"Hue" a Hue Travel Page by NedHopkins

Hue was overcast, with rain or drizzle, all four days I was there -- the four days just before Tet 2006.

The city was the Nguyen dynasty's capital -- first of southern Vietnam, then of the whole country -- from 1744 to 1945. (Pressed by Ho Chi Minh, the sybarite emperor Bao Dai abdictated here, making a brief comeback in "South Vietnam," and ultimately retiring with his ill-gotten fortune to the South of France, where he died in 1997.)

The weather provided an appropriate backdrop for Hue's most famous monument, the Citadel. An early 19th century fort, the 10 square kilometer fort was the scene of some of the most ferocious fighting during the American (Vietnam) War. Over 10,000 Viets died -- most of them civilians -- in a massacre by the NVA and Viet Cong and in artillery bombardments and bombing raids by the US.

The Communists held out, against everything the Americans could throw at them, for 25 days. Much of the compound was destroyed during that battle -- so much that, the sites where some buildings once stood have been turned over to agriculture.

The city itself is not unattractive; but the main interest in the Hue area is the imperial tombs several miles up the Perfume River.

The Ngo Mon Gate is the main entryway into the Citadel compound.

Emperors used this "palace" for receptions and ceremonies.