Temple of Supreme Harmony 太和殿

The Forbidden City is arguably the largest open air museum in China, encompassing several city blocks. It is a wonderful piece of history conveniently located in downtown Beijing. Actually, if it weren’t for the Forbidden City, there might not have been a Beijing. Throughout the centuries, it stood the test of time amid the relentless surge of tourists eager to see what lies within its walls. For all that it was made out to be, it is truly a magnificent piece of architecture. It has also served as a symbol of Chinese architecture and it has inspired numerous other structures, not just in China, but also in other countries, such as the Imperial Citadel in Hue, Vietnam. Not much knowledge of history is needed here but visitors will be able to better appreciate the place even more with knowledge of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Looks Like There is No One Around

As usual, a visit to a Chinese tourist attraction is beset by the normal nuances, chiefly the huge number of tourists that pour through its gates. You will probably find yourself struggling to get a good angle without people when taking photos, but you would be surprised when you suddenly find yourself all alone. The Forbidden City is right at the center of the Chinese world and it will help you understand what make the country tick. It used to be the enclave of royalty, and yet now anyone can go in. Thus, this also serves as a reminder of how times have changed for these people.

This place should not be missed in an first time trip to Beijing. It may be crowded, but it is immensely interesting. It might be better to schedule it at the latter part of your trip since it is very easy to get to. Getting here is just as simple as taking the train.

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The Citadel

We stepped outside the Ngoc Mai Hotel wondering how to get to the Hue’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. Our guides still haven’t arrived yet. Fortunately, there were some locals with motorcycles asking us whether we wanted to go there. Of course we agreed. The ride took around 15 minutes from the hotel to the main square where the temple complex is. There is a lot of activity in the area and a lot of tourists too. But most of the tourists were Vietnamese. There were a handful of Caucasians too but not a lot.

Inside the Royal Palace

We are currently at the Imperial Citadel Đại Nội, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Hue. This is a palace/temple complex built by the Nguyen Dynasty as recently as two hundred years ago. Actually that was quite surprising, as I wasn’t expecting these temples to be built so recently. Unlike the temples of maybe China whose temples, have existed for a millennia or two. Regardless, the temples of Hue have that unmistakable Chinese feel, signs that China had such a huge influence in the history and culture of Vietnam. If one were to transport the temple to somewhere in China, it would look totally at home.

Fixing up the Lanterns

After paying the entrance fee, we entered the palace grounds. This place used to be the seat of power when Hue was the capital of Vietnam at that time. The Nguyen emperors had these temples built for their use. It was also during this time that Hue because the academic and cultural capital of Vietnam. The palace is surrounded by a moat, still with water, and with a carpet of water lilies covering it. The water lilies made the otherwise boring moat come to life with color.

Citadel at Dusk

The Ngọ Môn gate at the entrance was a beautiful sight. It has all the markings of Chinese design complete with Chinese characters. One could actually climb up and walk to it and get a good view of the surrounding area. There are huge drums on top presumably for defense. The central door of the gate and the bridge crossing the moat is reserved exclusively for the emperor.

Lights On for the Festival

Further in the complex is the royal palace Thái Hòa itself. As expected it is truly magnificent in its design. Even the columns are exquisitely carved with dragons. Little wonder why Hue became the cultural capital of Vietnam for a while. I found it amazing to see that the palace was so well preserved considering that Vietnam was in civil war just a couple of decades ago. The people have done a great job preserving such as precious treasure. The palace is where the emperors would hold court and receive foreign dignitaries.

Behind the palace is an area full of red lanterns. I was curious as to what the purpose of those lanterns were, when we were informed that these were a actually fireworks for the night’s festival. Actually, there are a couple of buildings in a state disrepair. It seems they were destroyed in the civil war.

There were more and more people coming in the Citadel and were gathering in the open area. In another part of the complex were some performances showing traditional dances. I wasn’t really interested in them we hung around for a while to see if something will happen.

Huge Bell

By this time, the sun had already set and the palace was all lit up. The temple now looked even more impressive with the lights turned on. Combine that with the slowly darkening sky and the water of the moat, it really makes for a beautiful scene.

Outside the Citadel, was also another performance area, this is more like a concert more than anything else. Not wanting to lose myself in the huge crowd gathered at the performance area we decided to go back to the hotel.

For you readers, it may be interesting to see how big the complex actually was if you look at the map and zoom back a little bit. Only after seeing the scale of how big the imperial citadel was can one truly admire their skill in building this icon of Hue.

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