Day 6 Tuesday Apr 22The Nguyen Dynasty Tombs [Khai Dinh, Minh Mang, Tu Duc Tomb] , Imperial Citadel, Hue Museum of Royal Antiquities, An Dinh Palace
Nguyễn Dynasty Tombs
The Nguyễn Dynasty was the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam, reigning from 1802 to 1945. It was established by Emperor Gia Long (Nguyễn Ánh) after unifying the country and ended with the abdication of Emperor Bảo Đại in 1945. The dynasty is notable for its centralized rule and the construction of the Huế citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage site
The Nguyen Dynasty tombs are a collection of elaborate mausoleums built for the Nguyen Emperors in Hue, Vietnam. There are seven tombs in total, belonging to the emperors Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, Duc Duc, Dong Khanh, and Khai Dinh. The bolded are ticketed... combo ticket including the Imperial citadel is convenient [1,060,000 dongs for 2 combo tickets]
The tombs feature intricate wood carvings, lacquered altars, and calligraphic inscriptions, highlighting the skills of Vietnamese artisans.
ARRANGING PRIVATE TRANSPORT TO THE TOMBS
The imperial tombs
of the Kings of Nguyen Dynasty [Nguyen pronounced Wyn/win] are some
12 kilometres away from the city centre and they are scattered quite
further away from each other. Three of them are ticketed and the
reviews say really worth seeing.
Each tomb may take an hour or more
because the grounds are huge. We were considering taking a grab to
the first one, see that and then call for another grab for the next
tomb. But since it is out of the city limits it is not easy to get
grab taxis there. Most people visit using tour buses. The few
independent visitors engage a taxi for half a day, so that the driver
waits when we go inside the tombs.
We texted the
taxi driver who dropped us at our Hue hotel we had his phone number
and we were texting him whether he will be available. Earlier he had
been assigned to us by our hotel for a drive from Danang to Hue. We
thought we'll cut out the middleman and Just pay the driver his full
due. But it turned out that he was not an independent operator. he
was working for a company and he was not free to do it on his own. So
we again approached our hotel guys and they assigned this same
driver to us for half a day. So that was fine and we had a very
early start to avoid the heat. Also we wanted to do the imperial
citadel for the second half of the day and that is also pretty huge.
So we wanted to make optimum use of our time and maximise our
sightseeing.
Driver was a tad
unhelpful and annoying, talking loud on the phone while driving
ATM With high charges
Driver turned up
and we were on our way. We needed cash for the ticket payments we
could not spot any atm near our hotel. We asked our driver to stop
at an atm on the way. The issue here is all the banks charge huge
varying amount of money for withdrawals. Only VP and TP banks are
free, they don't charge anything at their end. Unfortunately our
driver just asked at any atm and we said we need to stop at an atm
and he stopped at 1 where there was a huge fee. Maybe we could have
insisted, stop at atm without charges.
We drew the
money, went to the Khai Dinh tomb first and bought the combo ticket
for all three tombs as well as the imperial citadel.
After seeing
the tomb we needed water and the driver made us buy from the highly
touristy shop right in front of the tomb. When we told him why don't
you take us a little further down where we will get normal prices, he
just shrugged and was not interested in doing us a little bit of
justice. We were a little annoyed and so after he dropped us off we
did not bother to tip him! [We had tipped him after Da Nang-Hue drive.]
To continue with
our report of the day we entered the Khai Dinh tomb. It was
amazingly beautiful
Khai Dinh Tomb
The tomb was completed in 1931 after 11 years of construction. It is located on Châu Chữ mountain
In 1916, Khải Định became the Emperor of Vietnam after his predecessor was exiled by the French colonial government. Khải Định worked closely with the government of France, and by the end of his reign he was considered to be nothing more than "a salaried employee of the French government." Due to this close collaboration, he was very unpopular amongst the people of Vietnam.
Like a number of Vietnamese emperors, Khải Định desired the preparation of a tomb in anticipation of his death, Khải Định visited France, where he was likely influenced by the architectural styles there, evidenced by the European influences in his mausoleum. Khải Định allegedly "raised taxes by thirty percent in order to finance the construction of the lavish tomb."
Khai Dinh favoured imported luxuries, spent huge sums of money on his tomb, and was the subject of ridicule by nationalist leaders.
This tomb is like no other in the area: a series of climbing platforms ascend a pine-covered hill rather than a landscaped, flat esplanade. The entrance of the tomb complex features a grand staircase, which ends at the first terrace with a triple-arched memorial gateway, including images of "two five-clawed dragons contending over a flaming pearl." When closed, the entrance uses wrought iron gates made in France
Stone warriors proudly protecting the dead
This is the salutation court (sân chào) with two rows of stone figures and animals lining the pathway to the tomb. The stone statues, a practice originating from China, were meant to protect the grave and guide the spirit of the deceased to and from the tomb.
Next is a two-tiered octagonal reinforced concrete stele pavilion (nhà bia), unique compared to other Nguyễn dynasty tombs that had square pavilions.
