Hue was the seat of the Vietnamese Emperors from the early 19th Century. Although The Vietnamese were 'subjugated' to Chinese rule for a 1,000 years they were allowed the odd Emperor or two. There was a Forbidden Palace, very much like the more famous one in Beijing, China, however, as American Forces in the Vietnam War decided to flatten nearly 90% of it, there is not so much to see now. Curiously for a Communist government, there is now a programme of restoration works going on. frankly, the money would probably be better spent on infrastructure projects! The Emperors seemed obsessed with the size and grandeur of their tombs. Some of them spent ages on the designs and trying to ensure that their graves were not robbed. Emperors in Vietnam were buried with jewels in their mouths amongst other things!
A day was spent was touring the former imperial sites including some of the grand tombs. The last Emperor to have a grand tomb was buried in the mid 1940's and by that time, the craftsmen were using concrete to create them. Subsequently most these tombs now need the most renovation!
It was a hot, hot day but I visited all the sites and endured the 'funny' comments from the guide what apparently spoke "Standard English" - he must have learned it in a non-standard place. He would go on and on about some particular topic and then after 10 minutes would say, "Forget it, move along". Needless to say, there were some giggles during the day.
The first Emperor to have a specially constructed tomb, created the best with really beautiful gardens. i can't imagine the man in the street back in the 1840's would have been so happy that so much was lavished on one dead man's burial!
I will not describe in detail all the tombs and if you are interested in learning more there are plenty of websites that can provide all the background.
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