TRAVERSE 71
FEATURE
WALLED CITY HUE, VIETNAM
On the northern bank of the Perfume River stands one of Southeast Asia’ s most important surviving imperial landscapes: the Citadel of Hue. More than simply a fortified palace, it was the political, administrative and ceremonial heart of Vietnam under the Nguyen dynasty, which ruled from 1802 until the abdication of Emperor Bao Dai in 1945.
Today, the Citadel is the best-known component of the Complex of Hue Monuments, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993. The wider World Heritage property includes the Citadel, imperial temples, pagodas, ritual sites and the royal tombs scattered around the surrounding landscape.
Hue had already been an important political centre before the Nguyen dynasty, but its transformation into an imperial capital began after Nguyen Phuc Anh defeated his rivals and became Emperor Gia Long in 1802.
Construction of the great fortress began in 1805 and continued through the reign of his successor, Emperor Minh Mang. By the early 1830s, Hue had become a substantial fortified capital incorporating military engineering, royal architecture, Confucian principles and traditional Vietnamese and Chinese-influenced design.
The location was carefully chosen. The Perfume River formed an important part of the city ' s geography, while Ngu Binh Mountain to the south provided a natural backdrop.
TRAVERSE 71