The Dương Long tower complex is a special national relic built by the Chăm people in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Photo nhandan.vn

GIA LAI – Restoration work is underway on the Dương Long tower complex, which is Southeast Asia's tallest brick Chăm tower, with the project expected to help preserve one of Việt Nam's most important cultural heritage sites.

Also known as An Chánh, Bình An or Ngà tower, the complex is a special national relic built by the Cham people in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Located in Bình An Commune, Gia Lai Province, it consists of three towers, with the central tower standing about 39m high.

After more than 800 years, the towers have suffered damage from weather, time and plant growth. In late 2025, the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched a restoration project worth more than VNĐ90 billion (US$3.4 million). Scheduled to last 10 months, the project now sees 40 per cent of its workload completed.

Before work began, the entire site was carefully surveyed and documented to ensure all restoration follows heritage conservation principles.

About 340,000 bricks have been specially produced to match the composition, colour and texture of the original Chăm bricks. Each brick is marked with the production year of 2026, to distinguish new materials from the original structure. Broken ancient bricks have also been crushed and mixed with lime to make mortar that is compatible with the existing masonry.

The project also uses resin from the Dipterocarpus alatus tree as a bonding material, together with a traditional polishing and bonding technique believed to be close to the construction methods used by the Chăm people.

Stone carvings are being restored only where sufficient historical evidence exists, while missing sections without reliable references are replaced with plain stone blocks to avoid creating inaccurate decorative details. VNA/VNS