Viet Nam, My Son Sanctuary

My Son relic, located in Duy Phu commune, Duy Tài Xuyen district, Quang Nam province, about 69km from Da Nang city and about 20km from the ancient citadel of Tra Kieu, is a complex consisting of many Champa temples in a valley of about 2km diameters, surrounded by hills and mountains.

(Photo: Steve Douglas)

This was once the place of sacrifice of the Champa kingdom and also the tomb of the Champa kings or princes. My Son relic is considered to be one of the main centers of Hindu temples in Southeast Asia and is the only heritage of this kind in Vietnam. At the 23rd Conference of the World Heritage Committee in Marrakesh (Morocco) on December 1, 1999, the Cham My Son Heritage Site was recognized as a World Cultural Heritage.