We spent a couple of hours at the Museum of Cham Sculpture – the Chams are an ethnic minority in Vietnam with a long and interesting history in the region. There were some amazing sculptures on display, with a few dating back to the 3rd century. The audio guide was good. I recommend wandering for a couple of hours.

An unexpected cultural experience, but the best part was having vietnamese school children practice their english on us "Hello, How are you?", "What is your name?". The connections with Hindu India surprised me as well as the size of the collection. Our taxi driver from the airport, adopted us and took us to museums, authentic restaurants and amusement parks. He spoke no english, but with cell phone translation we communicated just fine.

The museum is really well set up. The sculptures are quite Amazing and the audio tour provides you with real insight. I could have spent longer there I was quite captivated by the history. It’s an open air museum and the mosquitoes are as bad as anywhere I experienced in Vietnam. Ensure you load up on the heavy duty mosquito repellant s that you don’t have to stress

I have to confess that before coming to Vietnam I had never heard of the Cham people or the Champa Empire that lasted from the 2nd century AD until 1832 when its last remnants were absorbed by its Viet neighbours to the north. The Champa Empire was in almost constant conflict with its neighbours and had to fight off repeated invasions from the Viets to the north, the Khmers to the west and the Javanese to the south, not to mention the Mongols a couple of times. Eventually it all became too much and by the 14th century the empire was in irreversible decline and Champa became one of the greatest empires no one has ever heard of. Today there are less than 100,000 people in Vietnam who can still speak the language. The museum was designed and built by the French in 1915 to house a collection of Cham artifacts that had been collected by French archaeologists almost from the time they arrived in Vietnam. The collection of over 300 sandstone and terra cotta works is the largest in the world, housed in ten galleries, each one containing finds from a separate Cham site. The first thing you will notice is that almost all the sculptures depict various Hindu gods and demi-gods, even though Vietnam is thousands of miles rom India. There is also one gallery with Buddhist motifs. Even while Chinawas dominating the north of the country for over a thousand years, in the centre and south the influence was coming from India. I have included quite a few photos of the best pieces including the world's best example of a Gajasimha, a mythical beast that was half elephant and half lion. There's also a frieze showing polo players, just about the last thing I thought I would see in Vietnam. Located just off the Dragon bridge this museum is a must visit in Da Nang.

We took our time going through these exhibits. Good thing we finished before the school field trips and noisy tour groups came. Dear Management, please instruct the teachers NOT to blow their whistle to call the attention of the high school kids. After all, this is a Museum.

This should be on your bucket list, not only if you are in Da Nang. The art, the stone sculptures, are breathtakingly beautiful, it was a fabulous culture. easy to reach, open EARLY, can walk from the Han Mkt to the Museum, if you have enough energy to do both

This museum is located very near the Dragon Bridge. Entrance fee is 60 VND. There are many exhibits on display at this museum ranging from statues of Buddhas, intricate carvings of dancers and other figures, photographs of excavation sites, areas where the diggings took place, etc. There are clean restrooms inside the museum and benches near the Exit. Highly recommended to visit to see the Cham artifacts and sculptures.

The museum looks quite small from the outside but there are actually lots of exhibits inside, and they are clearly labelled in Vietnamese & English. We went around with a guide and was interesting to hear more of the history and stories of the time - and to explain the fixation with adding nipples to so many sculptures! I was amused by how all the many animal sculptures were so very well done (elephants, monkeys, horses playing polo, water buffalo etc) but the poor lion always had a slightly comical effect. I know this is just how lions were seen in these times with the emphasis on curly hair for a mane but weren't in the least bit fierce looking! I know I should appreciate the art more but it tickled me as I wandered round. A very enjoyable visit - but no gift shop so they miss a trick there.

The Dananang Museum of Cham Sculpture is in a neo French colonial building beside the river 8n Danang ,also close to the Dragon Bridge. It's chock a block full of sculptures and other artifacts and relics of the Cham people of what was the Champa kingdom of Central Vietnam. Salvaged mostly from the ancient temple site of My Son,and also the former capital of Tra Kieu, both easily accessible from both Hoi An and Danang. It traces the history and culture of the the Cham people, and also of My Son , the longest continually utilized temple site in SE Asia, 400AD to approx 1400AD. It's well worth spending a couple or more hours here and is easily accessed from the city centre or the Danang beach area.