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The City of Hue in Central Vietnam is the former capital of the country, built within the reign of the Nguyen Dynasty which lasted from 1802 until 1945. Nguyen Phuc Anh was the first to take control of Vietnam and unify it as one country, beginning the Nguyen Dynasty and proclaiming himself Emperor Gia Long. He decided to build his capital in the center of the country on the banks of Song Huong (The Perfume River).

The Imperial Citadel is magnificent, with defensive walls 2 kilometres long and 2 metres thick, including forts and ramparts all surrounded by a wide moat. Within these walls, the Imperial Palace was built as a citadel within the citadel, with another moat and set of walls surrounding it. Again, within the palace walls was another walled enclosure known as the Purple Forbidden City, which was home to the Imperial Family. Only eunuchs were allowed inside these walls with the Emperor and his family.

The entire city was completed by 1833 and remained in all of its magnificence until 1968 when it was all but destroyed by American bombing during the Battle of Hue in the Vietnam War. Luckily, the Imperial City of Hue is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is being slowly and carefully restored to it’s former magnificence using traditional building materials.

When I travelled to Hue, I spent a day exploring the Imperial Citadel and was quite impressed with their progress. Many buildings have been beautifully restored and the work is still continuing. I hope that you enjoy this photo journey through the Imperial Citadel of Hue.

Moat and fortified wall at the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

View of the moat and Flag Tower – The central fort of the wall facing the river

A gate in the wall of the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

Entering through one of the gates in the citadel walls

Ngo Mon Gate in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

Ngo Mon Gate – The central gate into the Imperial Palace Enclosure. This gate was used by the Emperor and is currently in the process of restoration.

Thai Hoa Palace in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

Thai Hoa – The Palace of Supreme Harmony, often used for the Imperial Court and ceremonies

Dragon statue in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

A dragon statue behind Thai Hoa with the walls of the Purple Forbidden City in the distance.

Beautiful artwork in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

Beautiful artwork  in of one of the buildings

Building in the Purple Forbidden City in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

A restored building in the Purple Forbidden City

Beautiful walkway in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

Beautiful walkway

Some ruins in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

Some ruins inside the Purple Forbidden City

An old cannon in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

An old cannon on display

Gardens in the Purple Forbidden City in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

Gardens in the Purple Forbidden City

Gazebo in the the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

A gazebo in the gardens of the Purple Forbidden City

Theatre inside the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

The theatre inside the Purple Forbidden City

A gate to the To Mieu Temple Complex in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

One of the gates to the To Mieu Temple Complex

A shrine inside The Mieu Temple in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

A shrine inside The Mieu Temple

Hien Lam Pavillion in the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam

Hien Lam Pavillion

If you are going to visit the Imperial Citadel in Hue, I recommend getting a guide of some sort as the citadel is quite large and I found that I was often wandering around aimlessly and not knowing if I was seeing all of the most important sites. There also isn’t a lot of information around so I often found that I didn’t even know what I was looking at. Hopefully when the restoration is complete in a few years time they will put up some more signs at each of the buildings to tell you more about them. Either way, the Imperial Citadel in Hue is a must see if you are visiting Vietnam, and also make sure to set aside some time to visit some of the nearby tombs of the Emperors, which I will cover in a future post.