December 2007
Marble 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), Thuy (water), Moc (wood), Hoa (fire) and Tho (earth). All of the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of Mount Thuy. Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountains, making this a tourist destination.
(Wikipedia)
One of the unanticipated tourists spots of Danang turned out to be the "Marble Mountains". Actually, they might have been the best place we visited in the whole city. Those five rocky outcrops with caves and temples inside were otherworldly. Each one was reminiscent of Batu Caves just north of Kuala Lumpur - a big hollow "mountain" with a temple nestled inside. The whole area around the "five mountains" was given over to stonemasonry with beautiful marble creations on display outside the many workshops. Brian and I were disappointed that due to the weight of the stone handicrafts, we were prevented from taking a sculpture back to Singapore. Most striking about the mountains was that inside their natural cavities shafts of daylight pierced the darkness from holes in the vaulted, stone ceilings. Those natural spotlights created a dramatic effect inside the caves.
Interestingly:
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".
(Wikipedia)
This was one of many such pieces of information that the Vietnamese could be rightly proud of. They were facing off the largest military on earth and basically forced them into a stalemate. Not only that, they routinely defied the US military literally operating right under their noses. After visiting Vietnam and seeing their portrayal of the American War, it made the US look completely foolish and naive. I admire the Vietnamese for the pluckiness. They have every right to be a proud people.
I thought that China Beach [see: China Beach] was going to be the highlight of Danang. As it turns out the surprise discoveries of the Cham Sculpture Museum [see: Cham Museum, Danang] and the Marble Mountains, both of which we never heard of before arriving, were the best parts!