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 The
Imperial City was constructed in 1804 and is
square in shape, with a perimeter of nearly 2.5
km. It has four entrances: the Noon Gate that is
opposite the flag tower, the Gate of Humanity on
the left side, the Gate of Virtue on the right
hand side, and the Gate of Peace at the rear.
The city is surrounded by the Golden Waters pond
that flows into the lakes at the northern corner
of the city. Each gate has a bridge spanning the
Golden Waters, whilst the Noon Gate has three
bridges. In imperial times, the centre bridge
was for the use of the Emperor alone, whilst the
other two bridges were for the use of his
entourage.
Once you enter via the Noon Gate, separating you
from the Great Rites Court is the Thai Dich
Lakes (Great Liquid Lakes). These were dug in
1883 and are spanned by a central bridge, the
Trung Dao (Central path) Bridge. The bridge has
two ornately designed gateway, carved with
dragons slithering up and down them.
The Great Rites Court (also known as the
Esplanade of Great Salutation) consists of two
paved terraces. The upper was reserved for high
ranking civil and military mandarins, whilst the
lower was for village officials and elders. The
steles on each side of the court indicate where
each official’s designated place was. At the two
corners of the court stand two bronze Kylins,
which are believed to bring peace.
Beyond the Great Rites Court there is the Throne
Palace. This was used on meetings. During these
meetings, the Emperor would sit on his throne
whilst only four top ranking officials were
allowed in the palace. The remainder of
officials had to stand outside according to
rank. The palace was seriously damaged during
the Tet Offensive.
Behind the Throne palace is where the Great
Golden Gate once stood, marking the entrance to
the Forbidden Purple City.
The imperial City was not destroyed to the
extent of the Forbidden Purple City and there
are number of temples still standing, although
some are locked up due to their instability.
These include Trieu Temple, Thai Temple (a
reconstruction), the Residence of Everlasting
Longevity, Phung Tien Temple, Mieu Temple, and
the Hung Temple
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Bun
bo (Beef noodle soup) at the very far end of the
alleyway which makes for the local market.Like
most of the stallholders here, she sets her
table up in front of her opened house. In this
case that's next to the Banh khot seller . .. 
It
is the first intangible heritage of Vietnam to
be recognized by UNESCO.
Sweep
through Hue and the classic grace of women clad
in ao dai will surely to make a lasting
impression on you. But behind the beauty is a
rich history, brimming with cultural
significance.
When
Hue natives living outside the city return to
their homeland, they usually have sour shrimp.
Tourists also make sure to buy some jars of sour
shrimp before leaving Hue.Because of the
national reputation of this dish, some cooks and
merchants specialize in making sour shrimp...
No
one in the village Tay Ho (Hue) knows when the
hat making began but everybody feels grateful to
the job that feeds the whole village through ups
and downs of history.
Unlike
the painting genres of Dong Ho in Bac Ninh
Province and Hang Trong in Hanoi, the paintings
of Sinh Village in Huong Tra Dist, Thua Thien
Hue Province, are very simple with plain glyphs
and traditional colours, reflecting people’s
innermost feelings, wishes and simple dreams.
