Introduction
Located on the bank of Song Huong, Hue
is in Thua Thien Hue province and is the central aspects of the central Vietnam
such as culture, education, politic, tourist…It is far from 700 km Hanoi to the
northern, 1100km to Ho Chi Minh City in the
southern, and only a few kilometers from the sea. Prior to 1945, Hue is
the national capital, the political, cultural and religious center of Vietnam
under the control of Nguyen Dynasty. Most well-known for its historic values,
Hue had been recognized as one of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Geography
Hue is bordered with Huong Tra town to
the north and west, Huong Thuy town to the south and Phu Vang district to the
east. Located on the shores of Huong river , north of Hai Van Pass, Da Nang 112
km, 14 km from Thuan An Beach, from Phu Bai International Airport. The natural
area of Hue is 71.28 square kilometers. It has an attitude of 3 -4 meters above
the sea level so it usually gets flooding. This is a relatively flat land but
it alternates some low hills, low mountains, such as Ngu Binh mount, Vong Canh
mount.
History
Originally, Hue was known as the
capital of the Nguyen lords – a feudal dynasty which dominated much of southern
Vietnam from the 17th to the 19th century. Until 1775, when Trinh Sam captured
it, it was renamed as Phu Xuan. In 1802, Nguyen Phuc Anh (later Emperor Gia
Long) succeeded in establishing his control over the whole of Vietnam, thereby
making Hue the national capital again. Thus, Hue was usually named for the
royal members.
Population
The population of Hue is estimated
about 334.582 persons (2012). The population density is 4.887
person/ km2.
Sightseeing
Hue is not only associated with the
ancient beauty of the temples, palaces, tombs but also is known for the
romantic Huong
river.
Called Huong river because in the past, the river flowed through many fragrant forests so when
reaching to Hue, it brought the scent of natural herbs. With a length of 80 km,
the river winds in Hue city as a setting for entertaining guests. In addition,
it used to be the source of feelings of visitors as they sail along the river
to look at the scenery and listen to Hue traditional singing. Many people
always say that the peaceful, elegant and beautiful landscapes of Hue and Huong
river is one.
Hue is a place where gathers many
relics, landscapes, famous ancient temples of Vietnam. But perhaps the most
ancient temple to mention is Thien mu. Thien Mu Pagoda is situated on Ha Khe
hill, the left bank of the river, 5 km from the center of Hue City to the west.
Built in 1601 under the request of the first Nguyen lords, Nguyen Hoang - was
the governor of Thuan Hoa at that time. It has seven stories and 21 – meter –
high so it is the tallest religious building in Viet Nam. It is really a perfect combination of artificial
architectural work and picturesque nature. This pagoda is often subject for
many traditional folks and poems. Besides, it is regarded as the unofficial
symbol of the former imperial capital.
Minh Mang’s tomb is situated on Cam Khe
hill, near Bang Lang fork, on the west bank of the Huong river. It was built
from 1840 to 1843 that mobilized tens of thousands of workers and soldiers.
Minh Mang's tomb is a standard architectural complex consisting of 40
constructions (palaces, temples, pavilions, etc.) designed on an symmetric axis
running from Dai Hong gate to the foot of La Thanh (Surrounding Wall) behind
the Emperor's tomb. The constructions are distributed into three main parallel
axis of which Than Dao path is the centre. Visiting Minh Mang’s tomb, visitors
will wonder like losing in the space of
painting, poetry and philosophy. In addition, besides the majesty and symmetry
of the architectural constructions, it also has the natural charm that has been
modified to make the context for architectural constructions.
Khai Dinh mausoleum that is the tomb of King
Khai Dinh (1885-1925), the 12th king of Nguyen dynasty, located on
Chau Chu mountain slope. It was built from 1920 to 1931 taking 11 years to
complete. Compared to the tomb of the preceding kings, Khai Dinh tomb covers a
more modest area. However, the building itself is far more elaborately designed
than others of its era, being a mix of a number of architectural styles :
Western and Eastern architecture as well as ancient and modern. This mausoleum
has rectangular structure and 127 steps. You have to go up three levels in
order to reach the altar monument. Thien Dinh palace is situated in the highest
and is the main structure of this mausoleum. It contains many connecting rooms
in which Khai Thanh palace is the main room. The rear room of Khai Thanh palace
constitutes the main temple, which contains the statue of Khai Dinh, his grave
and his altar. The tomb of Khai is one of the most surprising among the royal
tombs of Hue.
Imperial citadel is the capital of the
Nguyen dynasty during the 140 years from 1805 to 1945. Under the emperor Gia
Long, Hue citadel was made a survey in 1803 and started construction in 1805,
then was completed in 1832 under the reign of King Minh Mang. Currently, it has
situation on Hue’s maps as follows: in the south, borders with Tran Hung Dao
and Le Duan; Le Duan street in the west, in the north is Tang Bat Ho Street and
the east is Phan Dang Luu street. The grounds of the Imperial City were
surrounded by a wall 2 kilometers by 2 kilometers, and the walls were
surrounded by a moat. Indeed, there are 10 gates: Southeast , Dong Ba,
Northeast, Mang Ca Lon, The Nhan, West,
Ngo Mon, Hoa Binh, Chuong Duc and Hien Nhon.
