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Over the hill
The Marble Mountains are one of the highlights on Central Vietnam’s tourist trail, says Trieu Van Trung At the foot of Marble Mountain, I stand in the sunshine and contemplate the fact that the name in English might be slightly misleading.
For
a start there are no mountains, these are merely hills. Plus, it’s not
actually all made out of marble– there is also, I believe, a
considerable amount of limestone in the hills. Nevertheless the
‘mountains’ are undoubtedly a bewitching and inspiring place.
You will find mysterious grottos and secluded pagodas while enjoying
the breeze off the great blue open sea. Nearby modern hotels and
resorts take advantage of the stunning Non Nuoc beach that runs along
Central Vietnam’s coastline. Every day the tourists come in numbers,
each one seduced by the tranquil air and natural beauty.
When King Minh Mang came here in the 19th century he was famously
besotted by the grottoes and pagodas. He is said to have considered it
to be the pride of his southern kingdom. It was also Ming Mang who
named the hills Ngu Hanh Son in Vietnamese after the five elements. The
individual hills were christened Kim Son (metal mountain), Thuy Son
(water mountain), Moc Son (wood mountain), Hoa Son (fire mountain) and
Tho Son (earth mountain).
Today the area is famous for stone sculpture, though extracting rock
directly from the area is now banned. Sculptors are still here in
numbers but materials are now transported to craftsmen from quarries
elsewhere in Quang Nam province. All along the foot of the hills the
sculptors ply their trade in small gardens, which double as workshops
and outdoor showrooms. You will find traditional and modern motifs and
imagery.
The sculptors cater for all kinds of visitors – Asian and European, the
old and the young, flashpackers and backpackers. As you make your way
towards the sculptures on display the hawkers will quickly surround
you. Sculptures and other trinkets made here have been sold, boxed and
dispatched all across the globe. You can find a variety of statues,
household items and assorted jewellry pieces.
You can find enormous fantastical animals and fanciful statues from
Vietnamese folk tales, pot-bellied Buddhas and some wonderful
chessboards. There is literally something for everyone and the hawkers
– as ever in Vietnam – would hate to see you go home empty-handed!
Happier chiselling than trying to flog their wares, the community of
artisans at the Non Nuoc Fine Arts Village keep their heads down
throughout the day. Wandering in and around the mountains is a happy
pursuit for any tourist.
The highest mountain, Tho Son, is climbable via a series of metal
ladders beginning inside the cave and extending to the surface at the
top. Ling Ong Pagoda, a shrine within a cave, is a highlight. There are
stone steps carved into Thuy Son that lead up to the Tam Thai Pagoda
where Phat Di Lac is worshiped. At the back you will find Huyen Khong
pagoda, which in the past paid tribute to Hindu and Buddhist gods.
Huyen Khong, like many of the other Buddhist sanctuaries, and many of
the caves, served as a safe haven for Vietnamese revolutionaries during
the war against US forces. When the mountain first popped up on
Vietnam’s tourist trail in the late 1990s tourism services were
relatively underdeveloped. Locals opened souvenir shops and food stores
freely and the area became rather chaotic.
Thankfully nowadays services are more regulated and much better
organised and the area is all the better for it. The district
authorities are optimistic for the future of the area and hope that it
can be further developed and attract increasing numbers of tourists. In
future other marble craft villages will be incorporated while Huyen Vi
and Thien Phuoc Dia grottos will be upgraded.
A new rest area will be constructed on Thuy Son while a new stairway to
the top of another hill is also planned so tourists can enjoy an s
already on offer atop Tho Son are inspirational as it is. By the time
you get back to ground level, you might just feel that you climbed up a
hill and came down a mountain.
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