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Despite dominating the local landscape, Cham towers, such as Banh It Tower (as pictured), remain off the beaten track. Photo VIR |
There are over a dozen Cham towers in Binh Dinh province which would take any tourist’s breath away but is it better to leave these precious relics off the tourist trail? Hai Hau reports in the first of a four-part series on historical and cultural sites along the Con river
The Con river flows through a land of heroes. This is Binh Dinh province where the mighty Emperor Quang Trung, then known as Nguyen Hue, first led a rebellion to overthrow the Nguyen lords in the late 18th century. Before his premature death he would conquer all of the Viet kingdoms and repel a Chinese invasion to the north.
This is also the land of a fallen civilisation. In the 11th century, the Cham people migrated south and moved their capital city to a location about 30km north of present-day Qui Nhon. The capital was called Vijaya and it survived until 1471. Still today, scattered all across the province is a network of ancient Cham towers, some of the finest in all of Vietnam.
All in all there are 14 towers and monuments in varying stages of decay around Binh Dinh province, much of which can be seen from along the Con river. Unlike the much more famous My Son complex, which is nestled in a valley in Quang Nam province, the Cham towers in Binh Dinh are mostly built on top of hills, as if the Cham architects wanted to showcase their culture more consciously, or ward off invasions.
The beauty of the towers is indisputable. The singer songwriter Van Cao described the Cham towers of Binh Dinh as magical drops of rain. Some of the most impressive towers are found at the Duong Long site. At a height of up to 39m, these are some of the tallest brick towers in Southeast Asia. Much of the vivid carving, considering it is nearly 1,000 years old, remains in good condition.
A team of stone masons from Non Nuoc (Marble Mountains) in Danang have been hired to help fill in the blanks in a major restoration of the towers. One of the craftsmen, 18-year-old Truong Van Vinh believes that the carving work done today cannot be compared with the Cham people’s work. “Our work will never be as good,” he says. So much of this Cham art and architecture is worth seeing.
The Twin Towers (Thap Doi), which date back to the 12th century, Banh It tower, which dates back to the 11th century, in Tuy Phuoc District and Canh Tien tower in An Nhon District, are certainly among the most majestic. How the Cham stonemasons prepared their bricks is disputed but whatever their technique, the temples have proved to be extremely durable.
Tu Nhu Huyen Tran, an official from Binh Dinh province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, believes when the towers were constructed Cham civilisation had reached its peak in terms of art and architecture. Despite this rich cultural heritage, Binh Dinh province has yet to take advantage of its tourism potential. According to the historian Vu Ngoc Lien the network of Cham towers could, for example, be turned into a colossal natural museum.
While My Son in Quang Nam province and Ponaga Towers in Nha Trang are firmly on the typical culture-seeking-tourist’s itinerary, relatively little attention has been paid to Binh Dinh’s towers. There are those who would argue that’s no bad thing in terms of preservation. As long as they’re ignored the Cham towers will remain like ‘young ladies sleeping in the jungle’.
Away from Qui Nhon city there is a complete lack of facilities limiting tourism. A small number of intrepid tourists will still venture forth and explore these vestiges of a fallen civilisation. For those who make the trip, none will return disappointed.
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