Poshanu Cham Tower also called Pho Hai Cham Tower is a remaining group of Cham towers of the ancient Kingdom of Champa and remains relatively intact to this day. With high values of history, culture, architecture, Poshanu Tower gradually becomes a tourist attraction when coming to Phan Thiet City, Binh Thuan Province.
According to ancient books, In the late 8th century and early 9th century, the Cham people built this group of towers to worship Shiva – one of the worshiped and revered Hindu gods, which manifested through Linga-Yoni altar made of stone existing in the main tower.
By the 15th century, the Cham people continued to build a number of simple architectural towers to worship Princess Po Sah Nu, who is said to be the daughter of King Para Lemon, loved by people for virtue and kindness. She was the one who taught people how to cultivate wet rice, weave brocade, raise animals and catch fish.
From 1992 to 1995, archaeological excavations in the Poshanu Tower discovered many foundations of towers collapsed and buried hundreds of years ago, along with bricks and tiles and some artifacts dating from the 15th century. In 1991, Poshanu Cham Tower was ranked as a national art architectural monument.
Poshanu cham tower has Hoa Lai architectural style – one of Champa ancient art styles. Although the tower group is only small and medium size, it is the quintessence of architectural and decorative arts of the Cham people, which creates a majestic and mysterious appearance. Poshanu Cham tower includes:
– A Main Tower of Poshanu Tower: there are 4 floors, higher and smaller, and less the architectural elements than the lower floor. At the top of the tower, there are 4 windows made of bricks, triangular shaped, facing 4 sides. Under each window, there are 4 big holes for ventilation. The tower has a height of 15 meters and each of base side has the length of 20 meters. A high main door faces the East. According to Cham legend, the East is the place where the gods live. 3 fake doors are in the North, West and South directions. On the arch in the west of the tower, there are still rows of dense engravings with strange flowers and images. This is a fairly intact architecture of Poshanu Tower.
– Two B sub-towers of Poshanu tower architecture has a height of about 12 meters. The shape is basically like A tower but the scale is simple and smaller. In the past, This place worshiped Nandin cows, but now no longer.
– C Tower of Poshanu Tower group remains only a part of the tower with a height of more than 4 meters. There is only one door facing the east. The outer patterns have been eroded over time, remains only some main lines. The highlight in building Cham towers is that the bricks are not connected by adhesives, and the towers do not have a foundation underground.
Behind Poshanu Cham Tower is Pho Hai Beach. On the hill covered with green trees near the tower, there is a relic site of Lau Ong Hoang (the royal palace). This place is a villa build by Duke De Montpensier, grandson of King Louis-Philippe I of France. This place is also associated with Poet Han Mac Tu during the time he visited Phan Thiet. up to now, the villa has been destroyed. There is a blockhouse nearby, but it is not of the part of the villa.
Under Poshanu Cham Tower, there is a stall selling souvenirs. There are two specialty products of brocade and pottery. the brocade here comes from My Nghiep Brocade Weaving Village and the pottery comes from Bau Truc Pottery Village of Ninh thuan Province. The said products are made from skillful hands of hardworking artisans.
Every year, the relic area of Cham Poshanu Tower is come to pray by Cham people from the surrounding areas and visited by domestic and foreign tourists. Especially, people come crowdedly in January of the Lunar calendar when there are festivals like Rija Nga, Poh Mbang Yang, and in October of the solar calendar when there is Kate festival with many special items. Of them, there are rhythmic and graceful dances accompanied with traditional musical instruments.
In general, Poshanu Cham Tower has a special architectural style typical for the ancient architectural art of Cham people. Through lots of Change of history, the tower remains the same as a witness. In addition, there is a wild hill and mountain sight. All give us a sense of nostalgia, a feeling that does not have in a busy city.
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The complete Phan Thiet – Mui Ne Travel Guide
