My Son,located 69 km southwest of Danang, wasan imperial city during the Cham dynasty, between the 4th and 12th centuries. My SonSanctuary is a large complex of religious relics that comprises more than 70architectural works.

They include temples and towers that connect to each other with complicatedred brick designs. The main component of the Cham architectural design is thetower, built to reflect the divinity of the king.
According to records on thestone stele, the prime foundation of the ancient My Son architectural complexwas a wooden temple to worship the Siva Bhadresvera genie. In the late 16thcentury, a big fire destroyed the temple. Step by step, historical mysterieswere unveiled by scientists. Through stone stele and royal dynasties, theyproved My Son to be the most important Holy Land of the Cham people from thelate 4th to the 15th centuries. For many centuries, the Cham built Lip, amutually linked architectural complex, with baked bricks and sandstone. The maintemple worships the Linga-Yoni, who represents the capability of invention.Beside the main tower (Kalan) are several sub-towers worshipping Genies ordeceased kings. Although time and the wars have destroyed some towers, theremaining sculptural and architectural remnants still reflect the style andhistory of the art of the Cham people. Their masterpieces mark a glorious timefor the architecture and culture of the Cham, as well as of Southeast Asia.

Each historical period has its own identity, so that each temple worshippinga genie or a king of a different dynasty has its own architectural style full ofdifferent impression. All of the Cham towers were built on a quadratefoundations and each comprises three parts: a solid tower base, representing theworld of human beings, the mysterious and sacred tower body, representing theworld of spirits, and the tower top built in the shape of a man offering flowersand fruits or of trees, birds, animals, etc., representing things that are closeto the spirits and human beings.
According to many researchers of the ancientCham towers, the architectural art of the Cham towers at My SonSanctuary is the convergence of different styles, including the continuity ofthe ancient style in the 7th-8th centuries, the Hoa Lai style of the 8th-9thcenturies, the Dong Duong style from the mid-9th century, the My Son and MySon-Binh Dinh styles, etc. Among the remnants of many architectural sitesexcavated in 1898, a 24 metres high tower was found in the Thap Chua area andcoded A I by archaeologists and researchers on My Son. This tower is amasterpiece of ancient Cham architecture. It has two doors, one in the east andthe other in the west. The tower body is high and delicate with a system ofpaved pillars; six sub-towers surround the tower. This two storey tower lookslike a lotus flower. The top of the upper layer is made of sandstone and carvedwith elephant and I ion designs. In the lower layer, the walls are carved withfairies and water evils and men riding elephants. Unfortunately, the tower wasdestroyed by US bombs in 1969.

After the My Son ancient tower complex was discovered, many of its artifacts,especially statues of female dancers and genies worshipped by the Cham people,worship animals and artifacts of the daily communal activities, were collectedand displayed at the Cham Architecture Museum in Danang city.Although there are not many remnants left, those that remain display the typicalsculptural works of cultural value of the Cham nationality. Furthermore, theyare vivid proof, confirming the history of a nationality living within theVietnamese community boasting of a rich cultural tradition.