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Published: July 17th 2015
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Hué 2 - 4 July
We were picked up at 11am for our airport transfer. We arrived in Hué at 14.30 to 43 degrees of heat. Our car was waiting for us in the arrivals area and we were transferred to the Thanh Lich Hotel on Bai Trang. The reception was very nice with cold towels and helpful staff. The room was also nice with a full sized bath and a shower. We quickly changed and set off on foot to the Imperial Citadel, The grounds of the Imperial City are protected by fortified ramparts 2 kilometers by 2 kilometers, and ringed by a moat. The water in the moat is re routed from the Huong (perfume). Inside the Citadel is the Imperial City (Hoàng thành), with a perimeter wall some 2.5 kilometers in length. Within the Imperial City is the Purple Forbidden City (Tử cấm thành), similar to the Forbidden City in Beijing. Access to the innermost enclosure was restricted to the Nguyen Imperial family. Sadly this area has been razed to the ground but they are in the process of restoring the citadel so it is to be hoped that this area will be rebuilt for future generations
of visitors. Formerly the imperial capital of Vietnam, the Citadel was built in 1804. In June 1802 Nguyễn Phúc Ánh took control of Vietnam and proclaimed himself Emperor Gia Long. This was when Vietnam was first named. Gia Long consulted on which was the best place for a new palace and citadel to be built. After a suitable site had been decided in Huế, building began in 1804. Thousands of workers were ordered to produce a wall and moat, 10 kilometers long. Initially the walls were made of earth, but later these earthen walls were replaced by stone walls, 2 meters thick. The citadel was oriented to face the Huong River to the east. This was different from the Forbidden City in Beijing, which faces south. The Emperor's palace is on the east side of the citadel, nearest the river. A second set of walls and a second moat was constructed around the Emperor's palace. Many more palaces and gates and courtyards and gardens were subsequently added. The rule of the last Vietnamese Emperor lasted until the mid-1900s. At the time, the Purple Forbidden City had many buildings and hundreds of rooms. It suffered from termite and cyclone damage, but
was still very impressive. Many bullet holes from the war can be still be seen on the stone walls.
In the early morning of January 31, 1968, as part of the Tet Offensive, a Division sized force of the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong soldiers launched a coordinated attack on Huế seizing most of the city. During the initial phases of the Battle of Hué, due to its religious and cultural status, Allied forces were ordered not to bomb or shell the city, for fear of destroying the historic structures; but as casualties mounted, these restrictions were lifted and the fighting caused substantial damage to the Imperial City. Out of 160 buildings only 10 major sites remain because of the battle. The city was made a UNESCO site in 1993. The buildings that still remain are being restored and preserved. The latest and so far the largest restoration project is planned to conclude in 2015.
The Citadel closed at 5.30 so we took a cyclo taxi back to the hotel and felt a bit guilty about bartering him down as it was a bit if a struggle for him on the climb over the bridge! Tom gave him
a tip and honour was restored!
Friday 3 July we were picked up by our driver for the day who drove us to various places of interest. Our first stop was The Thien Mu Pagoda, built in 1601, which has seven stories and is the tallest religious building in Vietnam. 1710, Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu funded the giant bell, which weighs 3285 kg, and was regarded as one of the most prized cultural relics. The temple also houses the Austin motor vehicle in which Thich Quang Duc was driven to his self-immolation in Saigon in 1963 in protest against the Diem (Puppet) regime. It was the first of a series of self-immolations by members of the Buddhist clergy, which brought the plight of Buddhists to the attention of the international community. We arrived early and witnessed monks at prayer.
Next we visited the tomb of emperor Minh Mang (1791-1841) in village of An Bang, Second Emperor from 1820 -1841, Khai Dinh the 12th Emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty in Vietnam. His name at birth was Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Đảo. He was the son of Emperor Đồng Khánh, but he did not succeed him immediately. He reigned only
nine years: 1916–1925. He was well known for his opposition to French involvement in Vietnam and his rigid confucianism and allowed little innovation in Vietnam. This had a negative effect on Western attitudes towards Vietnam and caused internal discontent leading to a civil war in 1833, lasting a year.
Tu Hieu Pagoda was established in 1842 and is currently home to 70 monks - originally named An Duong it was renamed Tu Hieu by Emperor Tu Duc, meaning 'A place to remember your Parents'.
Temple of Tu Duc. This Emperor (1829-1883) had the longest reign of any of Nguyen Dynasty 1848-1883. The temple took 3 yrs to build - construction of the tomb demanded so much labour and extra taxation that there was an abortive coup against Tu Duc in 1866. This was put down, and for the remainder of his life, Tu Duc continued to use the tomb's palace buildings as his place of residence. Tu Duc had 104 wives and concubines but no offspring and so it fell to him to write his own epitaph on the achievements of his reign. He felt this was a bad omen, but the epitaph can still be found inscribed
on the stele in the pavilion just to the east of the Emperor's tomb. This stele is the largest of its type in Vietnam, and had to be brought here from a quarry over 500 kilometres away-a trip that took four years.
Our final stop for the day was Thanh Toan Bridge. This is a small, covered, Japanese-style bridge about seven kilometres east of Hue. Tran Thi Dao the childless wife of a high-ranking mandarin had the bridge constructed to facilitate transport and communication in the village, which at the time was separated by a canal. Emperor Khai Dinh, hearing of her charitable act, freed the village of taxes to remind them of her good example. In 1925, he ordered the villagers to place an altar on the bridge in her memory as she had no children, and no one to pray for her after she died. So the villagers offer up prayers at the shrine on the bridge to this day. It appeared to be the place where everyone comes to relax and escape from the midday heat with a nice breeze passing through.
Sat 4 July we drove 3.5 hrs to Hoi An.
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