Beastly Dragons, Tomb Complex of Emperor Khai Dinh, Hue
An early start in our final few hours in Hue meant we could squeeze in a visit to a couple of the Emperors' tombs that are the most famous sights of the city but not alas included in our tour. We thus remain forever grateful to the lovely lady at our hotel reception who kindly arranged a taxi for us both to visit the two best known sites on our own.
The second of these was the tomb complex of Emperor Khai Dinh (d.1925), the 12th and penultimate monarch of the Nguyen Dynasty, but one who was deeply unpopular owing to his compliance with French colonial authority and the heavy increase in taxation levied to fund the building of this extravagaant tomb complex (constructed between 1920 & 1931), which turned out to be the final such architectural flourish of imperial Vietnam.
This complex is more compact than the other emperors' tombs, but is also a far more flamboyant one. The tomb itself is set within a palatial building above several raised terraces and is guarded at mid level by statues of soldiers, horses and elephants. The buildings are ornate, encrusted with ornamental detail. Much of the structure is built of concrete which has darkened with time, giving it a rather sinister appearance; it has the feel of the lair of a villainous character in a fantasy story (which is perhaps apt given how this emperor was often perceived). To cap it all each of the staircases is guarded by quite monstrous dragons, not the usual elegant creatures but huge ungainly beasts, more ugly and forbidding than most.
Whatever one makes of this eccentric complex it is well worth a visit and perhaps the most memorable of Hue's historic sites. If one has only has time to visit a couple of the Imperial tombs in Hue (as we did) then this should be one of them.
For more on the site and the Emperor who built it as his final place of rest see the article below:-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Kh%E1%BA%A3i_%C4%90%E1%BB%8Bnh
Beastly Dragons, Tomb Complex of Emperor Khai Dinh, Hue
An early start in our final few hours in Hue meant we could squeeze in a visit to a couple of the Emperors' tombs that are the most famous sights of the city but not alas included in our tour. We thus remain forever grateful to the lovely lady at our hotel reception who kindly arranged a taxi for us both to visit the two best known sites on our own.
The second of these was the tomb complex of Emperor Khai Dinh (d.1925), the 12th and penultimate monarch of the Nguyen Dynasty, but one who was deeply unpopular owing to his compliance with French colonial authority and the heavy increase in taxation levied to fund the building of this extravagaant tomb complex (constructed between 1920 & 1931), which turned out to be the final such architectural flourish of imperial Vietnam.
This complex is more compact than the other emperors' tombs, but is also a far more flamboyant one. The tomb itself is set within a palatial building above several raised terraces and is guarded at mid level by statues of soldiers, horses and elephants. The buildings are ornate, encrusted with ornamental detail. Much of the structure is built of concrete which has darkened with time, giving it a rather sinister appearance; it has the feel of the lair of a villainous character in a fantasy story (which is perhaps apt given how this emperor was often perceived). To cap it all each of the staircases is guarded by quite monstrous dragons, not the usual elegant creatures but huge ungainly beasts, more ugly and forbidding than most.
Whatever one makes of this eccentric complex it is well worth a visit and perhaps the most memorable of Hue's historic sites. If one has only has time to visit a couple of the Imperial tombs in Hue (as we did) then this should be one of them.
For more on the site and the Emperor who built it as his final place of rest see the article below:-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Kh%E1%BA%A3i_%C4%90%E1%BB%8Bnh