Making the Museum of Cham Sculpture a special destination

After more than 100 years of establishment and development, the Museum of Cham Sculpture not only has great historical, architectural - artistic, scientific values ​​but also cultural - tourist values. To be worthy of the rank of a national first-class museum, Da Nang city is speeding up the renovation and upgrading of the museum to promote heritage values ​​and attract tourists.

Every year, the Cham Sculpture Museum welcomes more than 250,000 visitors. Photo: DOAN HAO LUONG

Great historical and cultural value

The Museum of Cham Sculpture is the first museum in Vietnam to display sculptures of the Champa dynasty, a successful combination of French neoclassical style and Cham architecture. Together with French architectural works on Bach Dang - Tran Phu street, this project has contributed to creating the architectural face of the urban center of Da Nang .

With such great values, in 2011, the Museum of Cham Sculpture was ranked as a Grade 1 museum in Vietnam. On January 11, 2021, the People's Committee of Da Nang City issued a decision to recognize the museum as a city-level historical relic.

Ms. Le Thi Thu Trang, Director of the Cham Sculpture Museum, said the museum currently has 2,000 artifacts, of which 500 are displayed in 10 spaces of the museum.

Of the 12 national treasures currently preserved, 11 are displayed in 6 spaces, with only the Dong Duong Tara Bodhisattva statue being displayed in its original form. This is an especially rare artifact, of symbolic value to Buddhism, and is the only artifact in the museum's collection made of bronze.

“In order to effectively protect and promote the value of national treasures, in recent years, the museum has implemented many solutions such as: adding more security forces, surveillance cameras, glass belts, and barriers for the treasures. At the same time, building a fire prevention and fighting plan to ensure the fire fighting system and equipment operate well. The museum also coordinates with the City Police and Ward Police to have a plan to ensure the security and safety of the artifacts.

In the first 7 months of 2025, the museum welcomed 128,556 visitors, an increase of 8% compared to the first 7 months of 2024," Ms. Le Thi Thu Trang shared.

Worthy upgrade

Despite its great historical and cultural value, the Museum of Cham Sculpture still faces many difficulties in terms of facilities. In recent times, the unit has renovated and upgraded the heat-resistant items, but only stopped at ventilating the area connecting the two exhibition buildings. Meanwhile, the air conditioning system is not powerful enough to cool the exhibition area.

The main galleries such as Tra Kieu, My Son, Dong Duong, Phong Le thematic gallery, and the reception area do not have air conditioning systems to cool them down. The museum welcomes more than 250,000 visitors each year, but in the summer, the museum is very hot, affecting the visitor experience and the preservation of artifacts. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in a solar energy system and air conditioning for the museum soon.

In addition, the equipment and facilities for displaying and preserving artifacts at the museum are still outdated, especially the preservation of national treasures. Currently, the museum has completed a security team of 11 people divided into 2 regular shifts and installed 48 surveillance cameras in the exhibition rooms.

However, with a large area and many hidden corners, the museum still needs an intelligent monitoring system to ensure the security and safety of artifacts. The application of information technology and digital transformation in the museum is still limited. International cooperation and scientific research have not been focused on; the publication of books, academic publications or the organization of international conferences are still limited, causing difficulties in academic exchange, restoration and enhancement of the value of artifacts.

To meet the needs of visitors, from May 2025, the city will invest in renovating, upgrading and repairing the museum with a total cost of nearly 11.5 billion VND. Including items such as gate fence; garden landscape; heat insulation; waterproofing; toilets, expected to be completed in early November this year.

At the site inspection on August 19, Vice Chairwoman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Thi Anh Thi requested the construction unit to speed up and add more manpower to complete the project on schedule.

In addition, it is recommended that the museum continue to implement solutions to protect and preserve artifacts; complete the plan to display the statue of Bodhisattva Tara Dong Duong; promote the application of digital technology in management, display, ticket sales and communication; research and deploy an automatic explanation system to improve the visitor experience.

At the same time, survey visitor needs, organize night activities, expand academic connections with international museums and academies, and research and exploit on-campus services in accordance with regulations.

In the long term, the City People's Committee assigned the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to coordinate with relevant departments and branches to research and advise on additional investment in necessary items such as: air conditioning systems, solar energy, smart surveillance cameras, construction of showrooms, upgrading parking lots, and comprehensive digital transformation.

“The Museum of Cham Sculpture has a lot of potential and advantages to attract visitors. Therefore, the goal of the project after completion is that the museum must achieve quality infrastructure, meet the requirements of technology and service quality, to be worthy of being a first-class museum, a special destination of Da Nang in particular and of Vietnam in general,” Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Thi emphasized.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/dua-bao-tang-dieu-khac-cham-tro-thanh-diem-den-dac-sac-3300624.html