Things to see and do Hue

Serein and imposing at the same time, with its oaks, pines, ponds and rivers, affluents of the Perfume River, Song Huong: no site could have been more favourable to the rest of so August characters (the name of the Perfume River comes from the incense that once embaumait the river during the feasts given in honour of the emperor). All monuments are not to be seen (some of them, there is only a statuette, wall or brisée), but we must not hesitate to go into the small aisles: Some secondary graves are full of charm with their végétation covered stelas. The strictest géomancie rules were observed in the construction of these funeral palaces. For géomanciens, tombs were required to be surrounded by vegetation, to be oriented south and to be left to a hill (sometimes located not far behind). Bad minds were feared, including those of Barbarians coming from the North. Walls also served as protection: bad geniuses moving only in the right line, they had to face these obstacles. Last precaution, it was necessary in construction to respect the elements: wood, water, sky, wind breath, earth, moon and sun.

One of Hué's oldest pagodas, nestled in the forest on a hill in Thuy Xuân commune. Originally, it was a hermitage built in 1843 by the monk Thich Nhat Hanh. In 1848, a year after his death, the site was renovated and enlarged with the financial support of the imperial eunuchs who hoped to be buried there. To this day, some thirty eunuch tombs remain in the pagoda's courtyard, along with a crescent-shaped lake built in 1931 and planted with lotus flowers and water lilies.

On the 12th day of the 5th month in China and Vietnam, the rite of tracing the first furrow was performed. Called Nam Giao (ceremony of sacrifices to Heaven and Earth), it was one of the greatest ritual ceremonies of the Nguyen dynasty, intended to pay homage to Heaven and to pray for peace, happiness and fruitful harvests in the country. Until 1945, the rite was celebrated in Hué, at the Temple of Heaven. The ceremony included a ritual sacrifice, singing and dancing. In 1890, for financial reasons, this celebration became triennial.

The temple was built in 1806, under Gia Long, near the river, in the heart of a pine forest. But as it had to be placed at the top of a hill, it rose on a square platform, made of 3 successive floors. The complex was built on the model of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. In the centre was a circular mound, itself made of 3 concentric circles corresponding to 3 superimposed enclosures. It was accessed by 4 staircases facing the 4 cardinal points. The main entrance was the southern entrance, as in almost all Chinese-style buildings. The temple, which also served as a war memorial (the new regime has thus recovered this high place of imperial legitimacy), has recently undergone a restoration that some consider unsuccessful. Nowadays, the Nam Giao ceremony, in a simplified version, is reconstituted during the Hue Festival.