During this year's September 2nd National Day holiday, ancient towers and Cham craft villages in the southern area of Khanh Hoa Province attracted large crowds of tourists. Many visited Bau Truc and My Nghiep to sightsee, try their hand at making pottery, watch brocade weaving, explore distinctive cultural features, and gain a deeper appreciation for the enduring vitality of heritage in modern life.
The allure of a heritage land
From the start of the holiday, Po Klong Garai Tower Special National Monument (Do Vinh Ward) was noticeably livelier than usual. Consecutive groups of domestic and international visitors ascended the stone steps leading into the tower complex. Amid the ancient setting, many lingered for a long time to admire the architectural contours and learn about the history, spiritual beliefs, and cultural stories associated with the relic.
Mr. Dong Van Nhuong, Deputy Head of the Po Klong Garai Tower Management Board, shared that on regular days, the monument welcomes around 200–300 visitors. Since the beginning of the holiday, visitor arrivals have surged, reaching approximately 1,000–1,500 visits per day, 4 to 5 times higher than usual. International tourists made up the majority, mainly coming from South Korea and Russia. According to the board's estimates, the site could welcome more than 8,000 visitors over the entire holiday.
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| South Korean tourists take souvenir photos while visiting Po Klong Garai Tower. |
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| Tourists visit and take souvenir photos at Po Klong Garai Tower during the September 2nd National Day holiday. |
With the surge in visitors, reception and guide services at the monument were reinforced. During peak hours, staff were stationed across sightseeing areas to assist visitors and introduce the history, architecture, and values associated with the tower complex, helping visitors better understand the heritage site throughout their tour.
Hands-on experiences in traditional craft villages
Leaving the ancient ambiance of Po Klong Garai Tower, many visitors extended their journey to Bau Truc and My Nghiep (Ninh Phuoc Commune), where traditional values remain vividly alive through pottery making, weaving, and the skilled hands of local artisans.
In Bau Truc Pottery Village, the story of indigenous culture is told through clay, fire, and the artisans' hands. During the holiday, the craft village welcomed around 600 visitors per day. While some watched artisans at work or selected items as gifts, many young travelers and families with small children were delighted to sit alongside the artisans to shape their own creations.
Artisan Vo Thi Kim Hoa patiently guided visitors through each step, from kneading clay and shaping to refining the signature patterns. Hands that were initially clumsy gradually produced their very first pieces. For many, the fascination lay not merely in bringing home a finished craft after the session, but in the process of touching the clay, trying the trade, and appreciating the ingenuity and meticulous skill behind each Cham pottery product.
Mr. Dao Trong Hoang (25 years old, from Hanoi) tried making pottery by hand for the first time. Before the trip, he had only known Bau Truc through pictures, but experiencing it firsthand brought him a much closer connection to the craft village. “Only by trying it myself could I truly feel the elaborate nature of the trade. Through the artisan's guidance, I gained a deeper appreciation for the cultural values embedded in each piece,” shared Mr. Hoang.
While Bau Truc captivates with clay and fire, My Nghiep holds visitors back with the vivid colors of brocade. On traditional looms, each thread guided by the weaver's hands gradually comes together into distinctive patterns. Visiting here, guests can observe manual weaving processes, discover the meanings behind the motifs, and appreciate the meticulous attention to detail in every product. These brocade fabrics are thus not just souvenirs, but also unfold stories of lifestyle, aesthetics, and traditional crafts passed down through generations.
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| A family from Cam Ranh enthusiastically watches an artisan demonstrate traditional brocade weaving in My Nghiep Village. |
During a 3-day, 2-night trip to Phan Rang over the holiday, Ms. Nguyen Hoang Anh Thu (from Da Nang) spent time exploring Bau Truc and My Nghiep. Ms. Thu shared that what delighted her most was that each craft village carries its own distinct charm. From watching artisans craft pottery to observing weavers beside their looms, the trip gave her deeper insight into daily life and how the Cham community preserves their trades and cultural values across generations.
From ancient towers to the craft villages of Bau Truc and My Nghiep, each destination opens up a unique way to discover Cham ethnic culture. It is precisely the harmony between historical monuments and craft villages, between sightseeing and firsthand experience, that creates the distinct appeal for this journey through the Cham ethnic cultural heritage land. After the trip, what visitors take home is not merely photographs or souvenirs, but stories of the land, its people, and a heritage culture preserved within contemporary life. This also represents a rich cultural resource for the southern region of the province to develop distinctive cultural tourism products, adding greater allure to journeys exploring the Land of Agarwood.
THANH HIEU
