The Imperial City: the palace of the emperor is located in the citadel, which is across the Perfume river from the town. The river is diverted in part all around the citadel in a series of moats. There are the outside walls and the whole compound is 2km square and completely level. Inside the citadel is the Imperial City, which sits elevated, by intent of course, with a second moat and defensive wall. It was patterned on the layout of Beijing’s Forbidden City, and the buildings have either yellow or green tiles, depending on who lives or works there.
After 1945, the city was abandoned and the last Nguyen emperors went to Paris, where he lived until his death in 1997. The 1968 Tet offensive occurred in Hue, when the North Vietnamese Army held the city for 25 days, and Hue was all but leveled in bombing on the NVA holed up in the citadel and at the end much of it was leveled. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site and there is a LOT of restoration going on. In 5-10 years, when the emperors palace is rebuilt it will be even more magnificent. Now, there are some buildings which give a strong impression of how grand this whole city was. The main building is the Thai Hoa Palace (Palace of Supreme Harmony) where the emperor held court. It is guarded by 2 ‘kylin’ which are mythical creatures, a mix of lion and dragon. You cannot take photos inside but it is a heady mix of gold and red lacquer. There are more buildings, library, ponds, gardens, but the other building that has had major restoration is the empress’ palace (they lived in separate residences) which is festooned in nothing less than the most baroque decorations I have ever seen. This includes the palace of Versailles and other gilded European churches. It is all tile, in elaborate decorations.
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