Some of Vietnam's most impressive treasures are found in Hue. Both the city of Hue and the surroundings are loaded with palaces, temples, pagodas and royal tombs. Hue has also been one of the spiritual and cultural centers of Vietnam. Once the political capital of 13 emperors from the Nguyen dynasty from 1802 - 1945. Today, the Citadel with the Forbidden Purple City, the imperial tombs and other seperate sites in and around Hue, are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The entrance to the Citadel
Our plan was to make a stop in Hue for one night, on our way to Danang, to be able to visit the Citadel. But before leaving Hanoi, we found out that a storm was going to hit the coast where Danang is located. Then we changed our minds. Instead we stayed three days in Hue, only to discover that the storm did hit Hue too. We had to spend a whole day in the hotel! But it meant we got the chance to discover some of Hue's hidden treasures.
The entrance to the Forbidden Purple City
The Forbidden Purple City is situated within the fortified Citadel, which again is surrounded by the modern city of Hue. It's like a city within the city, within a city... The construction of the Citadel began in 1804 and finished in 1833. It' a heavely fortified city with a thick 10 kilometer long wall with a moat. The Forbidden Purple City also has a wall and a moat of its own. This was the quarters reserved for the emperor.
We entered the Citadel through the main gate and then again the main gate to the Imperial City, crossing the two moats. On a map set up at the entrance we got a good overview before we started exploring the place. It is built after the same lay out as the Forbidden City in Beijing.
I expected this imperial city to look a lot like the Forbidden City in Beijing. There are many similarities between them, but they are far from comparable. This complex contains far less buildings.
Unfortunately, the city was heavily bombed by the Americans in 1968 , but although some of the buildings have been restored, the complex only has a small amount of preserved buildings The remaining buildings do look like they need maintenence. Some of them are in the state of repair though. In a way the Forbidden Purple City will disappoint if you compare with the Forbidden City in Beijing.
But still, it is worth visiting. It has a quiet atmosphere and far less visitors. Here you can easily find a corner or a building where you can be all alone.
Our second day was spend on the premises of the hotel, while the storm was loose outside. That gave us plenty of time to plan what to do on our last day. We asked for advice at the hotel to select three of the most interesting imperial tombs. Then booked a driver for a day trip. All the tombs are scattered along the banks of the Perfume River, a short drive from Hue.
Minh Mang (1820-1840)
To me Minh Mang's tomb is the most beautiful of the imperial tombs we saw that day. The tomb is famous due to the architecture that goes well with the landscape. The whole tomb area makes use of the natural surroundings as a way of representing Mother Earth and rebirth in Heaven.
We started at the entrance and went all the way up to the burial chamber itself. The whole complex includes about 40 structures, so there is a lot to see. As we walked we pass many beautiful buildings and made stops at most of them. One of them were built for storing the emperor's clothes.
Minh Pavilion
This beautiful pavilion symbolizes the emperor's provisional step-over before arriving his final resting place.
At the the bridge we could not get further, so I do not know what the burial chamber itself looks like. Definitely a beautiful place.
Tu Duc (1848-83)
This is the tomb of Emperor Tu Duc, built between 1864 -67. He is one of the emperors with the longest reign. He also had an impressive number of wives and concubines - 104 wives and thousands of concubines, but no children.
No other tomb in Vietnam has as many facilities as this one. The emperor can go on a boat trip or he can choose to go hunting. He even has his own theater hall! It is said that the emperor designed his last resting place himself. The extravagance says something about how he lived, which was a life in luxury.
His final resting place.
Khai Dinh (1916-1925)
The emperors tomb was built in 1920-31, which was during the French colonial rule and western culture naturally gained great influence.This tomb is somewhat different from the others due to the structure.
When looking at the buildings, details and statues, you see a mixture of European and Vietnamese features. It is said that he was inspired by a visit to France in 1922. His son Bao Dai was actually the last emperor of Vietnam.
There are more tombs, but these three was a good start. Hue has more hidden treasures than I had imagined. If I ever get the chance to come back, I will definitly stay much longer in Hue.
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