Hey everyone, and welcome to World Heritage Journey.
Today, we're at the Complex of Hue Monuments in Hue, Vietnam.
So today we're in central Vietnam, in the town of Hue, and behind me you can see the
Citadel, centrepiece of this World Heritage Site.
From 1802, right through until 1945 this was the cultural, economic and political heart
of the Vietnamese kingdom and empire.
There's some really cool stuff to see here behind these walls, and I'm super excited
to have a look.
Let's go!
Although this World Heritage site covers several different areas around the city of Hue,
the definitive highlight here
is the imposing and beautiful Hue Citadel.
It was constructed in the early 18th century after the capital had been moved south from
Hanoi, and it ended up as the last Imperial Capital of Vietnam.
On arrival, you're greeted with the huge Noon Gate, looming over a parade square.
It's here that the emperor would watch his troops parade, and grant honours to new civil
servants (or mandarins) entering his administration.
And like with other imposing gates we've seen in Vietnam, the centre archway was reserved
for the emperor's exclusive use.
His family, courtiers, assistants and helpers all had to use certain other gates, depending
on their rank.
Because the citadel is so much more recent than other Citadels we've seen in Vietnam,
the buildings seem to be in much better condition, which is hardly surprising.
However, Hue was the scene of very heavy fighting during the war, and 1968's Tet Offensive saw
all but 10 of the citadel's 160 buildings completely destroyed.
Even today, there are large sections inside the citadel that are just completely empty.
So it's a bit hard to know what's original here, and what's been rebuilt.
But what you can see here, is magnificent, Aside from the imposing Noon Gate, you can
also see the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the last ever throne room used by the Vietnamese
emperors.
There's also other features such as the Gate of Manifest Benevolence,
the Pavilion of Splendour,
several temples, pleasure gardens, the mandarin buildings for court officials, and even a
Royal Reading Room!
All of these are decorated in exquisite style and with beautiful classic Vietnamese motifs.
We had a great day wandering around, exploring every little obscure corner of the citadel,
and would highly recommend a visit.