Hue Imperial City, Vietnam
Nguyen Dynasty was the last Vietnamese dynasty. Its emperors ruled Vietnam for 143 years from 1802 until 1945.
Gia Long was the first emperor of Nguyen Dynasty. He ruled Vietnam from 1802 until 1820. The last emperor was Bao Dai who ruled the country from 1926 until 1945.
The dynasty made Hue in Central Vietnam its capital where the Hue Imperial City was established for emperors to rule and live.
A map below shows the location of Hue in Vietnam.
13 Vietnamese Emperors ruled Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 until 1945.
The photo below shows the hierarchy of emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945.
The emperors lived in Hue Imperial City. The photo below shows the layout of the Emperors’ domain.
The Imperial City was protected by a large fortress which was surrounded by a moat.
Gates were built to enter the fortress.
The fortress had some bastions for defensive fires in several directions.
The main entrance to the Imperial City is an impressive gate and is a popular spot where tourists will take a photo for remembrance.
The Imperial City is inside the fortress where the ex-emperors’ office and residence were in a special area known as the Purple Forbidden City.
Unfortunately, some buildings were destroyed in Vietnam War(1955-1975).
Ten emperors of Nguyen Dynasty were honoured in a large temple, The To Temple, in the Imperial City.
The following photos show the altars of the first four emperors in the temple.
A place outside that temple is reserved for visitors to worship the ex-Nguyen emperors.
A 3-storey pavilion, Hien Lan, was built facing The To Temple. It had nine large bronze urns to honour nine ex-Nguyen emperors.
Many ornate gates were built in Hue Imperial City. Some are shown in the photos below.
There are two temples near Hien Nhon Gate. One which is known as Trieu Mieu Temple was built to dedicate to the Lord Nguyen Hoang’s parents whereas the other one, Thai Mieu Temple, was built to honour the cults of nine ex-Nguyen emperors.
A shed outside Hue Imperial City and in the fortress compound houses four large bronze cannons left behind by Tay Son Dynasty(1778-1802).
Each cannon is 5.1m long and weighs more than 10 tons.
The writer, Choo Chaw, visited the Hue Imperial City of the Nguyen Dynasty(1802-1945) on 28 Oct 2022 and hope you have learned about the Nguyen Imperial City in Hue, Vietnam.
Comments
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!