Hue

It begins 400 km from Hanoi, where the massive Hoanh Son joins the sea, forming the Gate of Trung Bo, on the 18th degree of north latitude. It will end at about fifty kilometers from Saigon. Trung Bo is a land in any length , with the exception of the northern regions corresponding to the provinces from Thanh Hoa and Nghe An. Its average width is 120 km and the difficulty is reduced to 40 km up to Dong Hoi in the province Quang Binh. Guru remark is that at this level, alluvial lands included entered first foothills of the Truong Son mountain and cord coastal dunes, only a few hundred meters. "She draw a convex curve of the sea coast and do not suggest an obese belly Cape Varella be back" ( Huard ).

The Cordillera center, which serves the border with Laos, lies 600 km north- west to south - east to the province of Quang Nam Danang, before giving way to the Highlands, composed of metamorphic rocks and volcanic. The Cordillera rarely exceeds 1500 m, while its culminat point is 2 598m Ngoc Linh.

Hue, the ancient capital of Vietnam

A peaceful river in the middle of the green extended to the infinite behind which hide, here and there, small houses on the slopes of the hills of pines. Here's a first image of Hue, the ancient land of the kingdom of Champa offered by his sovereignin 1306 King Tran Huyen Tran princess wedding. Hue is a poem, a romance, a symphony as the flavor of an alternating chant, the softness of water color and the grace of a sampan touching the calm waters of the Perfume River gently bathed in morning mist.

By its very poetic landscape and its strategic position, Hue has occupied aspecial placein the history of Vietnam.Chosen as the capitalof theTay Son(1788-1802) and Nguyen(1802-1945), Hue has been forhundreds of years the political and cultural center of the feudal state of Vietnam.

Even today, while the ancient cityThang Long - Hanoi is profoundly transformed by modernity at the expense of specificity, Hue city converse its royal face. Declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco December 11, 1993, Hue has a stronge vocative powerand dream.Difficult to know exactly how many poems and how many songs were composed by inspiration from the beauty of Hue and its girls, but one thing is certain: for Vietnamese poets Hue is Venise in the French romantic

Hue history

All started with a very poetic event: the 13th century,Tran NhanTong King married his daughter HuyenTran to Champa king named Che Man.
This historic marriage brought two provinces O and Ly in Vietnam territory and gave him also the province Thuan Hoa some time later.
Three centuries later, in 1558, Duke Nguyen Hoang, wanting to escape the murderers conflicts among the mandarins of the Thang Long royal, had to crossthe pass Ngang to come and settle inThuan Hoa.

In this wild and dangerous territory, Nguyen Hoang founded the Nguyen Dynasty of nine seigneurs in the South.

For two hundred years of development in the South, all the Nguyen seigneurs settled inThuaThien - (Hue today): Kim Long(1636), Phu Xuan(1687), Bac Vong(1712)became successively the capitals of a young and rich region.

In 1744 , Phu Xuan was restored and officially became a capital.

Strong and wonderful citadel Phu Xuan was considered until 1786, the heart of the South, and this year broke out the Tay Son revolt .

Tay Son Dynasty weakens, Nguyen Anh, Nguyen seigneurs successor, seized the capital Phu Xuan , and sets the new Nguyen Dynasty kings
A new citadel was built to replace the former destroyed capital Phu Xuan, it was the Hue Citadel , which still exists .
The Citadel, built by Nguyen Anh in 1801 is later restored by King Minh Mang, is a monument of great value in all areas, and a valuable legacy for generations.
This construction benefited from the artistic essence of the culture of Phu Xuan and human and material resources are pooled in this country.
Unfortunately damaged by wars and weather, some pavilions and palaces did not keep their original appearance .
The Imperial Site, though still in place with its charm, its architecture characteristic, lost the grand and beautiful appearance.

Timeline of Hue Monuments

1358-1389 : The Tran dynasty built the citadel Hoa Chan in Hue, near the site of the present Citadel.
1601 : Construction of the first pagoda, one of the Celestial Lady, it will be destroyed and rebuilt in 1844.
1687 : The Nguyen Dynasty is moved to Phu Xuan, embryo of the future Hue, in the southeast corner of the site of the present Citadel.
XVIIIth century: Phu Xuan became a thriving metropolis .
1802 : Nguyen Anh proclaimed himself emperor under the name Gia Long. Hue became the capital .
1802-1820 : Reign of Gia Long , construction of monuments of Hue and the Imperial mausoleum.
1805-1846 : Construction of the present Citadel, the Imperial City and the Forbidden Purple City (during the early years, from 50,000 to 80,000 peasants, soldiers and craftsmen worked there every day).

- Ironwood ( lim) came from the province of Nghe An;
- The wooden planks from Gia Dinh ;
- Paving stones from Thanh Hoa ;
- Bricks and tiles Quang Ngai ;
- The gold lacquer and brass were imported from China.

1805 : Construction of the first throne room .
1820-1840 : Reign of Minh Mang .
1830 : Construction of the arena.
1833-1840 : Construction of the south gate ( Ngo Mon ). Reconstruction of the throne room in its current state .
1835-1839 : Cast of Nine Dynastic Urns .
1840-1843 : Construction of the mausoleum of Minh Mang .
1841 - 1847 : Reign of Thieu Tri and construction of his tomb .
1844 : Construction of the seven-storey tower Pagoda of the Celestial Lady ( Thieu Mieu) .
1848-1883 : Reign of Tu Duc and construction of his tomb .
1916-1925 : Reign of Khai Dinh and construction of his tomb .
1947: Fire in the Imperial City and the Purple Forbidden City, the vast majority of buildings are destroyed .
1975: Beginning of restoration .

Royal Tombs
The Nguyen Dynasty(1802-1945) consisted of 13 emperors but for very complicated historical reasons, in Hue there are only 7 complexes graves built by the Court. These are the tombs of GiaLong, MinhMang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc(the tomb of Phuc Kien), Duc Duc (two tombs Thanh Thai and DuyTan), Dong Khanh and Khai Dinh. The developers of the Nguyen Dynasty intended to make a special place for tombs west of Hue.

The royal architecture complies with the rules of geomancy. All tombstones should take into account the principles and rules of geomancy of land and natural elements: river, mountain, pool , water sources and especially the site reserved for ''huyen cung - burial'' - center architecture must be at the crossroads of the veins of the dragon. The land disposition of each tomb is divided into two sectors: sector grave and burial area. Sector falls reserve the funeral and burial area is a construction site of the palace, pavilion, ... altar for the emperors in their lifetime can return from time to time to rest .

For this reason, each of Hue imperial tomb is not only a cultural but also a landscaped site, architectural masterpiece in mountain Hue. Thanks to the cultural values ​​of great importance in 1957 in the book '' The Wonders of the World '' written by a team of 15 players in Europe and the French academician Jean Cocteau wrote the preface, the team ranked tombs imperial Nguyen in the wonders of the world.

- Tomb of Gia – Long

- Tomb of Minh Mang ( Hieu Lang )

- Tomb of Thieu Tri ( Xuong Lang )

- Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc

- Duc Dúc tomb (An Lang )

- Tomb of Khai Dinh ( Ung Lang )

- Thien Dinh Palace

- Imperial City and Flag Tower