The Western-styled building has arched column entrances, with side panels decorated with the Chinese character for longevity, shòu (壽), and surrounded by bats, representing blessings
It has a stele inside
Engraved on the stele is a biography of Khải Định written in Classical Chinese, likely authored by senior court officials but attributed to Khải Định's son and successor Bảo Đại.
Thiên Định Palace
At the top terrace is the Thiên Định Palace, which is the main structure of the tomb complex and consists of five connected halls. The grayish-white exterior "has five arched entrances flanked by pilasters and divided by prominent pillars", with the number five referencing the five elements. It is in French colonial style
The ceiling is decorated with nine intricate dragons and its walls feature intricately designed glass and porcelain decorations. In the center of the palace is the altar room, called Khải Thành Palace, with three sets of doors leading to a crypt and worship room.
The left hall "contains a collection of Khai Dinh's personal memorabilia, including photographs, gifts from the French government, such as silver and porcelain dinner sets, bejeweled belts, swords and ornaments as well as a realistic bronze statue (life-size at 160 cm in height) of a martial-looking Khai Dinh in full regalia carrying a sword."
We drove on along the Perfume River...
Minh Mang Tomb
In comparison to Khai Dinh, the other two tombs were very basic and a little underwhelming especially after our experience of very beautiful pagodas and craftsmanship elsewhere earlier in our trip.
Basically the landscaping is the highlight. It was really baking hot so it was a little tough to walk around the grounds. But anyway we soldiered on and visited all three tombs and the grounds.
Emperor Minh Mang, who reigned from 1820 to 1841, was known for his significant contributions to Vietnam's development, including the establishment of administrative systems, public works, and educational reforms.
Emperor Minh Mang was also a great patron of art, and he commissioned several magnificent structures during his reign, including the Mausoleum
Minh Mang King had selected the design and location himself, the tomb was built mostly by his successor and son – Thieu Tri King during the years 1840 to 1843 since Minh Mang passed away in 1841. Covered an area of 18 hectares, surrounded by a wall enclosing within 40 historical structures included palaces, temples, and pavilions
After a series of courtyards and gates, Hiển Đức Gate leads to Sùng Ân Temple, where the Emperor and his Empress Tá Thiên are worshiped. From Sùng Ân Temple, with a few more steps, crossing three stone bridges, Trừng Minh lake, Minh Lâu Pavilion and Tân Nguyệt Lake are in sight.
Forecourt, also known as the Honour courtyard. In this yard, a traditional double row of statues represent mandarins, elephants, and horses. Also from here, we can easily walk to one of three staircases which lead to the square Stele Pavilion, a large pillar carved with the biography of Minh Mang, the Emperor had conquered the largest territory ever in Vietnam’s history.
As the gateway to the complex, Đại Hồng Môn Gate has three openings, the right, and left side as well as the central. the central one was only used by the Emperor .
SOUVENIRS
NICE SCENERY ON THE DRIVE TO THE NEXT TOMB
Tu Duc Tomb
Tomb of Tu Duc is located in a narrow valley of Duong Xuan Thuong village (currently Thuong Ba village, Thuy Xuan commune, Hue city).
With 36-year reign, Emperor Tu Duc was the longest-reigning monarch compared to other 13 Nguyen Emperors. He ascended the throne in difficult social contexts with foreign invaders outside and fraternal dissension fighting each other for the throne.
the monument was finished when the king was still in reign. It was the place where he could retreat from the Citadel to compose poetry or go hunting
Constructed between 1864 and 1867, the tomb required an incredible amount of money and labour, thus resulted in a rebellion of workers.
the tomb's original name was Van Nien Co (Thousand-years mansion)
all the constructions’ names were later changed to bear the word Khiem (Modest/Humble) in their names, as the king wanted to express his humility.
it was named Khiem Palace first. it was called Khiem Lang (Khiem Tomb) after the Emperor died. there's the Vu Khiem gate, Khiem Cung Mon, Chi Khiem Duong, and Hoa Khiem palace,...
Hòa Khiêm Palace, the main shrine to worship King Tự Đức
Minh Khiêm Theater
Lương Khiêm Palace
Reverse paintings
Dũ Khiêm tạ (俞謙榭) and Khiêm Cung môn (謙宫門).
SELFIES WITH SCHOOL KIDS
MANDARINS, ARMY GUARDING THE EMPEROR
Stele Pavilion (Bi Dinh)
Although he had 104 wives and concubines, he was unable to father a son (possibly he became sterile after contracting smallpox). Thus, it fell to him to write his own epitaph on the deeds of his reign. He felt this was a bad omen, but the epitaph can still be found inscribed on the stele in the pavilion just to the east of the Emperor's tomb.
This stele is the largest of its type in Vietnam 20-ton Thanh Hoa stone stele and had to be brought here from a quarry over 500 kilometers (310 mi) away – a trip that took four years. the inscription “Khiem Cung Ky” written by the king himself has 4,935 words, tells about the life, career, success, failure of the king. Behind the stele are two pillars symbolizing the king’s authority and virtue.
Tự Đức's reliquary
INCENSE VILLAGE
On the way back we made the driver halt for a few minutes at an incense shop just to look at the colourful display and then got dropped at the imperial citadel
