The city of Hue in Vietnam was the base for the Imperial Nguy'n Dynasty. Its Emperor Bao Dai was Vietnam’s last emperor, forced to abdicate to Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary forces in 1945.
The Perfume River bisects Hue, with the older sections of the city and the Citadel to the north and the more modern part of Hue, to the south.
One of Hue’s most important landmarks is the Imperial Citadel, which includes the courtyard and gate of Ngo Mon and the Thai Hoa Palace. Hue was shelled by the Viet Cong and also by the Americans and remnants of this violent period are still evident in the Hue Citadel. Renovations continue on this sprawling expanse of temples, pavilions, moats, museums and galleries, featuring art and costumes from the many periods in Vietnam’s history.
Hue is also home to the “Palace of Longevity,” (Truong Sanh Palace), with its moat, its bonsai gardens and its Tombs of the Emperors. The tombs were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and showcase Buddhist decorative and architectural elements.
