About Our Region

Hoi An Ancient Town. Courtesy of Gary Theobald.

Discover the lost ancient Champa Kingdom

Today the Champa Kingdom in Central Vietnam has disappeared - what happened to the Champas? what can we learn from the Champas?

Our journey of discovery is on the sea, rivers and lands of the ancient Champas!  We follow the Thu Bon & Vu Gia rivers up river to destinations such as Hoi An, My Son, Thanh My, Nong Son.  We follow the rivers as they flow into the ocean towards Cham Islands and beyond. 

From 7-10th Century the Champas controlled the strategic Spice Trade!  Other countries who controlled the Spice Trade over the centuries included the Chinese, Dutch & Portugese. 

Today there are as few as 70,000 ethnic Champas living in Vietnam - most are in villages around Nha Trang.

Champa Kingdom

The ancient history of Hoi An and My Son, Quang Nam Province, and most of Central Vietnam is the history of the Lin Yi and Champa peoples - it is these ancient people who energized this area and gave the feelings which for centuries has attracted traders & travelers.  This is the Indian part of the makeup of "Indo-China".

UNESCO World Heritage Hoi An Ancient Town is the only surviving Vietnamese port which remains intact as it was more than 200 years ago -  Hoi An history goes back more than 2,000 years.  Today Hoi An is one of Vietnam's most popular tourist destinations.

UNESCO World Heritage My Son Sanctuary today is the most important surviving Champa ruins in Vietnam.  My Son is about 40 km by road from Hoi An.  Most tourists visiting Hoi An also visit My Son.  My Son is a tranquil place of healing and high energy - a place of feelings which attracts many people - My Son does not feel like modern Vietnam or anywhere else in Vietnam!

Earliest evidence points to Lin Yi origins from Borneo and the Iron Age at Sa Huynh around 200 B.C.

From 192 A.D. until 1,400 A.D. this region was the commercial (Hoi An), political (Tra Kieu) and spiritual (My Son) heartland of the Champa Kingdom which stretched from Danang down to Nha Trang (Kauthara) and later to Phan Rang (Panduranga).  Through wars finally the last of the Champa settlements was annexed by the Vietnamese in 1832 - many Champas having fled to Cambodia and other countries within the region.

The Champa people are ethnically the same Malay-Polynesian people as the Khmers of Angkor Wat, Cambodia - with dark skin, wiry hair and sunken eyes their physical appearance is very different from the Vietnamese. 

Hemp was grown & clothed the Champa people - hemp was the fuel that powered the "industrial revolution" in 18th century England.  Today some small Champa communities around Nha Trang still grow hemp.

Thu Bon and Vu Gia rivers, some of the most important rivers in Vietnam, start in Laos and feed into Hoi An and Danang.  These rivers for thousands of years have been the commercial and cultural heritage of the area providing trading links between the highlands, lowlands and import/ export with other countries.  (Sadly hydro electric dams are being built up river which could destroy Hoi An's eco-system and with it the tourism industry so critical to Central Vietnam!).

The Champas were great seafarers (and pirates) who owned ships and traded extensively with China, India, Java and other countries.  Their ships had similar lines to vessels still being used today including Karma Water's traditional sailing ghe nang "Makara". 

The earliest traders were most likely from Borneo, Java and Indian.  Later by 7th Century Arabs and Parsees (non-Muslim Persians), followed by the Chinese, Japanese, and by the 16th Century the Europeans including Dutch, Portuguese and British.

Trade with China was along the second "Silk Road" - the important sea route of "Nanhai Trade".  Nanhai (also called Panyu) was the Chinese port of Canton (today called "Guangzhou") in the Pearl River Delta.  Hanoi was a major port along this route.

The Champas during 7th to 10th Century controlled the strategic “Spice Trade” between Indonesia, Pursian Gulf states, India and China.  Later the Chinese and then the Portugese controlled this strategic trade route.

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Cu Lao Cham (Cham Islands) pre-dates Hoi An as a shipping destination and was commonly used for shelter, anchorage, fresh water, provisioning & trade.  The Autumn and Winter northeasterly monsoons carried sailing cargo ships from China and Japan on a reach.  On arrival these ocean going vessels were often anchored off Cham Islands.  Merchants stayed onshore in Hoi An - traded and waited for the Westerly or Southerly winds of summer before returning North to their homelands - again sailing on a reach.

The Hai Van Pass (just North of Danang) acts as a natural barrier with two different weather systems North and South of the Pass.  Primarily Chinese influence came by land North of the Pass and to the South by sea first from India and Muslim Arabs.

In the 4th Century Buddhism and Hinduism both entered Vietnam through Hoi An from trade with India.  By the 10th Century some Champa people had moved from Buddhism towards Islam - and today some Champa descendents in Malaka and Cambodia are Muslims.  Today a few Champa villages remain near Nha Trang.

During the 16th to 19th centuries Hoi An was a major international trading port comparable to Macau and Melaka.  Increasingly Hoi An Bay became silted and shallow from sands carried downstream by rivers and about 150 years ago a new port was established 30km north in Danang. 

Today Hoi An is now too shallow as a sea port averaging only 0.9 metres depth at the inlet!  Hoi An remains an important working river port for the surrounding communities.

Hoi An maintains a unique blend of ancient and modern Vietnam - with increased numbers of tourists it is quickly getting over crowded!  In comparison the tranquility of My Son remains as it should be.

Cham Islands (Cu Lao Cham)

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Cu Lao Cham  (Cham Islands) is the name given to the seven islands 9 nautical miles off the river inlet due East of Hoi An.  These islands were sacred to the Champa people.  Habitation on these islands probably pre-dates Hoi An.

Early Chinese charts from 700 A.D. show that these islands with excellent anchorage, shelter and fresh water were visited regularly during sea voyages. 

Since ancient times Cham Islands has produced some of the highest quality ingredients for the popular Chinese dish of birds nest soup.

The largest island is Hon Lao with two fishing villages - the largest village is Bai Lang with piers, and the smaller and rarely visited is at Bai Huong.  Our Cham Island Day Tour and Cham Islands Homestay is to Bai Huong.

There is an excellent anchorage off Bai Lang village on Hon Lao with fresh water supply - it was this that attracted ancient seafarers to Cham Islands. 

Ocean going sailing junks from China & Japan on a broad reach on NE monsoon winds in Autumn & Winter anchored off Cham Islands and smaller vessels would then transport goods & people ashore to Hoi An.  Merchants stayed for up to 6 months ashore before prevaling winds moved towards the South and would drive these vessels northwards again on a broad reach.   

A number of tourist projects are supposed to be built along the leeward shoreline facing Hoi An - the other side of the island is too wind blown during the monsoon season for anyone but the military to survive!  So far they have been unable to build.

The Danish Government through it's DANIDA program has generously donated funds and expertise to create Vietnam's second marine park on Cham Islands.  Snorkelling and diving are becoming increasingly popular tourist activities.

Today the Hoi An river inlet to the sea has a average depth of only 0.9 metres - making sea passage through the swell to Cham Islands almost impossible during the annual northeast monsoon season September - December.