Not only does the exploitation of the potential from national treasures create economic value, develops tourism, but it also gradually brings antiques into real life, helping the public better understand the antiques left by their ancestors.

The bronze version of the Tara/Laksmindra Lokesvara bodhisattva statue, dating from the late 9th and 10th centuries, was recognized as a national treasure in 2012 and its replica is now displayed in a solemn position at the Museum of Cham Sculpture. Photo: TUONG VY

Unique attraction 

Visiting the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, Huynh Van Thien, a seventh grader, Nguyen Duy Hieu Junior High School, excitedly said: "On this occasion, I and my friends came to see the national treasures with my own naked eyes, not through books and websites. Seeing the antiques I find interesting, the antiques are so beautiful and majestic. At the same time, there is an opportunity to absorb knowledge when listening to the guides’ explanations about the origin, materials, search time and the process of recognising treasures.

Ms. Tran Thi Chiem, the Head of Education and Communication Department at the Museum of Cham Sculpture, said that since 6 antiquities were recognised as national treasures, the number of visitors to the museum has climbed significantly. From 2011 to 2019, it increased from 171,255 to 286,938 visitors. According to statistics in 2022, there are 44,784 domestic and international visitors.

From the beginning of 2023 until now, the museum welcomes thousands of visitors on self-sufficient tours and at the same time, the museum welcomed many delegations from the Consul General of Italy in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, high-ranking delegates of the Women's Union of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the delegation of the National Assembly Committee for Culture and Education. “To help visitors better understand the artifacts and national treasures, the museum provides free general information about the history, overview and information about the treasure.

At the same time, the museum has employed on-the-spot guiding staff who can speak Vietnamese, English and French for groups of students, independent delegations, families of 5 or more. The content of the commentary is developed by the museum’s qualified staff, based on highly reliable artifacts and research documents and in consultation with reputable scholars on Champa history, culture and arts. In parallel, every year, the museum promotes, through travel agencies, the antiques on display, the event time frame if any, and introduces its image online in such foreign markets as India, India and France.

According to Mr. Ho Tan Tuan, the Director of the Museum of Cham Sculpture, at present, the museum is storing more than 2,000 artifacts and regularly displaying more than 400 most typical and unique artifacts. In particular, there are 6 antiquities recognised as national treasures including Tra Kieu altar, Indochina altar, My Son E1 altar, Tara/Laksmindra Lokesvara Bodhisattva statue, Ganesha and Gajasimha statues are placed in the central, easily recognisable position.

In order to meet the public's demand for learning and research, the museum has put into operation and introduced many applications such as labels for artifact annotations, introductory information in the automatic interpretation system, the selection of languages including Vietnamese, English or French. Visitors can use by scanning the codes attached to the objects and visit the virtual VR360 3D at the museum anywhere.

With the same purpose of bringing national treasures closer to the public and tap the potential of tourism economic development, travel companies have opened many tours to the Museum of Cham Sculpture or special national monuments of the Dien Hai Citadel, a special national relic of the Marble Mountains.

Mr. Kyosik, a South Korean tourist, participating in the tour organised by the Da Nang Branch of the Hanatour Viet Nam Company said: “I come to Viet Nam quite a few times, but always choose a tour with a stop at the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture and the Han Market. Every visit to the museum is an extra surprise because there are many new things that have not been discovered yet. Thereby, I want my children to enjoy and better understand the 1,000-year-old statues of the legendary Champa culture”.

In 2021, the Museum of Cham Sculpture was recognized as a city-level historical relic. This is the only museum displaying and keeping 6 artifacts that are national treasures. Recently, the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture or the special national monument of Dien Hai Citadel and the special national monument of the Marble Mountains have gradually affirmed their role and contribution to the city's overall tourism picture.

The attraction of national treasures

Busy guiding the French delegation, Mr. Nguyen Truong Nguyen, 57, a resident in Da Nang, a freelance guide with 30 years of experience guiding French tourists, said, “I have introduced thousands of times about the artifacts at the Museum of Cham Sculpture for foreign tourists, but each time, I always kept a great honour about the treasure of the Fatherland. The antiques help me as well as visitors understand more intangible and immeasurable values, thereby respecting the heritage more and making a small contribution to preserving and passing it on to future generations.

Most visitors are interested and excited to hear explanations about national treasures. The content of the description of the treasure is very important, so it is imperative that each number and word be accurate. I shall spend a lot of time reading French documents directly, from researchers of the former French School of the Far East (EFEO) in combination with the museum - provided official article. Two of the six national treasures that are impressed by tourists are the standing statue of Ganesha and the lion-elephant spirit animal Gajasimha.

According to Mr. Nguyen, often the Ganesha statue is seen in the reclining, semi-relaxed or royal posture, very rarely in the upright form. As for the Gajasimha statue, it has a huge size as compared to the statues of the same type displayed in other countries around the world.

Ganesha is among the most ancient deities of Hindu temples and also the most popular one as his capacity to remove all difficulties and hurdles in life. Lord Ganesha has been worshipped by Hinduism communities till today. The statue was discovered in 1903 by archeologists from the Ha Noi-based L’École Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) whilst conducting an excavation at the E5 tower at the My Son relic, Quang Nam Province. Afterwards, the statue has been kept at the museum for display since 1918.

This is one of the rare round statues showing the deity in standing form, relatively intact, large in size and with many unique stylistic features in the early period - around the 7^th - 8^th centuries in Viet Nam.
The artifact was recognised as a national treasure in 2020 and it is displayed at the Museum of Cham Sculpture currently.

The statue of Gajasimha mythical animal measuring 215cm in height, 100cm in length and 84cm in width.
It was discovered during an excavation at Thap Mam in Binh Dinh central province in 1933 - 1934 and has been kept in the museum since 1935.

The art piece demonstrates the head of an elephant, the neck wearing a rattle, the chest hair stylised with the stripes often seen on the statues of the Thap Mam period. This sacred animal is a prominent and popular subject for many Champa sculptures during this period. The artifact was recognized as a national treasure in 2020.

Considered as one of the masterpieces that tourists come to admire quite a lot is the Tra Kieu altar, which consists of the following parts: the top is a Linga, the middle is a Yoni pedestal with two round cutting boards skillfully decorated with symmetrical stylized lotus petals and the bottom is a square pedestal. This altar is recognized as one of the sculpture masterpieces as well as one of the four existing National Treasures of the Museum.

Immediately after being discovered, the altar attracted many researchers to decipher the stories of the characters on the altar and analyze its dating. The altar was brought to the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture in 1901 and recognised as a national treasure in 2012.

Each artifact represents a different style and meaning. Not only Tra Kieu worshiping tower, but each antiquity has its own highlight. The 6 national treasures kept in the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture are dubbed as perfect pieces to attract more and more visitors to the museum.”

Reporting by HUYNG TUONG VY – Translating by A.THU