Description: Hue.
Hue was the old Capital city of Vietnam more or less half way down the coast in the central area of Vietnam. It is a beautiful ancient city that is delightful to visit and used to be the imperial capital of Vietnam. The Emperor palace was here which was similar in some respects to the palace in Beijing. Hue is quite an ancient fishing town beside the Perfumed River. There are many historical buildings around the town and some very old traditional Vietnamese houses and temples. The perfumed river runs through the city
The Emporers Palace and the Citadel.
The Citadel is a massive fortified fort which had huge cannons on the walls for protection of the Emperor and the imperial palace. Approaching the Citadel the road is a bit narrow and the traffic is a bit mental. There are of course hawkers trying to sell you water, cokes and various nick nacks in the road. Crossing over a tiny bridge you come to a gateway that will take you into the Citadels grounds. There is a vast courtyard which stretches for ages and on the opposite side there is the palace proper. The surrounding walls of the citadel are very high and the wall is very thick. There is a gigantic red flag with its golden star of Vietnam flapping elegantly and defiantly in the slight breeze.
On the right hand side of the parade ground as you first enter through the archway there are toilet facilities and a gift shop. There is also on display different canons that were used to protect the Citadel in days gone past. Two of the canons were absolutely huge.
Crossing the vast paraded ground you reach the palace proper which is within another vast square shaped walled court. Crossing over one of the three moat bridges you enter the inner courtyard over another bridge where there are hundreds of golden Koi Carp waiting to be fed. They look quite beautiful all vying for the pieces of food being dropped over the walls of the bridge. The palace is straight ahead of you.
The palace is quite beautiful and looks Chinese in design. The palace is where the Emperor would live and the concubines would have lived in the quarters behind the main palace building. In the courtyard in front of the palace there are massive brass urns 9 in all. Inside the palace there is a long corridor type room which runs the length of the building containing paintings of all the previous Emperors. The last Emperor of Vietnam was only a puppet Emperor left as a figure head by the French invaders then the Japanese invaders during the Second World War. At the end of world war two the Emperor was forced to abdicate as emperor due to the communists who seized power.
The palace was quite seriously damaged by bombs and artillery fire during World War 2 and subsequently by the communists and later the American invading forces.
The communists massacred many people in Hue including people who were said to have collaborated with the Americans and Japanese. Even American prisoners of war were massacred. University dons were murdered along with European professors and their families as the Communists did not want any intellectuals in positions to cause insurrection. Those who were forced to work for the invaders as interpreters were also murdered and anyone who they thought would recognise them was executed. There were many kangaroo courts which passed the death sentence in less than five minute trials. Thousands of people lost their lives in senseless murders.
Within the palace grounds there are temples and accommodation for the royal entourage, workers and eunuchs. There are beautiful gardens and little temples and colourful gateways. It is quite pretty but nowhere near as beautiful as the Forbidden City in Beijing.
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