The Royal Tombs of Hué

Destination: Vietnam

Travel guidebook summary

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Nguyen-dynasty royal tombs in Hue inspire with their perfectly-integrated natural surroundings, captivating dragons in pursuit of pearls and ubiquitous ceramic tiles suggesting good luck and longevity.

And this guidebook helps you get the most from your visit. With high-resolution images and insights available nowhere else, it is an invaluable companion for understanding what makes them a cultural treasure.

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Message from the author

“What makes this guidebook particularly interesting is that the tombs tell the story of the gradual unwinding of the Nguyen dynasty, offering glimpses into the psychological state of the emperors who were watching it all slip away as the French took over.”

Jennifer Raezer | Founder & Author, Approach Guides

Royal Tombs of Hue: About this Guidebook

Guidebook screenshots

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Invaluable insights

Richly detailed with powerful images

Historical context

Richly detailed with powerful images
In-depth and engaging information

Read on all digital devices

Travel information at your fingertips
Richly detailed with powerful images

Guidebook Details

Guidebook Description

A fantastic collection of royal tombs sits solemnly along the banks of the Perfume river, upstream of Hue to the southwest. They were built by the Nguyen dynasty — which ruled over a unified Vietnam from 1802-1945 — to maintain their legacy for ages to come. The tombs inspire with their perfectly-integrated natural surroundings, captivating dragons in pursuit of pearls and ubiquitous ceramic tiles suggesting good luck and longevity. They are yours to discover.

What’s in this guidebook

Context. This guidebook begins by offering an introduction to the Nguyen dynasty and continues with a thorough review of what you are going to see on location, focusing on the three functional units that comprise every Nguyen tomb: temple, tomb and stela pavilion.
A tour that goes deeper. Following our tradition of being the most valuable resource for culture-focused travelers, we provide a detailed tour of six tombs (in chronological order): Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, Dong Khanh and Khai Dinh. For each, we provide information on its history, a detailed plan that highlights its most important architectural and artistic features and a discussion that ties it all together.
Advice for getting the best cultural experience. This guidebook supplies logistical advice, maps and links to online resources. Further, to help plan and prioritize your touring itinerary, we rank sites based on the quality of their art and architecture and offer brief summaries of each tomb’s highlights, so you can focus in on what most interests you. Finally, we give our personal tips for getting the most from your experience while on location.
Information the way you like it. As with all of our guides, this book is optimized for intuitive, quick navigation; information is organized into bullet points to make absorption easy; and images are marked up with text that explains important features.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction

MEET THE BUILDERS

Nguyen Dynasty: Origins, Agenda & Demise
The Tombs As Mirror

A NGUYEN TOMB COMPLEX

Introduction

Temple

Layout & Features
Ritual

Tomb

Layout & Features
Symbolism and Ritual

Stela Pavilion

Layout & Features

Cosmology: The Dragon and the Pearl

TOUR ITINERARY & MAP

1. Gia Long *

Site Map
Tomb
Stela Pavilion
Temple

2. Minh Mang *

Site Map
Imperial Entrance to Temple
Temple to Tomb

3. Thieu Tri *

Site Map
Tomb & Stela Pavilion
Temple

4. Tu Duc *

Site Map
Tomb & Stela Pavilion
Temple

5. Dong Khanh

Site Map
Tomb & Stela Pavilion
Temple

6. Khai Dinh *

Site Map
Entrance to Stela Pavilion
Stela Pavilion to Temple & Tomb

A Final Word on Duc Duc

Nguyen Ruler Chronology

Additional Information

Extras to enhance your trip

Map & Itinerary

Create your own itinerary with our map and ranking of Hue’s royal tombs.

The Royal Tombs of Hué

Travel guidebook summary

Message from the author

Royal Tombs of Hue: About this Guidebook

Guidebook screenshots

Guidebook Details

What’s in this guidebook

Extras to enhance your trip

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