Royal Palace Complex (Imperial Citadel) in Huế, Việt Nam - Part 1

Updated 9/21/2024

I find the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Huế Citadel, to be fascinating. Many of the monuments inside it represent the best of the classical Vietnamese architecture. Numerous palaces in the Imperial Citadel (Hoàng Thành) were destroyed or heavily damaged during the war, from 1945 to 1975, and are only being rebuilt or repaired in the last twenty five years. I write this blog because I want to share my discovery about this special place with others, who wish to know more about it. I have included many details about this Citadel, which may not be interesting to a casual reader, but I feel are necessary for the sake of completeness. The important items are in BOLD and the rest can be glanced over.

Image source: Unknown photographer, "Ngọ Môn", 2024, Accessed via https://wiki-travel.com.vn/Uploads/picture/camnhi-242411112435-dia-diem-du-lich-hue-di-tich-van-hoa-lich-su-4.jpg The body of work that makes up Wikitravel—text, images, audio, video, etc.—is free for anyone to use, as long as they comply with our copyleft. Altered from source photo.

Capital Citadel (Kinh Thành), the outermost ring

Huế Citadel was Việt Nam's former capital, from 1802 to 1945, during the rule of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last monarchy. It was built on the location of Phú Xuân, a smaller citadel, which was the capital of the domain of the nine Nguyễn Lords from 1687 to 1712, and then from 1739 to 1774. During the brief Tây Sơn dynasty, Phú Xuân was again selected as the capital, but this time, for a unified Việt Nam, from 1788 to 1802.

Source: Multiple unknown authors. "Kinh Thành Huế." Wikipedia tiếng Việt. vi.wikipedia.org. Last updated July 2, 2024. https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinh_th%C3%A0nh_Hu%E1%BA%BF

Multiple unknown authors, "Nhà Tây Sơn." Wikipedia tiếng Việt. vi.wikipedia.org. Last updated January 3, 2024. https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nh%C3%A0_T%C3%A2y_S%C6%A1n

The Citadel, along with its many structures inside, took almost thirty years to complete, from 1805 to 1832. More than 100,000 civilians and soldiers were used at one point, during the construction. Upon completion, it occupied approximately 1,285 acres and had more than 6.2 miles in circumference. The Citadel was grand and splendid, befitting to be the seat of power for the Nguyễn family, whose history was so intertwined with that of Việt Nam's, for almost four hundred years, from 1558 to 1945.

Source: Author unknown. "Công cuộc xây dựng kinh đô dưới triều Nguyễn." Dư địa chí. Cổng Thông Tin Điện Tử Thừa Thiên Huế. https://thuathienhue.gov.vn/Thong-tin-du-dia-chi/tid/Cong-cuoc-xay-dung-kinh-do-Hue-duoi-trieu-Nguyen/newsid/213C554A-4BA2-45A7-808E-354FE9B39891/cid/F0BB6DEB-C54A-4C2B-A00A-CB0A7C120763

Multiple unknown authors, "Chúa Nguyễn." Wikipedia tiếng Việt. vi.wikipedia.org. Last updated June 3, 2024. https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nh%C3%A0_T%C3%A2y_S%C6%A1n

The citadel has three rings of walls and faces the southeast. The outermost ring, surrounded by moats, contains the capital. The second ring, also surrounded by moats, contains the Imperial Citadel (Hoàng Thành). The third ring contains the Forbidden Citadel (Tử Cấm Thành). No one was allowed to enter it without the invitation from the Emperor. It is interesting to think that 99.99% of the population would never be allowed to set foot in here before 1945.

Source: Multiple unknown authors. "Kinh Thành Huế." Wikipedia tiếng Việt. vi.wikipedia.org. Last updated July 2, 2024. https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinh_th%C3%A0nh_Hu%E1%BA%BF 

Author unknown. "Công cuộc xây dựng kinh đô dưới triều Nguyễn." Dư địa chí. Cổng Thông Tin Điện Tử Thừa Thiên Huế. https://thuathienhue.gov.vn/Thong-tin-du-dia-chi/tid/Cong-cuoc-xay-dung-kinh-do-Hue-duoi-trieu-Nguyen/newsid/213C554A-4BA2-45A7-808E-354FE9B39891/cid/F0BB6DEB-C54A-4C2B-A00A-CB0A7C120763

Image source: "Huế Citadel," 2024. Accessed via https://www.google.com/maps/@16.4790713,107.57265,4169m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu Altered from source static image.

The outermost enclosure has thirteen gates: eleven for land routes and two for water routes. One of the land routes leads to an abandoned fort on the northeast corner of the citadel and the gate is currently not being used nor restored. In the Vietnamese culture and also that of China's, the number thirteen is not considered to be unlucky, which is different than in the Western world.

Source: Multiple unknown authors. "Kinh Thành Huế." Wikipedia tiếng Việt. vi.wikipedia.org. Last updated July 2, 2024. https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinh_th%C3%A0nh_Hu%E1%BA%BF 

Hà Oai. "Trần Bình Môn Kinh thành Huế như bị lãng quên." Tạp chí Người Hà Nội Online. March 28, 2024. https://nguoihanoi.vn/tran-binh-mon-kinh-thanh-hue-nhu-bi-lang-quen-83605.html

In the below picture, the locations of Hữu Gate (for one of the land routes), and the gate for one of the water routes, are shown. Both are on the west side of the Citadel, marked with arrows. The gate location for the unused land route, on the northeast corner of the Citadel, is also marked.

