visitors and link heritage conservation with community livelihood development.

Intangible cultural products such as Cham dance and Cham folk song performances contribute to creating more attraction for My Son heritage.

Diversify intangible cultural products

In addition to the work of preserving and restoring relics, the promotion of heritage values ​​and the development of tourism products at the My Son World Cultural Heritage Site have achieved many important results. Many products have been completed and put into service for tourists such as: My Son Temple and Tower Cultural Products, landscape and heritage space experiences, Cham dances, Cham folk songs performances and other supporting products. These intangible cultural products are always loved by tourists, contributing to diversifying the experience when visiting My Son.

Cham dance has been performed for tourists for over 10 years, becoming a "brand" of My Son tourism with 7 performances/day. Recently, the Management Board has developed two new highly appreciated products: Cham folk song performances at the H tower slope and Bai Choi singing by the local community of the heritage area. The unit also strives to collect and restore Cham royal dances through documents and images, build performance spaces and support artisans to teach and train the next generation.

However, according to the My Son Management Board, due to problems with mechanisms, policies and overall planning, the unit has not yet fully exploited the existing tourism potential, and the development of new products has encountered many limitations in recent times. As a financially autonomous unit, investment and construction procedures for product categories still have to go through many approval stages, causing service types to not be fully invested and developed. Experiential and entertainment products are not yet diverse; night tourism products and accompanying services have not been effectively exploited. The program "Legendary My Son Night" was proposed for testing but has not been completed; community tourism products are still lacking, causing accommodation activities at homestays in the buffer zone to not achieve the desired results.

With the desire to affirm the value and preserve the traditional cultural identity, promote the values ​​of the Cham people, in the coming time, the My Son Cultural Heritage Management Board will continue to maintain and improve the quality of tourism services, consolidate existing products and expand new products to serve tourists. In particular, the unit focuses on enhancing intangible cultural products during the year-end festival season.

Specifically, in addition to the legendary My Son Night art program, the unit will invest in accompanying services such as cuisine, fairs, Cham-Vietnamese craft village tourism experiences, and folk game spaces. At the same time, build activity programs associated with the annual Kate festival season; organize regular performances of bai choi (6 shows/day), daily Cham folk songs and the live art program Am vang My Son on holidays, Tet and fixed days of the month.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Khiet, Deputy Director in charge of the My Son Cultural Heritage Management Board, said that with the potential of natural resources, landscapes of the core zone and buffer zone, the unit focuses on developing eco-tourism, combining experiential services to diversify products and attract tourists. At the same time, My Son continues to preserve and promote the value of intangible cultural heritage through performances and art programs, contributing to enhancing the value of tourism experiences. Integrating Cham folk art into major cultural and tourism events is also a way to promote the image of Cham culture to the public, creating a unique mark for the My Son Temple Complex.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/danh-thuc-dem-di-san-my-son-bang-sac-mau-van-hoa-cham-180814.html