A Guide & History of the Forbidden City & Citadel of Imperial Hue Vietnam

Ngọ Môn 午門 main gate to the Forbidden City. Photo credit: Wikipedia

When you visit Hue, there are many places and things to see, but the one thing that you must not miss is the Forbidden City and Citadel, the seat of Nguyen emperors, the last imperial dynasty of Vietnam.

.

The Forbidden City was accorded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1993, so it might surprise you to find many more empty green lawns than grand palaces when you step into the Citadel. To make sense of what we are seeing at the Forbidden City today, we need to go back in time, to the time of the first emperor of the Nguyen dynasty.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Gia Long 嘉隆, first emperor of the Nguyen dynasty 阮朝 unified Vietnam in 1802 and decided in 1804 to make Hue his imperial capital on the advice of Fengshui masters.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The chosen site for his imperial palace is on the north bank of the Perfume River that meanders through Hue city.

.

The Citadel and Forbidden City are protected by 10km of defensive moat that completely ring the complex.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The Citadel has 25 bastions.

.

Kỳ Đài, the three tier bastion with the flag tower built in 1807 is the largest. You can see the 37m high flag from many places in Hue city.

The Forbidden City and Citadel suffered 3 major calamities causing it extensive damage.

Hue was smack in the path of a giant cyclone or typhoon in 1904. The typhoon was so powerful that it even fell the newly built Truong Tien Bridge near the Citadel.

Fighting with the French in 1947 caused many buildings to be burnt down including the Forbidden City's most important building, the imperial palace itself.

The third and most devastating episode was the Battle of Hue in 1968. Of the Forbidden City's 160 buildings, only 10 survived.

Today, when you visit the Forbidden City and Citadel you will see but a shadow of its former glory. Of the 160 buildings in the Forbidden City, 150 were completely destroyed. The remaining 10 required major repairs and rebuilding. Most of the buildings in the Forbidden City today are extensively restored or rebuilt. Some of the rebuilt buildings have a glossy "theme park" feel.

.

The Citadel is served by 10 gates.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

During the Battle of Hue in 1968, ancient bastions and gates were turned into fortified strongholds.

Photo credit: Robert H. Reid

Dong Ba Gate saw a great due of fierce fighting as it overlooks the strategic Truong Tien Bridge that links the area around the Citadel to the French Quarter south of the Perfume River.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The Dong Ba Gate which leads to the Cho Dong Ba market was reduced to rubble in 1968.



Fortunately, some of the beautiful gates survived.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Thái Hòa Hall of Supreme Harmony was built by Emperor Gia Long 嘉隆 in 1806 to celebrate his coronation.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

An American soldier sitting on the Nguyen emperor's throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony after capturing the Forbidden City in 1968.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Reconstructed emperor's throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony. On this throne, the Emperor presided over ceremonies, received ministers and foreign emissaries.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The rebuilt Temple of Original Ancestor 肇祖廟. It was built in around 1804 to honour Nguyễn Kim 阮淦 (1476 – 1545) who was the ancestor of the Nguyen clan.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Pavilion of Splendour Hiển Lâm Các 顯臨閣 was built in 1822 during the reign of Emperor Minh Mang from 1820 to 1839. Hiển Lâm Các is dedicated to the Nguyen emperors and top mandarins commemorating their achievements.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Thế Miếu 世廟 built by Emperor Minh Mang 明命 in 1823 is an ancestral worship hall honouring Minh Mang's nine predecessors.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

There are nine urns 九鼎 casted in 1822, each dedicated to a Nguyen emperor before Minh Mang.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The Meridian Gate 午門, the main gate to the Forbidden City was built by Emperor Minh Mang in 1833. It is a platform for major ceremonies and reviewing of troops.

In 1825, Emperor Minh Mang banned Catholic missionaries from his kingdom, expelling and even executing those who defied the ban.

Peace Pavilion 太平楼 was the emperor's library and reading room. It was built during Emperor Thieu Tri's reign from 1841 to 1847.

Emperor Thieu Tri continued his father Emperor Minh Mạng's policy of banning Catholic missionaries in Vietnam. Thieu Tri arrested missionaries who defied the ban, prompting France to send a naval force to Tourane (today's Danang) in 1847. The Nguyen forces were easily defeated due to inferior weapons.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Emperor Minh Mang built Tinh Tam Lake in 1822 by expanding a pond inside the Citadel. Eight thousand soldiers were mobilised for its construction. Tinh Tam Lake was planted with bách hợp lotus considered the best in Vietnam.

Royal tea ceremony at the Forbidden City

During the reign of Emperor Tự Đức (1847 - 1883) servants would set out at sunset on little boats on Tinh Tam Lake to insert dried tea leafs into lotus blooms. At dawn, the servants would retrieve the tea leafs infused with lotus flower fragrance. They would also collect dewdrops on the lotus leafs. The servant would use the fragrance infused tea leafs and dewdrops to make tea for Emperor Tự Đức.

Tự Đức continued the policies of his father Thieu Tri and grandfather Minh Mang banning Catholic missionaries in Vietnam. In 1848, he ordered Vietnamese Catholic converts to renounce their faith.

This triggered the French invasion of southern Vietnam (known then as Cochin-China). The Nguyen military forces were defeated due to their inferior weapons and Cochin-China became a French colony. The entire Vietnam would fall under French rule by 1887 (4 years after the death of Emperor Tự Đức).

The Nguyen dynasty would continue till 1945 but in form only as real power was in the hands of the French. The Nguyen dynasty formally ended in 1945 when the last emperor Bao Dai abdicated, famously declaring that he "rather be a citizen of an independent country than emperor of an enslaved one".

French rule lasted 67 years till 1954 following their defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

The Forbidden City and Citadel (together with the Nguyen tombs) are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Nguyen dynasty left another legacy, Nguyen imperial dishes which deserve UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage recognition.

The Nguyen emperors were demanding gourmands. Each imperial meal consists of up to 50 dishes, all by different chefs who were the best, handpicked from all over the kingdom.

Imperial dishes must meet 3 criterion. First, it must be delicious. Second, it must be nutritious and health fortifying. Last, but not least, the dish must be pleasing to the emperor's eyes.

So, Nguyen imperial dishes were made with the finest ingredients from the land and sea of the realm. The recipes were designed by a food council (like a kitchen cabinet) which looked into every aspect of the emperor's meals from manning, equipment and supplies, preparation to ceremonies and customs. A great deal of time and energy went into food carving which is an art form in itself.



Fortunately, we are still able to taste Nguyen imperial dishes today. Chef Tôn Nữ Thị Hà and daughter chef Phan Tôn Gia Hiền have dedicated themselves to preserve and promote Hue imperial cuisine.

 

Date: 1 - 8 Mar 2020