Imperial Hue

Beijing, China is the home to a very famous Forbidden City. Our ship did not go to China due to political complications, but I was surprised to discover an impressive Imperial City in Hue, Vietnam. The ship docked in Chan May on May 25 and 26, and I took a long excursion to see the old imperial city of Hue.

On the drive from the ship to the site of the city of Hue, the bus had to slow down as a group of cows (at least I think they are cows, but not sure) crossed the road.

The city itself is surrounded by a citadel wall and the area is quite large. Many areas of the original city have been destroyed.

From Wikipedia: The Citadel came under fire again in the early morning hours of January 31, 1968, as part of the Tet Offensive a Division-sized force of the People’s Army of Vietnam and Viet Cong soldiers launched a coordinated attack on Huế seizing most of the city. During the initial phases of the Battle of Huế, due to Huế’s religious and cultural status, United States Army troops were ordered not to bomb or shell the city, for fear of destroying the historic structures; but as casualties mounted in house-to-house fighting these restrictions were progressively lifted and the fighting caused substantial damage to the Imperial City.^[5] Viet Cong troops occupied some portions of the citadel while South Vietnamese troops occupied others; and allied warplanes targeted the anti-aircraft guns the communists had mounted on the citadel’s outer towers.^[6] Out of 160 buildings, only 10 major sites remain after the battle, such as the Thái Hòa and Cần Thanh temples, Thế Miếu, and Hiển Lâm Các.

This picture shows some of the bullets in the walls from these battles.

Extensive and impressive reconstruction is underway. The area is large, and walking through the spaces that have been reconstructed was great.

Young women walked around the place in traditional clothing. Our guide said that they are not reenactors, but rather the women own or rent these outfits and come to enjoy the place in traditional dress. They also want to take pictures of themselves in the scenic locations.

There are many areas in the old imperial city such as this that show that there are more places still to be restored.

There is also an area of the emperor’s tomb.