My Son Sanctuary.

“My teacher is an anthropologist who lived in Vietnam for a year and a half. His sharing about the country, people and culture of Vietnam really inspired me to learn more about your country. And as you can see, I am here, at the My Son Sanctuary,” said Borbala Banya, a Hungarian tourist, to a reporter from the People's Army Newspaper.

After spending more than a day in Da Nang city, Ms. Banya and her husband are exploring the My Son Sanctuary relic site in Duy Phu commune, Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province. The couple were captivated by the ancient and mysterious beauty of the My Son Sanctuary architectural complex nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains and wild trees.

Ms. Borbala Banya, Hungarian tourist.
Borbala Banya and her husband were attracted by the ancient beauty of My Son Sanctuary.

Over time, despite being severely damaged by natural disasters and wars, My Son Sanctuary is still one of the most unique tourist destinations in Quang Nam province. With its mysterious beauty, bearing the cultural imprint of Champa architecture, this place annually attracts not only many domestic and foreign tourists, but is also a favorite destination for explorers who want to explore and conquer.

According to statistics, in 2022, foreign visitors to My Son Sanctuary reached nearly 67,000, only 25% compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic (2019), but the number of foreign visitors to this World Cultural Heritage site showed signs of recovery. In the first 6 months of 2023, the number of foreign visitors to My Son Sanctuary nearly doubled compared to the same period last year.

Next to the ancient mossy Cham tower in My Son Sanctuary, Ms. Banya shared: "I was surprised and attracted to Vietnam by many new things. Not only because of the unique cultural features of your country but also because of the colorful picture in Vietnam. We can see the vibrant life of people in big developed cities like Da Nang or the capital Hanoi. I still think that the life of Asians is very closed. But coming to Vietnam, I see the difference. In Vietnam, we feel the friendliness and openness of the people. We can see the life of the people right on the streets of Hanoi or the cities we visit. The interesting thing is that I see people are very happy and always smiling. These things surprise me, because nearly 50 years ago, Vietnam was still immersed in war and poverty, but now it has such an amazingly developed appearance".

"Like in Da Nang city, where we only had 1 and a half days to experience, but we witnessed everything was very developed and clean. This place is like a construction site, but we don't feel too crowded, instead this is a really livable place, even though there is still a bit of inconvenience in terms of traffic," Ms. Banya added.

"In Sa Pa, too, everything changes after only 2 years" - This is what Banya heard from her teacher because he comes to Sa Pa every 2 years. Many new buildings have been built here. He cannot recognize the street corner where he lived about 2-3 years ago, even the hotel where he used to stay. Such signs of development are very good for developing countries like Vietnam. But important works with cultural and historical values ​​​​should be preserved in their original state, which is still better.

"In Sa Pa, I was taken to visit an indigenous family, but they are no longer an original indigenous family with traditional cultural features like before. Unfortunately, this place has been commercialized and turned into a place to attract tourists," Ms. Banya expressed.

“Coming to My Son Sanctuary, we were very pleased to see that the relic site has been well preserved and conserved in a sustainable manner, thereby affirming that this ancient architectural complex is the top favorite World Cultural Heritage destination on the Vietnam tourism map for international visitors,” said tourist Banya.

The management and conservation of My Son Sanctuary has achieved important results. The heritage has received and cooperated with domestic and foreign organizations, units and individuals to cooperate in preserving and promoting the value of My Son World Cultural Heritage in association with sustainable tourism development.

In the coming time, Quang Nam in general and the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board will continue to promote cooperation activities to restore and embellish the relic site, along with strengthening connections with other destinations to build and develop tourism types, improve the quality and value of the heritage, contributing to further developing the local tourism potential.

Article and photos: MAI NGUYEN

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