*WS 147 - The Hue Imperial City, Hue, Vietnam*
Hue is a city in central Vietnam that was the capital of the Vietnamese kingdoms in the 18th to 20th centuries. It has a population of some 450,000. A major attraction is its vast, 19th-century Hue Imperial City, surrounded by a moat and thick stone walls. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We visited this place in 2017.
In 1789 Nguyen Anh ascended the throne of a unified Vietnam and proclaimed himself Emperor Gia Long with Hue, the ancestral seat of the Nguyen clan as the capital. Construction of the Imperial City began in 1804 and was essentially completed in 1833. There were some 150 structures. Many structures were damaged during the 1947 war of independence and in 1968 during the Vietnam War.
The grounds of the Imperial City are protected by fortified ramparts 2 km by 2 km and ringed by a moat. Inside the Imperial City is the Royal Citadel, with another perimeter wall some 2.5 km in length. Within the Royal Citadel is the Purple Forbidden City, a term identical to the Forbidden City in Beijing, accessible by only the imperial family.
The first 2 photos show the gates to the Imperial City, the 2nd one called Duc Chuang Gate. The 3rd shows the main gate to the Royal Citadel, called Ngo Mon Gate which also serves as a royal viewing platform for court ceremonies. The 4th shows the Hien Lam Pavilion to commemorate the founders of the Nguyen dynasty.
The next 2 show the Hung Mieu Temple for ancestor worship and the 9 dynastic urns. The 7th and 8th show the inner courts or the Purple Forbidden City. The last 2 show the throne palace or Palace of Supreme Harmony which is a low building 44 m long in the back ground of the 9th photo, with the details of the roof in the 10th.
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