A collective effort to "save" the Cham towers.

The ruins of the Sáng Tower (Đồng Dương Buddhist Monastery) are in serious disrepair and will be restored in the near future. Photo: QT

Severely degraded

Quang Nam is a land deeply marked by Champa culture. To this day, the province still possesses many distinctive Champa relics, most notably the My Son temple complex, Dong Duong Buddhist monastery, Chien Dan Champa tower, Bang An Champa tower, and Khuong My Champa tower… Due to their existence for over a thousand years and the numerous natural and social impacts, most of these relics are now severely degraded.

The Bang An Cham Tower (Dien Ban town), due to its proximity to residential areas and the lack of protective measures, currently has a chaotic landscape and poor environmental conditions, detracting from its aesthetic appeal and almost falling into disrepair, thus diminishing its value.

The Chien Dan Cham tower complex (Phu Ninh district) has also seriously deteriorated and is gradually losing its typical decorative details. According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the remaining parts of the roofs of the North and Middle towers of this complex are currently overgrown with weeds, including some quite large trees that threaten the brick structure of the towers. Recently, the towers have continued to be damaged, with more and more sections of the walls crumbling, peeling, and cracking appearing…

Meanwhile, at Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery (Thang Binh district), the only remaining identifying feature of this special national historical site is a section of wall belonging to the architectural ruins known as the Sang Tower, which is also in serious disrepair. The remaining ruins of the Sang Tower are being supported by a scaffolding system, erected with steel pipes for emergency reinforcement in 2012.

However, the results of the survey assessing the technical condition of the Bright Tower show that, despite being propped up, the structures of the ruins are clearly deteriorating compared to their condition before being propped up. The structural components of the western wall sections continue to degrade, reaching a dangerous state and clearly showing a risk of overall instability.

A concerted effort to "save" historical sites.

Due to the serious deterioration of the Cham tower system in the province, the authorities have been carrying out several projects in recent times.

The project to preserve, restore, and promote the value of the Bang An Cham Tower relic (Dien Ban district), with a budget of over 8.3 billion VND, will be implemented in the near future. Photo: QT

These include: the project to preserve, restore, and promote the value of the North Tower and the Middle Tower of the Khuong My Cham Tower complex (completed at the end of 2022); the project to preserve, restore, and promote the value of the South Tower of the Chien Dan Cham Tower complex (completed at the end of 2023); the project to preserve, restore, and promote the value of the South Tower of the Khuong My Cham Tower complex (currently underway)..., significantly contributing to increasing the resilience of the relics.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hong, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that there are still several projects for the preservation, restoration, and promotion of the value of historical relics under the investment of the department with provincial budget funds, including: the North Tower and Middle Tower projects (part of the Chien Dan Cham Tower complex); the Bang An Cham Tower; and the Sang Tower (part of the Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery relic complex) with a total budget of over 37 billion VND. After receiving appraisal from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the next steps will be taken and the projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

The leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism further informed that the restoration work will focus on preserving the original elements constituting the monument, protecting the structural components and architectural elements during the restoration process. The restoration activities will be supervised by the local community, and will regularly consult with historical witnesses, experts, artisans, and the community.

At the My Son Sanctuary (Duy Xuyen district), over the years, relevant parties have coordinated the restoration and renovation of many key projects. For example: The project to invest in the urgent conservation and restoration of several items belonging to the E and F tower areas of My Son under the national target program; the project in cooperation with the American Express organization, funded through the World Heritage Fund, along with the Institute of Archaeology, to conduct two excavation phases (2002 and 2005) to clear the Khe The stream section flowing between areas A and BCD, aiming to prevent landslides in the A tower group; the tripartite cooperation project between UNESCO, Vietnam, and Italy on "Presentation and training on international standards for conservation of the G tower group of My Son" which underwent three phases of restoration and renovation from 2003 to 2013; and the restoration project of tower E7. The restoration project, in cooperation with the Indian Government, involved the restoration of towers K, H, and A with funding exceeding 64 billion VND (during the period 2016 - 2022).

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/dong-loat-cuu-thap-cham-3145162.html