I was excited to arrive in Hue, which was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty and national capital from 1802 to 1945. Emperor Gia Long constructed a walled citadel in 1803 along the banks of the Perfume River and moved the capital from Hanoi to Hue in an effort to unite the north and the south. The citadel complex was a series of gated courtyards, gardens, pavilions and palaces and housed the imperial family. However, the French were increasingly obtaining control over the country, and the Treaty of Protectorate was signed in 1884 officially recognizing French rule over Vietnam. The Nguyen Dynasty ruled as a figurehead under French colonial authority until the region was occupied by Japanese during World War II. During this time, the Viet Minh communist resistance movement also developed under Ho Chi Minh. After surrender of Japan in 1945, the Viet Minh seized power and Emperor Bao Dai abdicated the throne bringing an end to the dynasty.
During the American-Vietnamese war, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive in 1968 during which the South Vietnamese and American forces lost control of most of Hue and the surrounding area. During the time that the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong controlled the citadel, more than 2,500 people were executed. American and South Vietnamese responded by bombing the site and spraying napalm. An estimated 10,000 people were killed including 150 US Marines. The area was recaptured after over one month of intense fighting. It was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the war. The citadel was severely damaged. One website says that 40 percent of the buildings were destroyed, and another says 80 percent. Calls for renovation began in the early 1980s and it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. While we were there, the Kien Trung palace was undergoing restoration.
As we approached, we walked along the approximately 100-foot wide moat that encircles the 6.5-foot-thick walls protecting the complex.
I downloaded a nice map of the entire complex, which is available on Wikimedia Commons and included below. Some of the structures indicated on the map have been destroyed.
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1. Meridian Gate (Ngọ Môn)
2. Thái Dịch Lake (Hồ Thái Dịch)
3. Trung Đạo Bridge (Cầu Trung Đạo)
4. Esplanade of Great Salutation (Sân Đại Triều)
5. Hall of Supreme Harmony (Điện Thái Hoà)
6. Main Gate of Forbidden Purple City (Đại Cung môn)
7. Left House, Right House (Tả vu, Hữu vu)
8. King’s Official Working Place (Điện Cần Chánh)
8a. (Điện Võ Hiển) 8b. (Điện Văn Minh)
9a. (Điện Trinh Minh) 9b. (Điện Quang Minh)
10. King’s Residence (Điện Càn Thành)
11. Queen’s Residence (Điện Khôn Thái) 11a. (Viện Thuận Huy) 11b. (Viện Dưỡng Tâm)
12. Kiến Trung Pavillion (Lầu Kiến Trung)
13. Royal Reading Pavillion (Thái Bình Lâu)
14. Royal Park (Vườn Ngự Uyển)
15. Cơ Hạ Park (Vườn Cơ Hạ)
16. Interior Treasury (Phủ Nội Vụ)
17. Triệu Temple (Triệu Miếu)
18. Thái Temple (Thái Miếu)
19. Grand Queen Mother’s Residence (Cung Trường Sanh)
20. Queen Mother’s Residence (Cung Diên Thọ)
21. Phụng Tiên Temple (Điện Phụng Tiên)
22. Hưng Temple (Hưng Miếu)
23. Thế Temple (Thế Miếu)
24. Nine Dynastic Urns (Cửu Đỉnh)
25. Hiển Lâm Pavillion (Hiển Lâm Các)
26. Hiển Nhơn Gate (Cửa Hiển Nhơn)
27. Hoà Bình Gate (Cửa Hoà Bình)
28. Chương Đức Gate (Cửa Chương Đức)
29. Royal Office (Ngự Tiền Văn phòng)
30. Harem (Lục Viện)
31. Minh Thận Temple (Điện Minh Thận)
We started our tour at the To Mieu Temple Complex, a smaller walled complex in southwestern area of the larger complex. The To Mieu Temple Complex includes:
22. Hưng Temple (Hưng Tổ Miếu)23. Thế Temple (Thế Tổ Miếu)24. Nine Dynastic Urns (Cửu Đỉnh)25. Hiển Lâm Pavillion (Hiển Lâm Các)
The Hưng Tổ Miếu (Temple of the Resurrection) was built in 1804 to honor founder Gia Long's parents. It was destroyed by war in 1947, reconstructed in 1951, and underwent large scale restoration between 1995 and 1997.
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| Hưng Tổ Miếu Temple |
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| Hưng Tổ Miếu interior |
Thế Tổ Miếu Temple was constructed at the orders of emperor Minh Mạng in 1822-1823 for the purposes of ancestor worship of the past emperors of the dynasty and contains shrines for each of the emperors.
