Hue, Citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty, in Vietnam
On my first solo travel of two months I visited the city of Hue. It was rainy as you see but I really liked it. The temperature wasn’t that great but I saw the beauty of this once rich and colourfull city, the imperial capitol Hue! I wanted to visit the citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty.
The Imperial City is walled and is protected by fortified ramparts of 2K by 2K. Along those ramparts is a moat. The water inside the moat comes out of the Perfume river and is routed through a serie of sluice gates to get there. How impressive!!
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Citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty
The wall surrounding the Citadel of Hue
One of the many gates in the wall surrounding the Citadel. I did a tour on the outside too, just to see those gates. Not much else to see on that outside though….just Hue life in the streets of Hue.. And I did love that too!!
In the Citadel there are many squares
They told me that in the old days many servants would be lined up in front of this building when there was a celebration for a king. It would be very impressive to see the whole square filled with lined up and dressed up people. I can totally imagine that!
The complex is on the list of UNESCO world heritage so they are restauring, good to see! Money you spend visiting this will be used to rebuild and maintain it.
Nice gardenhouse
Wearing my raincoat 🙂 I don’t know why I even bothered to make this picture…
Citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty
Again one of the many gates surrounding the Citadel
House inside the Citadel which was in a good state, there were still people living there. Good to know there are people there all the time. If something will happen they will act immediatly and they feel responsible too.
Gate, gate, gate ..
Citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty
Isn’t it wonderful?
The main entrance. I was told that the one entrance that was bigger because of an elephant that could go in. The other doorways were too small 🙂 We all got our own problems to think about when building a house!! LOL
It can be busy outside the Citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty in Hue. Don’t you love the traffic too in Vietnam? I love to see all those scooters and all the people on it that cover their face and arms. You see the difference between the tourists on bicycle and the locals on scooter right? 🙂
Outside the Citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty
Enjoying his lunch
I love these kind of streetsviews of Asia!!
Things to do around Hue!
Visiting the emporial city of Vietnam
If you’re in Hue you should definitely go out the city exploring the surroudings for a day! I booked a trip to visit the famous tombs in the vicinity of the imperial city of Hue and of course to admire the Thien Mu pagoda. The weather was better that day and I enjoyed being out of town for a while!
The tombs are about 6 km outside the city and if you have a day I can recommend to visit it by bike. This was during my first trip and I didn’t have the experience to do things myself yet so I was in a car and in a group of fellow-tourists from which I could learn a lot at that time.
But now I would have really gone on my bike or maybe even walked…
How much fun would that be?
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Khai Dinh tomb
Emperor Khai Dinh lived from 1888 to 1925 and ruled the country as emperor from 1916 until his death. The construction of his tomb began in 1920 and was not completed until 1931. The area around the tomb is great and the various buildings make it super to walk through this complex and admire its splendour.
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Tu Duc tomb
This is also a big complex where you should definitely take a walk. Tu Duc (1829 – 1883) reigned in the dynasty for no less than 35 years and is therefore the longest reigning emperor. From 1848 until his death he was emperor. His tomb is surrounded by no less than 50 buildings and a 1500 meter long wall. This complex was built between 1864 and 1867 and reflects the poetic nature of the emperor.
Hue, Citadel of the Nguyen Dynasty, in Vietnam
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Thien Mu Pagoda
The oldest pagoda of Hue is the Thien Mu Pagoda. The construction of the pagoda was ordered by Lord Nguyen Hoan in the year 1601. The Thien Mu pagoda is located outside the city and situated along the Huong River. The clock that hangs above it sounds over the river and echoed into the city…. To the doors of the citadel… and further across the sea… It’s also called the soul of Hue…
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Would you love to see some more on my Vietnam travel?
Tip: Canyoning in Dalat – Vietnam
The Fairy Stream and Sand Dunes at Mui Ne
Cookingclass at the Red Bridge – Hoi An
Or can I inspire you to go hiking?
I hope you love this world as much as I do!!
Jacomijn is een politieagent uit Nederland die jou graag laat zien hoe je veilig, actief en gezond de wereld kan over reizen. Safe and Healthy travel is a MUST
