Binh Dinh is often known as the land of martial arts where even women could perform martial arts techniques thanks to the Emperor Quang Trung and his insurgent army’s victory over the Chinese Qing invaders; however, anyone who once visited here would know its land and people have more than that.
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The statue of Naga snake at Duong Long towers
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Towers in the city
On the way from the Phu Cat airport to Quy Nhon city, several towers sometimes emerge from behind mountains and trees. Unlike My Son where all Cham towers were built in a valley, Binh Dinh could see Cham towers in six districts. The distance from one tower to another is tens of kilometers.
The towers in Binh Dinh symbolize the quintessence of architecture and sculpture; moreover, they are the combination of Champa and Kh’mer art, making them different from Cham towers located in other provinces, according to experts.
The Doi (twin) towers are one of “second-to-none” heritages in Binh Dinh. They are located below a hill, facing the east. After the surrounding area had been re-planned, the towers are now positioned in Dong Da ward, Quy Nhon city.
Both of them, which are of 18m and 20m in height respectively, have got a special structure different from traditional, multi-storey towers. They are comprised of two main parts: the square-shaped body and the similarly curved roof.
On the top of the towers see many trees covering their roof, making the space inside more still. In the summer, despite the hot weather outside, the atmosphere inside the towers is very cool. Recognized as the relic of national magnitude in 1980, the Doi towers were restored in 1991.
Towers on the mountains
Among towers in Binh Dinh, the Doi towers and Binh Lam tower are located in the lowland and the remaining ones were built on the mountains.
From the center of Quy Nhon city, it takes one and a half hour to go to the Duong Long or Nga (Ivory) towers. They are called Duong Long as three towers were built on the Duong Long mound.
The complex is the tallest Cham tower complex in Southeast Asia. It was first studied by French archeologist Henri Parmentier in 1909. The complex comprises three towers – a central 42-meter high tower, and two 34 meter and 36 meter towers.
No Cham towers in the central region of Vietnam have as many rock sculptures as Duong Long towers. The recent archeological finds were buried between 0.5-2.3 meters deep. They include gods and goddesses in different postures, dancers, many Hindu figures like Kala’s face, the Naga snake, women’s breasts, lotuses and the Garuda bird flowers, and leaves and animals such as elephants, monkeys and snakes.
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