Hue - Former capital of Vietnam

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Hue (pronounced 'Hay') situated in Central Vietnam, was, up until 1945, the capital of the country. From the beginning of the 19th century to 1945 the country's royal family resided in a grand palace in Hue known as The Citadel. It was grand in all respects and had to accommodate the emperor, his main wife and his many minor wives. One of the emperors was a rather greedy chap and had up to 500 minor wives and over 100 children, all of which had to be accommodated within The Citadel.

Unfortunately, many of the fine buildings within The Citadel were either damaged or destroyed during the Vietnam War and many suffered as a result of American bombing. There has been a UNESCO programme of restoration and repair and this is ongoing but, due to a lack of funds, quite a few of the buildings will disappear forever.

The royal family ruled supreme until the mid 19th Century when the country became a French colony. Under French rule the royal family continued to reign but in the main the emperors became 'puppet kings' whilst maintaining their regal status.

The extravagances at the royal palace were supplemented by grand tombs built for the afterlife. Each emperor during his lifetime planned and constructed grand structures and estates for his final resting place. These were often built by forced labour and on some occasions special taxes were levied on the people to pay for the grand buildings. The seeds of the eventual revolution were planted. The reign of the royal family was brought to an end by the advent of the revolution led by Ho Chi Minh in 1945, who in his early years was educated in Hue.

Our visit was brought to life by our guide Vinh, who escorted us around The Citadel and the royal tombs and explained in detail the history and the strengths and weaknesses of the various emperors. He was particularly qualified to speak as he proudly told us he is a descendant of the second emperor, whose grand tomb we visited during our stay.

Do not be in any doubt, you learn more about a town or city by talking to the locals and in our case from our local guides. Thank you, Vinh, for sharing your knowledge with us and appreciating our English sense of humour!!!

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Photos

Lynne and Vinh
During our tour round The Citadel it started to rain and the umbrellas came out

Part of The Citadel
The Hien Lamb Pavilion, built by Emperor Minh Mang in 1824.

A dyanstic urn.
This is one of the 9 large bronze urns on show and represented the might of the emperors.

Face of a mandarin
Stone figures guarded the deceased emperor's tomb and these included the mandarins and soldiers

Burning Buddhist's monk's car
This Austin car belonged to the Buddhist who drove from the pagoda in Hue to Saigon during the Vietnam War and, after jumping out of the car, set fire to himself in protest against the anti-Buddhist stance of the South Vietnam regime.

Releasing caged birds at the pagoda
After praying some of the congregation release caged birds as a sign of their spirit being freed. The poor birds were probably bought in the local market after being trapped.

Comments

[Alex]

Wow! Loved reading about Hue and viewing your photos. How lucky to have such a guide as Vinh - and one with connections ;) xx