Image source: Unknown creator, "13 cửa ra vào kinh thành Huế", 2020, Accessed via https://dulichhue.biz/13-cua-ra-vao-kinh-thanh-hue.html Altered from source image.

Below is Hữu Gate on the southwestern side of the Citadel (see above for location). All of the remaining ten gates, for the land routes, are currently in use, and they all look similar to the one below. Some were damaged in 1953, due to flooding, and in 1968, due to war, but they all have been restored, recently.

Source: Unknown . "Kinh thành Huế có bao nhiêu cửa thành?" baothainguyen.vn. Thái Nguyên. May 30, 2021. https://baothainguyen.vn/que-huong-dat-nuoc/202105/kinh-thanh-hue-co-bao-nhieu-cua-thanh-367E13C/

Image source: Unknown photographer, "Cửa Hữu", 2021, Accessed via https://thanhnien.vn/kinh-thanh-hue-co-bao-nhieu-cua-thanh-1851072181.htm Altered from source photo.

Below is the gate for the water route on the west side of the Citadel (see above for location). It is similar to the one for the water route on the east side.

Image source: Unknown photographer, "Tây thành thủy quan", 2024, Accessed via https://laodong.vn/photo/cua-ra-cua-kinh-thanh-hue-co-y-nghia-lich-su-dang-bi-lang-quen-1310244.ldo Unaltered from source photo.

Today, people can walk on top of the Citadel wall, in certain sections.

Image source: Unknown photographer, "Lối đi bộ lên thượng thành", 2023, Accessed via https://vnexpress.net/hue-nhin-tu-loi-di-bo-tren-thuong-thanh-4573246.html Unaltered from source photo.

Image source: Đỗ Trưởng, "Những khẩu súng thần công được trưng bày trên Kỳ đài Huế", 2023, Accessed via https://vnexpress.net/hue-nhin-tu-loi-di-bo-tren-thuong-thanh-4573246.html Unaltered from source photo.

The Flag Tower (Kỳ Đài) is located inside the citadel, on the south side, and in front of the Meridian Gate (Ngọ Môn), the main entrance to the Imperial Citadel. The original flag pole was made of wood, standing 105 feet tall. The current one is made out of reinforced concrete, standing 121 feet high.

Source: Multiple authors. "Kỳ Đài (Huế)." Wikipedia tiếng Việt. vi.wikipedia.org. Last updated April 4, 2024. https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%E1%BB%B3_%C4%91%C3%A0i_(Hu%E1%BA%BF)

Image source: Unknown photographer, "Ky Dai Truong", Unknown year, Accessed via https://edition.itourism.vn/en/resources/going-back-in-time-with-the-complex-of-hue-monuments-ct145.html Unaltered from source photo.

Phú Văn Pavilion (Phú Văn Lâu), was the place, where Royal Edicts were announced. It is located on the south side, beyond the moats, and in front of the Flag Tower. This landmark is mentioned in a number of books and songs about Huế.

Source: Multiple authors. "Phú Văn Lâu." Wikipedia tiếng Việt. vi.wikipedia.org. Last updated October 10, 2022. https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phu_V%C4%83n_l%C3%A2u

Image source: Silva Xiquinho, "Phu Văn Lâu," 2017, Accessed via https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phu_V%C4%83n_L%C3%A2u_(03-10-17)_II.jpg The body of work that makes up Wikitravel—text, images, audio, video, etc.—is free for anyone to use, as long as they comply with our copyleft. Unaltered from source photo.

Image source: Unknown photographer, "Phu Văn Lâu," 2021, Accessed via https://phongnhatourist.com/phu-van-lau-hue-noi-ghi-dau-nhieu-su-kien-lich-su.html Unaltered from source photo.

Two notable structures inside the Huế Citadel but outside of the Imperial enclosure, are the Tàng Thơ Royal Archive (Tàng Thơ Lâu) and Lake Tịnh Tâm, the site of a former royal garden. The Royal Archive was built in 1825 under Emperor Minh Mạng's reign, to store important court documents. Today, it is one of the national repositories. Many scholars have come here, since the early twentieth century, to study its documents on history and culture.

Source: Unknown author. "Lầu Tàng Thơ - Hồ Học Hải." Cổng Thông Tin Điện Tử Thừa Thiên Huế. Published date unknown. https://thuathienhue.gov.vn/Du-kh%C3%A1ch/Du-l%E1%BB%8Bch/Th%C3%B4ng-tin-chi-ti%E1%BA%BFt/tid/Lau-Tang-Tho-Ho-Hoc-Hai/newsid/181E9C2A-0FEE-4416-9540-AD0800A0CA4F/cid/4E568EE4-C8BC-4F08-8B97-706999B99B37

Image source: Unknown photographer, "Tàng Thơ Lâu," 2021. Accessed via https://khamphadisan.com.vn/lau-tang-tho-thu-vien-co-luu-tru-tai-lieu-quoc-gia-thoi-nguyen/ Unaltered from source photo.

Image source: Unknown photographer, "Hồ Tịnh Tâm," 2023. Accessed via https://www.archives.org.vn/gioi-thieu-tai-lieu-nghiep-vu/doi-net-ve-ho-tinh-tam-chon-tieu-dao-cua-hoang-gia-trieu-nguyen.htm Altered from source photo

The Government of Việt Nam, its skilled craftsmen and talented artists, have been lovingly restored many of the damaged structures inside the Huế Citadel, that we see and enjoy today. Hopefully, it will be restored completely to its former splendor, in the near future. I hope you find my blog informative and enjoyable. Please look for Part 2 of my blog.