Museum of Cham Sculpture

The Museum of Cham Sculpture in Hai Chau District, Da Nang, is the largest museum dedicated to Cham art and sculpture in Vietnam. Located near the Han River at 02 2 Thang 9 Street, it houses over 2,000 artifacts from the Champa Kingdom dating from the 7th to 15th centuries. Established in 1915, the French colonial building displays sandstone sculptures, altars and linga-yoni collected from My Son, Tra Kieu and other Cham sites.

Visitors can expect a French colonial-era building with open-air galleries and indoor halls displaying sandstone Cham sculptures, pedestals, altars, and decorative fragments. The collection is organized by archaeological sites such as My Son, Tra Kieu, Dong Duong and Thap Mam. Exhibits include Shiva linga, Ganesha, Vishnu, apsara dancers and mythical creatures. Information panels in Vietnamese, English and French explain the artifacts, with a quiet courtyard and garden setting near the Han River.

Founded in 1915 by the École Française d'Extrême-Orient and French archaeologist Henri Parmentier, the museum was built to house Cham artifacts collected from central Vietnam. The building was completed in 1919 and expanded in the 1930s. It preserves sculptures from the Champa Kingdom which flourished from the 2nd to 17th centuries, with most exhibits dating from the 7th to 15th centuries from sites such as My Son, Tra Kieu and Dong Duong.

The museum is the primary institution preserving the artistic and religious heritage of the Cham people, showcasing Hindu-Buddhist sculpture traditions. It displays representations of deities, linga-yoni, altars and architectural decoration that illustrate Cham craftsmanship, iconography and cultural exchange in central Vietnam. It is recognized as a leading cultural attraction in Da Nang for understanding Cham civilization.