Keeping the Sacred, Sharing the Site: Cham Worshippers and Tourism Development at Ponagar Cham Tower, Nha Trang, Vietnam

Summary Ponagar Cham Tower, on a hillside beside the Cai River in Nha Trang, is at once a living place of Cham worship, a shrine shared with the Kinh majority, and one of south-central Vietnam’s most visited tourist sites. In January 2025, the complex was elevated to the highest level of heritage protection in Vietnam, and the state and tourism sector have steadily made it easier for visitors to access, with evening openings, craft demonstrations, quick response (QR) code guiding, and a nighttime show. Far less is documented about how the Cham who still travel here to worship experience these changes. Drawing on online interviews with three young Cham worshippers, this case listens to that quieter side. It finds that their attachment to Ponagar is mainly a matter of feeling, of peace, ancestral connection, and belonging, rather than a judgement about whether the site is genuine. They accept a great deal of change to the outer form of the site, hold firmly to its ritual core, and regard the tower as both shared with others and still their own. The case draws out what this means for managing minority sacred sites under tourism. Information © The Author 2026