Hue has been the capital of Vietnam, the feudal sovereignty, from 1744 when the Nguyen lords controlled all of southern Vietnam. The city is one of the most popular Vietnam destinations. It was severely damaged during the American war, in the 1968 Tet offensive, when house-to-house fighting lasted for weeks. Still, many architectural gems remain to this day and they are well worth a visit. In 1993, UNESCO acknowledged the Complex of Monuments of Hue as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
Hue is divided between the older fortified Citadel, containing most of the interesting attractions, and the new, smaller sprawl that has developed across the river. People come to Hue to see the old Imperial complex, the Citadel and the Forbidden cities, the pagodas, and the many tombs of the emperors that lie a few kilometers south of the city. Each tomb is a walled compound containing temples, palaces, and lakes.
The very first stop-over is the exterior circle, the Kinh Thanh Hue (Hue capital citadel), which started to be constructed in 1805 under the reign of Emperor Gia Long and was completed in 1832 under the sovereignty of Emperor Ming Mang. Over the past 200 years, it has still maintained original with nearly 140 small and large constructions. With a square shape, it is almost 10km in circumference, 6m high, 21m thick, with 10 entrances. On the top of the walls, 24 bastions are established for defensive purposes. Besides, the Citadel has an ancillary gate connecting the Tran Binh Bastion called the Tran Binh Mon (Peaceful protector Gate).
Now we get further into the second circle, the Hoang Thanh (Royal citadel), also the most important part of the Citadel, which was built in 1804 but totally completed in 1833, under King Ming Mang’s reign. The Citadel, which is more than 600m long for each side, was built with bricks of 4m high, and 1m thick. Around the citadel is a protecting trench system. Tourists can get access to the Imperial Citadel through four entrance gates. In the past, Ngo Mon Gate was only reserved for the King. Royal Citadel consists of more than 100 fascinating architectural works divided into numerous sections:
Section of the Ngo Mon Gate and the Thai Hoa Palace: used for various grand ceremonies.
Section for placing shrines of the Kings under Nguyen Dynasty: Trieu Mieu, Thai Mieu, Hung Mieu, The Mieu and Phung Tien Temples.
Section of internal affairs office: Storehouse for precious objects, workshop for manufacturing various useful articles.
Section of the Kham Van Palace and Co Ha Garden: is where the princes studied or relaxed.
Passing through Hoang Thanh, we enter Tu Cam Thanh (Forbidden Citadel). Situated inside the Imperial Citadel complex, behind the Throne Palace, the Purple Forbidden Citadel was reserved for Emperor and his family. Built in the early 1803 under reign of Emperor Gia Long, it was initially named Cung Thanh. In 1821, it was renamed into the today’s Tu Cam Thanh.
This citadel part was built with brick walls of 3.72m high, 0.72m thick, and about 1,230m in circumference. Its front and back sides are 324m long respectively, while the left and right sides are both more than 290m long. The whole site consists of 50 architectural constructions of different sizes and 7 gates for facilitating the entrance and exit.
Dai Cung Mon (the Great Palace Gate) is in the front side, only reserved for the Kings. Can Chanh Palace was the place for daily working of Emperors. Can Thanh (Emperor's Private Palace), Khon Thai Residence (Queen's Private Apartment) were reserved for the Queens. There are still many other sections, for instance, Duyet Thi Duong house (Royal Theatre), Thuong Thien (the kitchen for the Kings' food), Thai Binh Lau (King's reading room), all of which are of great architectural value, luring uncountable visitors who are interested in feudal architecture.
Hue is also known for the Hue Festival, which is a major annual event. It is a nine days event to celebrate the culture, court music and the ancient traditions of this historic city. Other festivals in Hue include the Nam Gion Festival, where participants from the Royal Palace are involved in the ceremony, the Royal Palace Night, which is a three day festival, Truyen Lo and Vinh Quy Bai, both of which honor the ancestors.
Should you ever come inside the citadel, taking a look into the special feudal relics of immense architectural and cultural values, you will surely more or less love the traditional and classical side of Vietnam. As time goes by, thousands of changes have occurred, the precious historical and classical beauty of the nation would never be gone!
Other tourist activities:
Xa Tac pavilion
Flag tower
The Hue National University
Hue royal imperial fine art galary
Bookstore palace
Standing for over 200 years and consisting of over 100 fascinating architectural works almost remained unchanged, the Royal Citadel is an ideal place for those wishing to better understand an architectural and cultural beauty as well as an important history of Vietnam. Joining a city tour and visiting Hue Citadel - the not-to-be-missed attraction when you travel to Hue will give you a better understanding of the architectural and cultural beauty during an important phase in Vietnam history.
One major tourist attraction in Hue is shopping. The main item to shop for here is silk painting, which has been a distinct feature of Vietnam for centuries. Other items include calligraphic artwork on silk, lacquer, stone and wood.
Hue is a quiet, relaxing city, big enough to be interesting but small enough to bicycle around. The food is great, the best in Viet Nam, and the women are supposed to be the most beautiful in the country.
Source: internet
