Ngu Hanh Son Tourism: From Heritage to Modernity

As a cross-culture communications of Hue-Hoi An-My Son Culture, Ngu Hanh Son (The Marble Mountains), also called Mountains of the Five Element in central Danang City has become an attractive destination for tourists who visit the central region of Vietnam. Each year, Ngu Hanh Son lures more than 300,000 tourist arrivals, including nearly 80,000 international tourist arrivals.  

 

Ngu Hanh Son or the Marble Mountains has become a beauty of nature from time immemorial, the centre of the universe according to the Five Basic Element and Ying and Yang Theory. The Marble Mountains is very attractive with nature and man-made beauty and the world of pagodas and caves. It isthe tangible and intangible relic of the central region as well as the nation where is home to unique historical relics and a revolutionary base of local people in the wars. 

More investments have been poured into preservation of the Marble Mountains as well as construction of tourist sites such as stop stations at Tam Thai Pagoda, gardens of statues and green tree garden surrounding Thuy Son Mountain. Projects to upgrade and restore Gio Dong Cave – Gio Tay Cave, and upgrade roads to Thuong Thai Top, and Heaven Gate...have been carried out. Programmes to advertise Non Nuoc stone engraving practices have also lured interest of tourists. Billions of dong has been injected in projects to build many gardens of statues have their back to the mountains. So, the overall artistic spaces of these gardens are arranged skillfully thanks to the outside landscape... Natural and man-made beauty has made Ngu Hanh Son more romantic and alluring.

 

The Am Phu Cave has become an alluring site at Thuy Son (Water) Peak since it was preserved and restored. This is an evidence for the socialisation of tourism activities”.

With beauty of nature with romantic sites such as fields, warps, villages and mountains and rivers, the Marble Mountains is also home to hundreds of historical and cultural relics where famous battles had happened namely Phan Hanh Son Battle at Huyen Khong Cave and Am Phu Battle. Traces of revolutionary activities at Ba Tho Cave, Dang Pagoda, Tran Quan Dieu General’s Mother’s Tomb, Chai Temple, Minh Mang King’s Relief Station, and other traces at Tam Thai and Linh Ung Pagodas and Temple to Ngoc Lan Princess – Younger Sister of Minh Mang King, and cultural relics at Tang Chon Cave... These are alluring destinations of the Ngu Hanh Son.

 

The Marble Mountains is also famous for cultural and traditional festivals and Non Nuoc traditional practices of stone engraving. Visitors will be very interested in and surprised by the artistic stone works exhibited here.

 

Quan The Am Festival (February 19) with Bodhisattva Statue – a gentle and popular Mother of the mankind and Vu Lan Festival on July 15 with stories of Causal Principle, and Story of Muc Kieu Lien Thanh Great Buddha. Vu Lan Festival and Quan The Am Festival are two traditional typical cultural activities of the local people and will lure attention from tourists to the Marble Mountains.

 

With big tourism potentials, especially natural and man-made beauty, proper investment and due attention from the local authorities will help develop more new and interesting tourism products to attract more visitors to the Marble Mountain in the future.