Ancient holy land in Vietnam seen from above is as beautiful as a fairy tale

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My Son Sanctuary is located in Duy Phu commune (Duy Xuyen, Quang Nam), about 70 km from Da Nang .

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The temple complex is located in a valley about 2 km in diameter, surrounded by hills and mountains; in a mountain range about 100 m to 400 m high from Dong Truong Son through My Son to the capital Tra Kieu.

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My Son was the Hindu holy site of the Champa Kingdom. Every king after ascending the throne came to My Son to perform a purification ceremony, make offerings and build temples.

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My Son is the only site of Cham art that has had a continuous development from the 7th to the 13th century. In the 700s, King Sambhuvarman built a temple with very durable materials, which still exists today.

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The following dynasties all repaired the old temples and built new ones to offer to the gods.

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In 1885, My Son relics were discovered by a group of French soldiers. In 1898 - 1899, two researchers from the French Telecommunications, L.Finot and L.de Lajonquière, and architect and archaeologist H. Parmentier came here to study the stele inscriptions and Cham architecture and sculpture.

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In 1903 - 1904, the most basic documents about My Son inscriptions and architectural art were published by L.Finot.

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The main temples in My Son worship a set of Linga or an image of the god Siva - the protector of the Champa kings. The god worshiped in My Son is Bhadrésvara - the founder of the first kingly line of the Amaravati region in the late 4th century combined with the name of the god Siva, becoming the main belief in worshiping gods - kings and royal ancestors.

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The sophisticated architectural art and sculptures are still strongly imprinted in My Son.

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The temples in My Son are divided into many clusters, built according to the same principle. The structure of each cluster consists of a main temple (Kalan), surrounded by small towers or auxiliary structures. The main temple symbolizes Mount Meru - the center of the universe, the place where gods converge and worship the god Siva.

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