Marble Mountains (Vietnam)

Group of mountains near Da Nang, Vietnam

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Marble Mountains (Vietnamese: Ngũ Hành Sơn, Chữ Hán: 五行山; lit. "five elements mountains") is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Ngũ Hành Sơn District, south of Da Nang city in Vietnam. The five mountains are named after the five elements: Kim (metal), Thủy (water), Mộc (wood), Hỏa (fire) and Thổ (earth).

All of the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of Mount Thủy. Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountains, making this a tourist destination.

The area is known for stone sculpture making and stone-cutting crafts. Direct rock extraction from the mountains was banned recently. Materials are now being transported from quarries in Quảng Nam Province.

Marble Mountains was officially given the National Special Relic certificate by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on January 20, 2019.^[1]

View from on top of Mount Thủy

Vietnam War

The mountains were very near the American Marble Mountain Air Facility during the Vietnam War. According to William Broyles Jr., the Marble Mountains contained a hospital for the Vietcong, probably within earshot of the American air field and Da Nang Beach (which bordered the air field on the side opposite the mountains). He describes the enemy as having been so "certain of our ignorance [...] that he had hidden his hospital in plain sight".^[2]

Buddhist and Hindu grottoes

The Marble Mountains are home to several Buddhist and Hindu grottoes. A stairway of 156 steps leads to the summit of Thuy Son, the only Marble Mountain accessible to visitors. It allows a wide panoramic view of the surrounding area and the other marble mountains. There are a number of grottoes, including Huyen Khong and Tang Chon, and many Hindu and Buddhist sanctuaries, the temples of Tam Thai, Tu Tam and Linh Ung, and the pagoda of Pho Dong. The sanctuaries feature statues and relief depictions of religious scenes carved out of the marble.

The cave and its small grotto-temples in 1860. Lithograph by Émile Therond.
Mosaic dragon decorating a pillar at Thuy Son, at the Marble Mountains
Huyen Khong Buddhist grotto carved into the Marble Mountains
Vishnu on Garuda, Champa sculpture found in Ngu Hanh Son
Buddha Statue in Marble Mountain

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marble Mountains.

^ VIR, Vietnam Investment Review- (2019-01-21). "Marble Mountains receives national special relic certificate". Vietnam Investment Review - VIR. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
^ William Broyles, Jr., Brothers In Arms, as quoted in Morley Safer's Flashbacks, St. Martin's Press / Random House, 1991, p 175