Huế was the imperial capital of the Nguyễn Dynasty between 1802 and 1945 when the emperor abdicated and communism was established so, as such, has a fascinating history. Sadly, most of it was completely flattened during the Vietnam war but is growing out of this devastation at a considerable rate with new buildings and restoration of remaining monuments.
We took a boat ride down the Perfume River to one of the famous emporer's tombs which fortunately have been beautifully restored. We chose to visit the Minh Mang tomb, that of the second emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty, which was surrounded by a beautiful lake and gardens and we were truly impressed. Visiting temples and tombs one after the other tends to leave us somewhat jaded but we were really glad we took the time to see this one.
On the trip down, we passed the beautiful Thiên Mụ Pagoda and the long wall of the Citadel which we'd briefly visited the previous day.
We had, unknowingly, chosen to visit Vietnam just as they were preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year or Spring Festval. Because of this, every street, building, home, shop, bridge, etc. was decorated for the occasion. They use fruit laden kumquat trees the way we do Christmas trees and, in addition, place thousands of flowers in the entrances of buildings, patios, shop surrounds, everywhere and in this instance, it was tall flowering yellow mums. What a display! To the Chinese, this Festval is akin to our Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving and birthdays all rolled into one so you can imagine the impact it has.
So, to all the Chinese who are welcoming in the Year of the Horse:
chúc mừng năm mới
1 comment:
Loved your writings, as always. So amazing - and how good you could rent a jacket! Look forward to your photos. Safe journey all the way back to Calypso! Please tell us where next? Be safe.
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