When you ask local people in my place about Gia Long Emperor, everyone knows who he is. However, if you ask if they know where his final resting place is, not many people can answer your question. The reason is that his tomb is pretty far from city center, and it is not a popular tourist destination.
Thanks to not much touch by people, Gia Long Tomb keeps a calming green in its surrounding which gives us a quiet treat for a sunny day.
I and my wife went there in a sunny day to discover a hidden charm of countryside in Hue. We rode my scooter heading West to the source of Perfume River. There are two way for us to get there. One main way is for cars and buses, by which it takes longer. We did not want to go to the main way so we chose a small road going through villages. The feeling of riding in narrow village road was amazing. Via it, I could not only see local life but also have a talk with my beloved on my backseat. For the lovers, going visit the tomb - an evidence of love story is a great fit for loving souls.
The chosen narrow road led us to a small temporary metal bridge. Riding a scooter on it was pretty bumpy and scary. We were only few inches from the water. We had to pay 30 cents for each time crossing the bridge because it is a private property. We paid money directly to the guard sitting in the house. Few years ago, this was a boat port for crossing Perfume River.
After travelling through green countryside, we arrived an area of pine forest where hide some constructions behind hills and trees. I could not see the different in a man-made construction and nature. Everywhere is painted with green of trees, blue of sky and purple of dreamers.
This beautiful tomb is located in an area of 42 hills with large lake of lotus. It was not the season when I visited it but I can imagine how beautiful it is in the summer time. There is no wall surrounding the area of tomb like other royal tombs. It makes the feeling of no limit of the area.
There are many other tombs of royal members. However, the remarkable constructions are Thien Tho tomb of the Emperor and Thua Thien Cao Hoang Hau (1st Queen); and Thien Tho Huu tomb of Thuan Thien Cao Hoang Hau (2nd Queen). These two Queen were the people who followed Emperor Gia Long during his fighting a war. Unlike other emperors who were born with a golden spoon, Gia Long also known as Nguyen Anh were born in royal family but the family were killed most by rebels. The rebels led by Nguyen Hue who later became an Emperor of Tay Son Dynasty. Therefore, during 25 years, the war between Nguyen Anh and Nguyen Hue was a dramatic civil war in Vietnamese history. The day Nguyen Anh's family was killed, he was only 16 years old.
Stele pavilion
All of Gia Long's achievement was written on a stele standing in this pavilion. However, his love to his wife was written by his effort to build this tomb for the 1st Queen when she passed away in 1814. This tomb took 6 years to be completed. In addition, this is the only tomb where Queen and Emperor were buried in the same burial place. Their altars were worshiped in Minh Thanh Temple next to their graves.
Graves of Emperor Gia Long and his 1st Queen
From the burial area, we could see 2 obelisks, green of pine trees and a large lake. The area is not symmetrical but winding through hills and lakes. I am thinking about Taj Mahal temple in India where showed the love of king to his beloved. And the this tomb was built in the concept of being together in the other world. Many people explained that Gia Long wanted a combination of Ying and Yang for prosperity of nation. In spite of that, I believe that he did it for his love, like the Indian king Mogul Shah Jahan did, because love has the same words.
Looking over from main tomb
Beside the main temple is the tomb of Thuan Thien Cao Hoang Hau (2nd Queen). It is very neat and beautiful. However, I felt sorry for her as a second wife although we know that Emperor at that time must have many concubines. When I looked at lonely aside tomb of 2nd Queen, I thought of the fate of women in old days, who always devoted for husbands and sons. And then they rest aside if they were not the 1st lady. Indeed, the 2nd Queen was mother of Emperor Minh Mang, but she stayed forever alone if we believe in a life after death. I wonder if they were happy to share a husband even though it was a common custom that day?
Thien Tho Huu Tomb - Tomb of the 2nd Queen
Photo credit
The complex is a great combination of man-made and nature where I could rest my mind in green of grass and yellow of sunshine. I felt like I walked in a forest rather than a tomb. This hidden destination is a good hide in a sunny day and I would recommend it for nature lovers and silence seekers. Sometimes, stay silence together worth more than a million words, when lovers could listen the sound of silence.
A small temple worshiping Mother of Land
Obelisks from distance
Overview of Gia Long Tomb
Photo credit
Some photo credit to Kylee - my colleague
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