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This is one of the best large sites of Cham ruins still surviving, and certainly the most accessible and best restored in the countryside. A cluster of four towers built in the 10th–11th centuries on a hilltop overlooking the river. The Cham constructed the Bánh Ít site to fit in harmony with the environment, and while not as enormous as ancient sites in Angkor or Borobudur, the site even today is a beautiful medley of rolling countryside hills, river and towers. Although the site had nothing to do with silver, early French colonialists named Champa sites after minerals, and their name of "Silver Towers" stuck and is still used today by many foreign sources. The most common name used for the towers by the Vietnamese, Bánh Ít, is also the name of the local sweet cake specialty.
Approaching from the east, the first tower is the 13-metre (42-foot) gate. Up the hill from the gate are the three larger towers. The biggest is 20 metres (65 feet) high, with intricate carvings of humans, birds, flowers, and the elephant god Ganesa and the monkey god Viyu in dancing pose. The architectural style is unique among Cham ruins for the vertical columns and grooved tiles, the use of sandstone for the roof edges, and false doors topped by soaring arches in the shape of spears. The site held many statues, but sadly, most of them were shipped off to Europe by French colonialists in the late 19th century. The most impressive of the artworks, an intricately-carved 11th-century statue of a three-eyed Shiva seated on a lotus, is held in the Musée Guimet in Paris, while copper statues of Genesha, Uma, and Brahma vanished into private French collectors' hands in the early 20th century.
If you're feeling particularly adventurous, the undeveloped countryside around the main towers is full of small centuries-old ruins. Although only the four complete towers survive, the area had many more buildings, and poorly-funded archaeological surveys haven't had the resources to completely investigate the grounds. Small fragments are hidden in many places in the undergrowth, and, with luck, you can even find complete corner pieces of several buildings overgrown by trees, particularly to the east of the main site. But don't disturb anything: you're allowed to explore the ruins, but it's illegal to take, sell, export, or damage any historical relics in Vietnam.
Tháp Đôi / Twin Towers
The Tháp Đôi are the most accessible Cham towers in the country. The Hindu Cham people started construction on the two 20-metre (65 ft) towers in the 11th century after establishing Vijaya as the capital of their empire and the port city of Quy Nhơn as its economic engine. Three towers were planned, but for unknown reasons, only two exist, and the site became known to the Vietnamese as Tháp Đôi ("The Twin Towers"). Unusually for Cham architecture, the Twin Towers eschew the traditional multi-storey square construction in favour of a large rectangular base topped by a carved pyramid structure. The towers were built from brick in the typical Cham style in which pieces were tiled closely together and then baked into a solid block, with the unusual addition of crushed stone for support. The outer structure and external sculptures were made from sandstone. The art and architecture share many characteristics with Angkor sites in present-day Cambodia thanks to the frequent exchange — in both peace and war — between Champa and the Khmer kingdom. This later Cham period is particularly characterized by the intricate and ornate animal statues and carvings which the Cham adopted after moving their capital to Bình Định. The holy bird Garuda rests on top of the vegetation-covered roofs, protecting the towers from evil forces, while below are detailed carvings of giant lotus bases, elephants, lions, monkeys and humans dancing. The towers were restored in the 1980s and 1990s with help from a Polish archaeological team, and the area around them has been developed into a small park, with trees and grass surrounding the archaeological site and shielding it from the traffic outside (ironically, one of the only noisy stretches of road anywhere in the city is Trần Hưng Đạo street directly in front of the towers). The neighbourhood just to the north of the towers is a pleasant and quiet residential area on the banks of the river, with a few local cafes and restaurants. Unlike the Cham towers in the countryside, ticket collectors at Tháp Đôi are always present and awake, so you will definitely be asked to pay.
Medium-sized Buddhist temple a 4-min walk from Coopmart just west of Nguyễn Tất Thành Street.
Large and very important Buddhist temple in Quy Nhơn city and Bình Định province. The temple was first constructed in the early 1700s, but nothing of the original structure remains. The current main building was erected in 1956, and the Buddha statue and lotus pond were completed in 1972. The 1.7 m (5.6 ft) high, 700 kg (1,500 lb) bell was believed to have been cast in 1805. Inside is a statue of Avalokiteśvara, the embodiment of infinite compassion of all Buddhas, who uses his thousand arms to reach out to help the suffering masses. To the side of the temple is a 17 m (56 ft) bluestone statue of Amitābha (Vietnamese: A-di-đà), the celestial Buddha, resting upon a 5 m (16 ft) lotus base. Entrance is free every day from early morning until late evening.
Large and active Mahayana Buddhist pagoda complex in the city centre a 10-minute walk west of Coopmart. Founded in 1917 outside the city, it was moved in the 1960s to its current location to make room for the expansion of the airport during the Vietnam-American war. The well-maintained temple, which is surrounded by spacious and peaceful grounds with many colourful statues, is an active and working centre of spiritual studies, community outreach, and charity activities. Visitors are welcome daily from morning to evening.
Impressive and little-visited Buddhist temple of 800 m² (8,600 ft²) set on tranquil riverside grounds of 1,800 m² (19,000 ft²). Work began on the site in 2011. Soon after, five workers were gravely injured in a major accident when the concrete and steel of the third floor collapsed. Construction was suspended, but with the prayers of the monks and the enthusiastic support of the injured workers, the community overcame its grief and the temple was finished in 2013.
Active Mahayana Buddhist temple on a tranquil 2,000 m² (21,000 ft²) site. A small hut on the grounds began serving as a spiritual home for monks in the 1920s but was destroyed during war activities in the 1940s. The temple was restarted under new spiritual advisers in 1955, and the structure was built out very, very slowly. After 40 years of glacial progress, construction on the current temple picked up pace in the 1990s and was finished in 1995. The well-maintained temple boasts a 150-kg (330-lb) bell. Open to visitors daily from morning to evening.