The story of Mỹ Sơn

King Bhadravarman I of Champa, who ruled from 380 until 413, built a hall in this valley to worship Shiva, giving the god a name made from his own: Bhadreshvara, the Blessed Lord. On a stele he dedicated the whole valley to that god, and ended with a plea to the kings who would follow: 'Out of compassion for me, do not destroy what I have given.'

From the 4th to the 13th century, the rulers of Champa, an Indianized kingdom of the Cham people, came here for religious ceremonies and to bury their royalty and national heroes. The valley, about two kilometres wide, is surrounded by two mountain ranges, and it once held over 70 temples and many steles inscribed in Sanskrit and Cham.

A large majority of the buildings was destroyed by US bombing during a single week of the Vietnam War. In 1999 UNESCO named My Son a World Heritage Site, as evidence of an Asian civilization that is now extinct.