Connecting Champa Heritage

DNO - As a locality that still preserves many unique Champa architectural and artistic values, connecting Champa cultural heritage in tourism activities not only creates a distinctive product but also contributes to the preservation and effective promotion of sustainable temple and tower structures.

Cham artisans demonstrate the process of shaping Bau Truc pottery at the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum. Photo: VINH LOC

Spreading Cham culture

The Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum recently collaborated with the My Son World Heritage Site Management Board to organize an exhibition showcasing various forms of Cham folk art within the museum grounds, attracting considerable attention from both domestic and international visitors.

The event not only contributes to enriching tourism products but also opens up new avenues for spreading Cham cultural values ​​in a more vibrant and accessible way to the public.

Through activities such as Bau Truc pottery making, woodblock printing, Cham brocade weaving, Cham dance, and traditional Cham costume performances, the program not only allows visitors to hear and see but also to feel the flow of Cham culture right in the destination.

Ms. Le Thi Thu Trang, Director of the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum, shared that with the advantage of being a specialized museum displaying hundreds of art sculptures associated with the ancient Champa dynasties, organizing Cham folk culture performances is a way to help visitors better understand a civilization that once existed in Quang Nam province. This creates a bridge between heritage and the community, fostering lasting vitality for the culture.

"Based on the program's success, we are developing a plan to link and coordinate with My Son, supporting each other in promoting and introducing the destination, including calculating preferential policies for visitors traveling from the museum to My Son and vice versa," Ms. Trang informed.

This is the second time the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum has collaborated in organizing a Cham folk culture performance for tourists, and both times the results have been quite positive.

In fact, the My Son World Heritage Management Board has done a very good job of spreading Cham cultural values ​​to tourists in recent times.

In addition to collaborative presentations at events and tourist destinations, visitors to My Son can also experience intangible cultural heritage right within the heritage site itself. Among these, Cham folk art performances have become an indispensable tourism product for visitors touring the temple complex.

Cham cultural values ​​always evoke curiosity and interest in tourists. Photo: VINH LOC

In particular, the "Legendary My Son Night" program is likened to a historical reenactment of the formation and development of the ancient Champa dynasty. Through lighting effects, music, and dance, the program offers sacred spiritual experiences, telling the story of Champa culture associated with the thousand-year-old sacred valley.

According to Mr. Nguyen Cong Khiet, Director of the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board, introducing Cham cultural values ​​is also a way to spread the image of My Son and Cham culture, helping viewers and tourists better understand the heritage left by our ancestors in the Quang Nam region.

Connecting Champa temples and towers

Da Nang is a locality that still preserves many archaeological sites and unique Cham architectural works. Besides the My Son heritage site, other notable sites include the temple and tower complexes of Bang An, Chien Dan, and Khuong My, along with many other ruins such as Dong Duong, Tra Kieu, and Go Loi…

In recent times, although the tourism industry and local authorities have organized sightseeing activities at the destinations, apart from the My Son temple complex, the number of visitors to the remaining historical sites has been quite modest.

In some places like Bang An, Chien Dan, and Khuong My, the number of visitors each year is only a few hundred, mostly individual tourists. Besides the rudimentary services and scenery, the promotion and marketing of these destinations have not been given enough attention.

In particular, it has not yet been possible to clearly highlight the outstanding values ​​of the temples and towers, nor to develop a distinctive program to introduce and promote them to travel agencies and tourists.

Mr. Le Tan Thanh Tung, Deputy General Director of Vitraco Transport and Tourism Joint Venture Company Limited, believes that developing a themed tour route linked to Cham culture would be very unique and interesting, especially for researchers. If done well, it would certainly add a distinctive product to Da Nang tourism.

“One can envision a deeply immersive experience, starting at the Da Nang Cham Sculpture Museum, which provides a foundation of knowledge and historical context. From there, visitors continue to My Son to directly admire the sacred temple complex, before expanding the journey to other historical sites such as Bang An, Chien Dan, or Khuong My.”

Each destination should not simply be a "visit," but should also "tell a story" through creative tourism products such as art performances, reenactments of rituals, or experiences with traditional crafts.

According to Mr. Tung, to realize this idea, the prerequisite remains the completion of infrastructure and improvement of service quality. Historical sites need more systematic investment in terms of transportation connections, guided tour systems, landscape design, and amenities for tourists.

Furthermore, training human resources knowledgeable about Cham culture and capable of conveying heritage stories in an engaging way is equally important. In conjunction with this, emphasis should be placed on promotion and collaboration with travel businesses, especially in the current competitive landscape of tourist destinations.

No matter how unique a tourism product is, it will be difficult to reach the market without an effective communication strategy. Building a brand for the Cham cultural tourism route, combined with synchronized promotional campaigns across multiple platforms, will help enhance brand recognition and attract tourists.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/ket-noi-di-san-champa-3332206.html