How to promote the time-honoured Champa culture, which is facing the threat of falling into oblivion, and attract more visitors to the My Son Sanctuary as well, has always occupied the mind of Duong Thi Diem My, who has graduated from the Da Nang University of Foreign Language Studies. This sole reoccupation indeed inspired the girl to embark upon the ‘My Son - Vanishing Cultures Tour’ start-up project.

Duong Thi Diem My took the initiative to reintroduce the Champa cuisine at the My Son Sanctuary

My, a native of Duy Xuyen District in Quang Nam Province, said, “In spite of being recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the tourism development potential of the district-located My Son Sanctuary has yet to be fully tap. So, I think there should be a tour package that is attractive enough to lure even more visitors from both home and abroad.”

Through interactions with some foreign tourists, My realised their special affection for the charm of Vietnamese countryside villages. However, no attention has been paid to preserving the values of some traditional craft villages and cultural sites in her hometown, Duy Xuyen District. Therefore, through her own project, My’s goal is to efficiently exploit the economic strengths, enhance the rural eco-tourism’s stature and increase visitors’ stay period and spending.

The My Son Sanctuary is located in a hilly landscape in Duy Xuyen District’s Duy Phu Commune, about 70km southwest of central Da Nang  and 40km from Hoi An– another UNESCO heritage site in Quang Nam Province. The site consists of monument complexes scattering over an area of about 10 hectares and was an important religious and cultural centre of the Champa Kingdom between the 4^th and 13^th centuries.

In October 2017, My embarked on making plans for the project’s deployment and 5 months later, she introduced the project to a startup contest launched by the Quang Nam Province Women’s Union.

Impressing the judging board with convincing arguments for sustainable tourism development, plus her highly appreciated representation in English, My’s project won the third prize at this competition.

In June 2018, My joined in tourism start-up programme at the Da Nang-based Songhan Incubator Centre, which is one of the business incubators founded in the city in early 2017, with the aim of contributing in building up a solid network infrastructure to support startups and entrepreneurs.

Notably, thanks to constructive recommendations from the Songhan staff, My developed her startup idea to promote the publicity of the Champa cuisine at the My Son Sanctuary. 

According to the talented young woman, the traditional Champa culture possesses unique characteristics. In addition to the allure of Champa temples and dances performed at the sanctuary, it is high time to develop such other cultural aspects as cuisine in a bid to encourage visitors to extend their stay periods here.

It is a good idea to allow visitors on organised and independent tours to the sanctuary to experience Champa food and make dishes by themselves.

In an effort to realise her goal, My asked for permission from artist Nguyen Thuong Hy to use his homestay-like ancient wooden house, known as ‘nha ruong’ in Vietnamese, to open a Champa restaurant at the sanctuary, and meticulously chose traditional Champa dishes such as ‘canh chua thap cam’ (sour suop using miscellaneous ingredients, and ‘ca ro kho la me’ (anabases cooked with tamarind leaves) in order to serve customers.

My eagerly said she will start the implementation of the project next month, and then appeal for investment.

She said that the introduction of Champa cuisine to visitors arriving at the My Son Sanctuary will allow them to enjoy a wide range of tasteful traditional dishes, in addition to exploring temple architecture and traditional dances.

Following the expected success of the Champa restaurant, My plans to expand this model into other locations where the vestiges of the Champa culture has been preserved well.

Bringing back the Champa cuisine to the My Son Sanctuary is regarded as an ideal way to preserve and uphold the value of the time-honoured Champa culture as well as make My’s hometown develop its tourism industry in a more sustainable manner in the coming time.