Continue to "revive" My Son temple complex

These days, Indian experts have begun implementing the project to preserve the E and F towers of My Son with a total value of 4.852 million USD from India's non-refundable aid. These are two tower groups that play a special role in the complex of My Son relics...

A corner of My Son temple complex seen from above. Photo: Tan Thanh.

The old plan has expired.

On March 23, the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board (Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province) said that relevant units are urgently completing the task of planning the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the special national relic My Son Temple Complex.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Khiet - Director of the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board said that the establishment of a new plan is an extremely urgent task to create a legal basis for My Son to deploy investment and promote the value of the heritage.

“The old planning expired in 2020, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lack of investment resources, it could not be implemented, so it is only now being implemented. Accordingly, in addition to continuing to research and preserve the value of My Son Temple Complex; developing functional subdivisions, tourism infrastructure, and services, we will focus on completing infrastructure items serving tourism in areas outside Khe The; attracting investors; connecting the community to participate,” said Mr. Khiet.

The Project on Planning for Conservation and Promotion of the Value of My Son Relic Site for the period 2008 - 2020 was approved by the Prime Minister on December 30, 2008 (Decision 1915/QD-TTg) including the entire My Son valley limited by the mountain peaks surrounding the valley, the total proposed area for planning research is 1,158 hectares, with a total capital of 282 billion VND.

In addition to land use planning, the project also focuses on the conservation and restoration of relics such as: Clearing mines, explosives, and handling toxic chemicals; researching natural conditions and construction materials; discovering and excavating archaeology; restoring, reinforcing, and preserving relics; collecting and displaying artifacts;… with initial positive results.

Tourists visit My Son Temple Complex. Photo: Tan Thanh.

However, in the process of implementing the planning contents, many problems arise from new research and discoveries that add to the value of the relic. Not to mention, natural conditions, socio-economic factors and the need for tourism service development have changed a lot.

“Therefore, to form a typical heritage space of the country and the world, it is necessary to establish a plan for the preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the special national relic My Son Temple Complex until 2030, with a vision to 2050, in accordance with the provisions of law,” Mr. Khiet emphasized.

During the working session on February 18, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong noted that in the planning task, it is necessary to adjust the period until 2035 to have time to implement the project items when approved, focusing on completing the planning as soon as possible in the 2 years 2025 - 2026, focusing on completing the planning task to submit to the Prime Minister early (in the first quarter of 2025) to implement the planning project on time.

Nearly 5 million USD to restore ancient tower

According to the My Son World Cultural Heritage Management Board, previously, the Project "Preservation and restoration of the world cultural heritage of My Son Temple Complex" signed between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of India on October 28, 2014 was completed with a total funding from the Government of India of nearly 55 billion VND, the implementation period ended in 2017-2022.

The project has completed the restoration and conservation of towers K, H, A, including the A1 architecture, a 24-meter-high My Son masterpiece that has been reinforced, prevented from deterioration and restored to its original appearance; the drainage system has been cleared, overcoming the stagnant water inside the tower groups...

Workers are renovating tower group F, My Son temple complex. Photo: Tan Thanh.

In particular, the restoration process collected 734 artifacts of various types, discovering the largest monolithic Linga - Yoni altar in Vietnam, the A10 tower. In 2022, this altar was recognized as a national treasure...

Mr. Nguyen Cong Khiet said that recently, Indian experts have been cleaning and scientifically separating the overall area of ​​Group E and F before renovating Group F towers, especially Tower F1, in the My Son relic site. Quang Nam province, the cultural sector and the My Son Cultural Heritage Management Board are creating the best conditions for the experts to live and work.

According to the plan, the project to preserve tower groups E and F includes the components of preserving and restoring group E; preserving and restoring group F; drainage system and walkways around groups E and F, with a total project value of 4.852 million USD from non-refundable aid from the Government of India. The project implementation period lasts until 2029. The restoration process is mainly carried out according to the reinforcement plan, firmly preserving the original elements, ensuring authenticity.

Tower F group includes 3 structures F1, F2 and F3. In addition to tower F3 which collapsed and completely disappeared due to wartime bombs, the location of which is currently only known through a diagram, the 2 structures F1 and F2 are also seriously degraded. The most worrying thing is that tower F1 was excavated in 2003, with no signs of restoration. Currently, the surface is covered, the walls have many cracks, the pale bricks show signs of soil restoration; the wall sections at high risk of collapse have been supported by iron bars...

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized My Son as a World Cultural Heritage Site with two criteria: One is an outstanding example of cultural exchange with the integration of foreign cultures into indigenous cultures, especially Hindu architectural art; two is a vivid reflection of the historical development of Cham culture in Southeast Asian history. Today, My Son has only about 30 temples and towers, but none of them are intact.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/tiep-tuc-hoi-sinh-khu-den-thap-my-son-10302205.html