Huế with its Forbidden Purple City
In Huế, it is the historical and cultural sights from the time that this was a royal city that attracts. UNESCO has already put it on the map. And it is easy to see why. The Purple Forbidden City and all the royal tombs spread around the neighborhood are a big draw. I visited this city on my journey in south Vietnam at the end of 2022.
Huế the city
Until the 1990s, Huế was a quiet and little visited city. Then the Danish beer company Carlsberg agreed with the citys people’s committee to start a business together. This became the brewery Huda (Hu =Hue, Da=Denmark.) This became a great success; tourism became the city’s most significant income afterward.
The French heritage
It was the rainy season in central Vietnam, so the forecast for days to come was rainy. However, there was no rain the evening I arrived, so I hurried out to take some pictures in the dry weather. One of the first things I saw when I came down to the river was the bridge Cầu Trường Tiền, designed by Gustave Eiffel. It was lit up in all colors, and I must admit, it looked much better at night than in the daytime. The bridge is of French heritage, and this city has many lovely mansions from this period.
A royal residence
When we hear the name The forbidden city, most think about Beijing. I visited Beijing in 2006. Huế was a royal residence until 1945. Even if the french had taken control of the country from the 1850s onward, they let the puppet King have a residence here while they moved the capital to Hanoi. During WWII, the Japanese occupied the county, and after 1945, the French came back.
The Purple Forbidden City
The city of the Kings was built in 1804 as a fortress. It is called the Citadel and has a 23-meter wide and 4-meter deep moat and a 6-meter high wall behind. There are ten gates into the outer Citadel, where farmers, handicrafts, and shopkeepers used to live. After that, you had another moat and a wall to protect the inner Citadel. And, at last, the Forbidden City, where only the King, his wives, and the eunuchs were allowed. Forbidden city means all commoners were banned from getting in.
The Purple Forbidden City was meant to be inspired by the Forbidden City of Beijing, with slight differences. Huế Purple Forbidden City was vast and charming but was destroyed mainly by wars and hardships. What was left were a few buildings, the palace ground, and pictures of designs and lifestyles at that time. The Vietnamese government has been trying to refurbish and restore the artifacts and remains to provide the Citadel’s most accurate and informative image.
Traditional costumes
At many of the tourist attractions in Vietnam, young students, especially girls, were dressed in traditional national costumes. Most of the time, they took pictures of each other, but they were more than willing to pose for tourists. I was told they did it primarily for fun and maybe to find a future spouse.
The Tiger Arena
This is the only arena of its kind in East Asia. A Tiger and elephant arena. It has similarities to the animal fights in old Rome. The Emperor loved to watch these games; however, the Elephants were a symbol of royal power, so the tiger could never win. Therefore they had filed down the claws and teeth of the tigers, so the elephant would always come out as the winner. Unfortunately, the gate was closed, so I just got a small peek inside, but they are planning to restore the arena.
Làng Hành Hương village
On my third day in Huế, I had planned to rent a bicycle, but it was raining so badly that I changed my mind. However, in the early afternoon, I decided to walk instead. After I had visited the Tiger Arena, I headed off to one of the many Mausoleums of the emperors. All of a sudden, I came to this incense village Làng Hành Hương. I had read about it before but thought I would not have time to see it. And there it was. Their tradition of making incense goes several hundred years back. And they sell their incense all over Vietnam. There were maybe 20 shops like the one in the picture in this village.
Mausoleum of Emperor Tự Đức
Since the weather was so bad, I only managed to visit one of the mausoleums of the many emperors that had lived and rolled in Huế. The one I saw was the Mausoleum of Emperor Tự Tự Đức. It is set in a large park, even though it was called the modest mausoleum. It was a tradition that the Emperor designed and built their mausoleum while still alive. So did EmperorTự Đức. He used to sit by the artificial lotus lake and write poetry. In fright that his body should be dug up after his death, he managed to arrange it, so nobody really knew where he was berried.
I had a long walk in the rain this day and arrived at the mausoleum quite late, so I had the park almost to myself. I was so happy I made an effort to get her, and I am grateful that I got to see Huế and its surroundings. The day after, I was off to Hoi An.
