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Hue
The most beautiful city in Vietnam, Hue was the country's capital from 1802 to 1945, and has long been a major cultural, religious and educational center. The remains of the huge, moated Citadel, constructed by the Emperor Gia Long from 1804, contain many interesting sights, such as the Nine Holy Cannons, the Imperial Enclosure, the Palace of Supreme Harmony and the Halls of the Mandarins. Sadly, the intriguing Purple Forbidden City was largely destroyed during the Vietnam War. The site of the citadel covers an area of 52 km2. The construction began between 1804 and 1833. The citadel suffered from big damages due to fire in 1945 and war bombardments. It is surrounded as a fortification guarded by 80 bunkers and a deep trench of 40 m large, connected by a bridge in front of ten gates. There is another trench that edges the imperial city.The essential places of interest of the citadel and the imperial city are the flag pole, the noon gate, the courtyard for royal ceremonies, the palace of supreme peace, the memorial temple for Nguyen Kings, nine dynastic urns and the Forbidden City. About 15km (9mi) south of Hue are the Royal Tombs such as Tu Duc Tomb, Hien Lam Pavilion, Minh Mang Tomb, Khai Dinh's Masoleum, Thai Binh Pavilion, Thien Mu Pavilion, Tran Tien Bridge and the Song Huong River
. Hue has many other places of religious and dynastic importance, and some good museums.
If you want to get out of the city for a swim, head 13km (8mi) northeast to Thuan An Beach, where there's a lagoon, a hotel and the possibility of sampan trips up the Perfume River. Vehicles from Hue's Ðong Ba bus station run here.
There's a range of accommodation in Hue to suit most budgets, and some good restaurants. Hue has a long tradition of vegetarian food, which is prepared at pagodas for the monks. Stalls in the markets serve vegetarian food on the 1st and the 15th days of the lunar month, and there are several restaurants serving it all the time. Hue; is about 700km (434mi) from Hanoi and 1100km (682mi) from Saigon. The Reunification Express train running between those cities stops here, and there are frequent flights and buses to both cities.
Hue Landscapes
Lang Tu Duc Hien Lam Pavilion Lang Minh Mang Khai Dinh's Masoleum
Thai Binh Pavilion Thien Mu. Pavilion Tran Tien Bridge Song Huong
(Perfume River)