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| Thế Tổ Miếu Temple |
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| Thế Tổ Miếu Temple |
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| Altar in Thế Tổ Miếu Temple |
Adjacent to Hien Lam Pavilion are Nine Dynastic Urns cast in bronze between 1835 to 1837 under Emperor Minh Mang. Each urn was decorated with 17 bas-reliefs and named in accordance with the posthumous titles of the Nguyen Emperors. Each urn is 6.5 feet in height, weighing 4,188 to 5,732 pounds. The urns are dedicated to the Nguyen sovereigns with the largest dedicated to founder Gia Long. Hiển Lâm Pavillion is adjacent to the Nine Dynastic Urns. It was built between 1821 and 1822 as a memorial under King Minh Mang.
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| Nine Dynastic Urns |
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| Hiển Lâm Pavillion |
We continued in a clockwise direction to the Queen Mothers residence, which is listed on the map as
19. Grand Queen Mother’s Residence (Cung Trường Sanh)20. Queen Mother’s Residence (Cung Diên Thọ)
The Truong Sanh Residence was constructed in 1821 under the reign of Emperor Minh Mang. It was originally a garden area where the emperors would meet with their mothers. After several renovations, it became the residence of Grand Queen Mothers from 1886. It includes a complex of structures with some parts of the original royal garden including a rivulet, rockery, and pond. It was severely damaged in the war. It has a beautiful entrance gate with prancing dragons.
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| Entrance gate to Truong Sanh |
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| Truong Sanh Residence |
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| Truong Sanh Residence interior |
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| Rockery within the gardens |
Dien Tho Residence is another complex consisting of 10 buildings including houses, a store house, a pleasure pavilion and Buddhist temple. Only some of the structures remain. The palace was the residence of eight mothers and four grandmothers of the emperors. Truong Du Pavilion is part of Dien Tho Palace and was built in 1849 in preparation for a four-week festival. It is built on a rectangular lake.
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| Truong Du Pavilion |
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| Truong Du Pavilion interior |
Tinh Minh Mansion is another structure that is part of Dien Tho Palace complex. The site of this building was originally occupied by a structure called Thong Minh Duong, built in the 19th century. Thong Minh Duong was replaced with the present structure in 1927. It was then used as a medical clinic for Empress Thanh Cung, Emperor Dong Khanh's first wife, in her later years. It was renovated in 1950 for use as Bao Dai's (the last emperor's) private residence.
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| Tinh Minh Mansion |
Towards the center of the complex is the Thai Binh Reading Pavilion, constructed in 1841-1847 under Emperor Thieu Tri. It was renovated in 1921 and again in 1987, 1989 and between 1990 and 1991. It was totally restored between 2010 and 2015. Artistic landscaping and pottery mosaics surround the structure. The reading pavilion is located on the above map as
13. Royal Reading Pavillion (Thái Bình Lâu)
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| Thai Binh Reading Pavilion |
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| Thai Binh Reading Pavilion interior |
The Nhật Thành pavilion was built in 1841 under the reign of Emperor Thieu Tri. At the end of the dynasty, this was the place where Bao Dai's mother and the royal concubines would meet for Buddhist chanting and to pray for peace. It was destroyed in 1947 and again in 1968 to the extent that only the foundation remained. It was restored in 2018.
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| Nhật Thành Pavilion |
Kien Trung Palace was built between 1921 and 1923 during the reign of Emperor Khai Dinh. It once served as the living and working space of Bao Dai, the last emperor. It incorporated architectural elements from Vietnamese, French and Italian Renaissance styles. It was destroyed in the late 1940s with only the foundation remaining intact. It is currently under restoration at a cost of $5.3 million. It is identified on the above map as
12. Kiến Trung Pavillion (Lầu Kiến Trung)
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| Renovation of Kien Trung Palace |
The Forbidden Purple City was a citadel within the citadel and was located at the center of the Imperial enclosure. It was reserved for the personal use of the emperor, and the only servants allowed inside were eunichs who would pose no threat to the concubines. The area was almost entirely destroyed by the wars. I found a historical aerial photo from 1932 before many of the structures were destroyed, and the resolution is quite good. The source website also has several other historical photographs of additional structures.
Sadly, we missed one of the most important monuments in the citadel, the Thai Hoa Palace. Built in 1805, it was a place for court rituals, to welcome ambassadors of other countries or celebrate diplomatic rituals. I highly recommend planning in advance of your visit and purchasing the audio guide provided at the entrance gate. The complex is huge and requires all-day walking. We also failed to tour the Can Chanh Palace (Palace of Audiences) and Dai Cung Mon Palace although we did see the annexes (Left and Right Mandarin's Buildings) where the mandarins (bureaucrats) prepared themselves before meetings with the emperor. Located immediately behind Thai Hoa Palace, on either side of a courtyard, both buildings date from the early 19th century and were renovated in 1899. In addition, the right mandarin's building was restored in 1977 and the left was restored in 1986 and 1997.
