Tourists in front of the Cham Museum in the central city of Da Nang

Some new additions to the famous Cham Museum in the central region’s Da Nang City make it a place few visitors will want to pass up.

The grounds near the entrance littered with fallen leaves are shaded by old trees and flanked by flower gardens.

The Cham Museum was built in the late 1920s. It has kept the original style although it has been repaired, upgraded and enlarged many times.

Visitors strolling through the many connecting rooms can discover an ancient culture and civilization that researchers and archeologists have spent years collecting. Some of the most valued pieces include a statue of god Ganesa with a human body and an elephant’s head and statues of goddess Apsara.

The exhibits are grouped according to the places they were found. For instance, the Quang Nam collection has 32 items of the 7th-10th centuries; the Quang Tri collection consists of items from the 7th-8th centuries; and the Quang Ngai collection has items which date back as far as the end of the 10th century.

More than 300 sculptures of sandstone and clay were taken from Cham temples and towers in the central region.

Two newly opened rooms at the Cham Museum are devoted to exhibits from the My Son and Dong Duong areas. The modern displays are well documented. According to the museum managers, the establishment of two new rooms was carried out by the museum officials, experts of the French School of Far East (EFEO), French Guimet Museum, and Cambodia National Museum.

Whether you come to the Cham Museum alone or with a group, you will find it is a place of reverence.

Reported by Bao Nguyen