Dong Ba Market is one of the most
familiar attractions of Hue to all travelers. It is located near the eastern
corner of the Citadel, in the north bank of Huong river on Tran Hung Dao
street. It is not only a shopping center but also the soul of Hue citadel
because it retains the mixed difficult beauty. But until now, this market is
still the biggest commercial center of Thua Thien Hue province and the adjacent
regions. With an area of 5,000m2, stretching from Gia Hoi bridge to Truong Tien
bridge, Dong Ba market has three floors, which contain thousands of stalls serving trade needs.
Indeed, it has enough necessity items to serve the daily life of the residents
and souvenir that bring Hue’s art so as to sell for tourists who want to buy as
a gift for their visit to Hue. In summary, Dong Ba market is an unmissed place
when going Hue.
Gastronomy
Hue’s cuisine not only meet human basic
needs but also is a form of art. Differ from other region’s gastronomy, Hue’s
one is elegant, light and noble. The special feature in it is spices,
especially chili, play an important role in Hue’s cooking and cuisine
decorating art. Nowadays, when enjoying Hue dishes, everyone is proud of that
they are tasting the food which mostly were served to the Emperor in the past.
One of the dishes that you cannot miss
in Hue is “com hen”. Components to make it is not simple, it includes a dozen
kinds of spices. But of course, it includes rice plus hen. Despite of its royal specialty, it is very
cheap. People usually have their breakfast with ‘com hen’. A bowl of “com hen”
will bring you the sweet-smelling flavor of rice and herbs, mixed with the
buttery, sour, bitter taste of spices, grease, baby clams.
Moreover, Hue has lots of which made
from flour such as banh bot loc
(rice pastry with meat and shrimp), banh la cha tom (soft pastry wrapped in
leaves with meat, shrimp, and egg), banh hot thit quay (roast pork pastry),
banh la (sweet sticky rice wrapped in leaves)…In addition, there are bun thit
nuong (rice vermicelli with grilled meat), bun bo gio heo (rice vermicelli with
beef and pork) are loved by many tourists.
Hue is also famous for its special “che”. There are nearly 50
kinds of “che”, from the simple, common to elaborate. In which it has four
typical kinds of “che” that Hue citizens most proud of are: che khoai tia
(purple sweet potatoes sweet soup), che long nhan boc hat sen (longan wrapped
in lotus seed sweet soup), che troi nuoc nhan tom thit (floating sticky rice
cake with shrimp sweet soup) and che dau van bot loc (bean and rice pastry
sweet soup).
Besides, Hue is also well - known for
vegetarian food . Several all-vegetarian restaurants are scattered in various
corners of the city to serve the locals who have a strong tradition of eating
vegetarian twice a month, as part of their Buddhist beliefs.
Climate
Located in the central of Vietnam and
influenced by Southwest windflow from Laos, Hue is considerably hotter than its
neighbor destinations such as Da Nang and Hoi An during summer months. May to
September are hottest months and the severity level can be unbearable from time
to time.
From October to March, the weather
cools off at the expense of frequent small rain drops. The average temperature
during this period is between 20 and 30 Celsius degree.
Get it
Hue is almost equidistant from both the
north and south extremes of Vietnam, being about 1100 km north of Ho Chí Minh
City and about 700 km south of Ha Noi. Hue may be approached from either
direction by airplane, bus, or train.
By air
Hue has Phu Bai international airport
(about 15 km South of Hue city center) so it is simply to transfer from Ha Noi,
Ho Chi Minh city, Da Nang…This is the most convenient and most quick to reach
to Hue.
By train
Another mainly transportation is train. Travelling to Hue by train is
really a pleasant way because the state-run railway network runs the entire
length of Vietnam from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. There are express trains with soft-berth air-conditioned
compartments with reasonable prices, which are very convenient. This is an
interesting way to see Vietnamese landscapes from the north to the south.
By bus
Hue is connected to Vietnam’s major
cities by a well-traveled public bus network, Buses entering Hue from southern
destinations like Hoi An and Da Nang terminate at the An Cuu station, which is
about 3.2 km southeast from Hue’s city center. Buses from Hanoi and other
northern areas terminate at An Hoa station, about 4.8 km northwest of Hue’s
center. The bus route from Hanoi to Hue is a 16-hour journey, undertaken at
night. uses plying the southern route between Hoi An or Da Nang take about 6
hours at the most to complete the trip.
By private car
Normally you can get train from Da Nang
city to Hue or Tourist Bus from Hoi An or ride motorbike by yourself to Hue but
you can also travel to Hue city on Hoi An by private car. Distance 145km -4
hours of driving. But the most advantage of private transfer from Hoi An to Hue
is you can stop on the way such as Marble Mountain, Cham Museum, Lang Co Beach,
The Cloudy Pass and Elephant Spring for swimming before get to Hue while others
are nonstop. And of course they are the cheapest way to travel and saving money.