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| One of the mandarin's buildings where meetings with the emperor occurred |
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| Bronze Cauldron in front of The Can Chanh Palace (Palace of Audiences) |
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| View of the Ngo Mon Gate as we end the day |
The following day, we fired up the motorbikes and headed out to visit several Royal Tombs and other sites located beyond the Perfume River to the southwest of the citadel. I photographed a map of the area that was displayed at the main citadel:
First up was a tiger arena built in 1830 for the royal pastime of watching fighting between elephants and tigers. The fangs and claws of the tigers were removed so that the elephants would win. Elephants are a symbol of the emperor's power. The last fight was held in 1904. There are views of the arena and cages.
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| Inside the arena |
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| One of the cages |
We moved on towards the Lang Tu Duc tomb, which is quite a complex. Emperor Tu Duc enjoyed the longest reign of any monarch of the Nguyen dynasty, ruling from 1848-1883. Despite the magnificence of the site, Tu Duc was buried in a different, secret location somewhere in Hue. Here is a map of the tomb complex:
Upon entering, we encountered Luu Khiem Lake. The lake was created from a small stream once running through the area. The soil was excavated and used to create the Tinh Khiem Islet during Tu Duc's reign.
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| Luu Khiem Lake |
The Chi Khiem Temple, on the north shore of the lake, was dedicated to the minor wives of Emperor Tu Duc and his predecessors.
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| Chi Khiem Temple |
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| Chi Khiem Temple |
Luong Khiem Temple is located behind Hoa Khiem Temple. Luong Khiem was the living place of King Tu Duc's mother, Empress Dowager Tu Du, when she was alive. Hoa Khiem was the place where Tu Duc worked, then later a place where he and his wife were worshipped. A theater, Minh Khiem Chamber, was built behind the Hoa Khiem Temple and is considered the oldest royal theater in Vietnam.
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| Luong Khiem Temple |
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| Hoa Khiem Temple |
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| Hoa Khiem Temple |
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| Palanquin and throne at Minh Khiem chamber |
Upon entering the complex, the Xung Khiem Pavilion is visible across the lake. This is where the emperor would sit with his concubines, composing or reciting poetry.
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| Xung Khiem Pavilion |
As we continued through the complex, we encountered the Honor Courtyard with a set of stone elephants, horses and mandarins. The courtyard was intended to be a place of reverence and respect for the Emperor Tu Duc.
The courtyard leads to the Stele Pavilion which covers a 20-ton stone tablet. The inscriptions were written by Tu Duc himself. The Stele Pavilion is the largest in Vietnam.
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| Stele Pavilion |
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| View of the Stele Pavilion from the tomb |
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| Stone tablet under the pavilion |
There are so many tombs to visit in the surrounding area, we limited ours to the Tu Duc Tomb, the most impressive, and the tomb of Dong Khanh, 9th emperor. The Dong Khanh tomb was built in 1889. An adopted son of Emperor Tu Duc, this emperor was placed on the throne by the French in 1885 and died three years later. The tomb is a combination of Asian and European architectural styles. It is situated 500 meters behind the Tu Duc tomb and recently reopened after over three years of restoration.
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| Courtyard and bronze cauldron at Dong Khanh tomb |
Ngung Hy Palace is composed of three buildings connected to two courtyards in the back. The palace exterior is decorated with terracotta reliefs and other embellishments such as fighting cocks, music-chess-poetry-wine, fruits, animals, etc.
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| Ngung Hy Palace |
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| Ngung Hy Palace interior |
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| Ngung Hy Palace interior |
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| Dong Khanh tomb |
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| Dong Khanh burial area |
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| Dong Khanh tomb |
As you can see, the number of sites and structures is overwhelming and it is possible to spend a week in the Hue area and exploring all of the citadel features and surrounding tombs thoroughly. Other surrounding tombs include the Tomb of Minh Mang, Tomb of Khai Dinh, Tomb of Gia Long (founder of the Nguyen dynasty), Tomb of Thieu Tri not to mention the Thien Mu Pagoda, Tu Hieu Pagoda, Thuan An To Vinh Hien beach, Nam Giao Esplanade, Thanh Toan Bridge. It's something to consider when planning a trip. Again, I'd recommend mapping out the sites and researching them in advance. Take advantage of any audio tours offered.
That same day, we left the motorbikes behind and loaded ourselves up onto a sleeper bus headed for Phong Nha Ke Bang where we planned to spend a few days exploring the countryside looking for birds and butterflies.
