Historical landmark
Hue Historic Citadel
Walled royal capital with a ten-kilometer moated citadel guarding a French-designed Forbidden Purple City.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to the Hue Historic Citadel follows Emperor Gia Long, founder of Vietnam's last royal dynasty, as he chooses this stretch of the Perfume River for his new capital in the early eighteen hundreds and orders tens of thousands of laborers to raise its walls and moat. It traces the Nguyen court through nine emperors inside the triple-walled complex, including the guarded Purple Forbidden City, and the wars of the twentieth century that reshaped it. Look for the Flag Tower rising just ahead of the old palace gate.
This audio guide was created using AI.