Huế — the imperial city

There are cities that keep the silence of kings. Huế (hway) is one of them. Crossed by a river with a poem for a name, the Perfume River, girdled by massive ramparts that time has patined with moss and lichen, it moves with an almost solemn slowness, like a city that has never quite left its imperial past behind. For more than a century it was the capital of Vietnam, the place where the emperors resided, where court music was composed and where cooking was refined until it became an art. To this day Huế remains the most imperial of Vietnamese cities — elegant, melancholy, secretive.

The capital of the Nguyễn

To understand Huế, one must go back to the Nguyễn dynasty (ngwee-en), the last imperial dynasty of Vietnam, which reigned from 1802 to 1945. Its founder, the emperor Gia Long (za long), unified the country after long divisions and chose Huế, in central Vietnam, as his capital. For nearly a century and a half, thirteen Nguyễn emperors succeeded one another there, making the city the political, spiritual and cultural heart of the realm. It was at Huế that sovereigns were crowned, that the great ceremonies were held, that worship was paid to Heaven and to the ancestors according to rites inherited from the Confucian tradition.

The very title of emperor, hoàng đế (hwang deh), spoke of these sovereigns' ambition to be the equals of the region's great monarchs. The court of Huế was a world codified to the extreme, governed by etiquette, precedence and the ranks of the mandarins (quan, kwan), those scholar-officials recruited by examination who administered the empire. A whole refined civilisation, turned toward the written word, poetry, calligraphy and respect for hierarchy, had its centre there.

The citadel and the Purple Forbidden City

The heart of all this is the citadel, the Kinh Thành (king tang), an immense fortified quadrangle set on the bank of the Perfume River. Inspired by both Vietnamese traditions and the great imperial capitals of the region, the citadel is protected by thick ramparts and by water-filled moats. You enter it through monumental gates, you walk along walls, ponds and pavilions, under the quiet gaze of old banyan trees.

Within this first enclosure lies a second walled city, the Imperial City, the Hoàng Thành (hwang tang), the seat of power. And at its core, a third enclosure, the most secret of all: the Purple Forbidden City, the Tử Cấm Thành (tuh gum tang), reserved for the emperor, his family and his closest servants. The name says everything: tử evokes purple, the colour associated with the sovereign; cấm (gum) means "forbidden"; thành (tang) is the "city," the "citadel." No one entered without permission, on pain of the harshest punishments. Life there was one of splendour and meticulous ritual, far from the eyes of the people.

From this imperial core one can still see the magnificent Meridian Gate, the Ngọ Môn (ngaw mon), the city's main entrance, crowned by a pavilion from which the emperor watched certain ceremonies, as well as the Palace of Supreme Harmony, the Điện Thái Hòa (dee-en tai hwa), the great throne hall where solemn audiences were held, with its columns lacquered in red and gold and its ceiling upheld by dragons. Much of this ensemble sadly suffered greatly in the wars of the twentieth century, and long restoration efforts have since sought to return the citadel to its splendour.

The Perfume River and the royal tombs

No evocation of Huế would be complete without the Perfume River, the sông Hương (song huong). The name is already an invitation: sông (song) is the river; Hương (huong) is perfume. Legend has it that upstream, aromatic plants gave the water a sweet scent that perfumed the city — hence this dreamlike name. The river crosses Huế in a slow, peaceful course, skirting the citadel, reflecting the clouds and, in the evening, the lanterns of the boats. On its banks also rises the elegant silhouette of the Pagoda of the Celestial Lady, the chùa Thiên Mụ (choo-a thee-en moo), with its tall many-tiered tower, one of the city's best-loved symbols.

Following the river and its surroundings, you discover one of Huế's wonders: the royal tombs, the lăng tẩm (lang tum). Each Nguyễn emperor had built, in his own lifetime, a vast mausoleum in which to rest for eternity — but far more than a tomb: true landscaped domains, blending pavilions, temples, lotus ponds, paved courtyards, steles and gardens, where the sovereign would sometimes come to reflect and meditate before his death. Each mirrors the personality of its emperor: some are austere and solemn, others of a romantic elegance, nestled in greenery at the water's edge. To wander through these tombs is to walk within the dream of stone and nature that a sovereign composed for himself in the afterlife.

Court music and the art of living

Huế is not only a matter of ramparts and stones: it is also an atmosphere, a refinement, an art of living. The city gave birth to a form of court music of great subtlety, nhã nhạc (nya nyak), literally "elegant" or "refined music." Performed at imperial ceremonies, blending string, wind and percussion instruments with voices and ritual dances, it expressed the solemnity and harmony the court sought to embody. This court music of Huế has been recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, alongside other treasures of Vietnam.

The monumental complex of Huế — citadel, palaces, tombs, pagodas — is indeed inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, a recognition of its exceptional value for all humanity. But this heritage is not only of stone: it lives on too in gestures, festivals and, above all, the table.

For Huế is one of Vietnam's great culinary capitals. Its imperial cuisine, inherited from the refinements of the court, cultivates delicacy, careful presentation, a subtle balance of flavours and a profusion of small, dainty dishes. It is said that the palace cooks had to present the sovereign with a multitude of tiny dishes, each composed and plated with extreme care, turning the meal into a veritable ceremony. But the city shines just as brightly through its popular cooking, often spicy and fragrant, hotter than that of the North. The most emblematic dish is surely bún bò Huế (boon bo hway), a spicy beef noodle soup with lemongrass, robust and aromatic, savoured steaming from the morning on. You also enjoy a myriad of steamed rice cakes, such as bánh bèo (bang beo), small soft cakes served in tiny saucers and topped with dried shrimp, or bánh khoái (bang khwai), a kind of crisp golden pancake. To eat in Huế is to taste, right off the plate, the spirit of a city that has always placed refinement at the heart of life.

The melancholy soul of the centre

It is often said that Huế has a character all its own, more reserved, more inward than the busy North or the exuberant South. The city has a reputation for being gentle, contemplative, faintly nostalgic — as if the memory of its imperial glory still hovered over its walls and gardens. The climate may have something to do with it: Huế knows long, stubborn rains that wrap the city in a soft mist, well suited to reverie. Its young women once liked to wear the white áo dài (ao zai), the long slit tunic, and this image of a graceful figure crossing a bridge in the fine rain has become, in Vietnamese poetry and song, the very emblem of Huế.

To visit Huế, then, is not merely to see monuments: it is to be won over by a slowness, by a slightly grave elegance, by the feeling of walking through a city that was once the centre of a world, and that keeps its dignity even in its silence. Sitting by the Perfume River, watching the day fade over the citadel's ramparts, you understand why so many Vietnamese poets have sung of this former capital as a lost love one never quite forgets.

Vietnamese to remember

• Huế (hway) — the former imperial capital of central Vietnam
• sông Hương (song huong) — the Perfume River (lit. "river of perfume")
• nhà Nguyễn (nya ngwee-en) — the Nguyễn dynasty (1802–1945)
• hoàng đế (hwang deh) — the emperor
• Kinh Thành (king tang) — the great fortified citadel
• Tử Cấm Thành (tuh gum tang) — the Purple Forbidden City, reserved for the emperor
• Ngọ Môn (ngaw mon) — the Meridian Gate, main entrance of the imperial city
• lăng tẩm (lang tum) — the royal tombs, mausoleums
• nhã nhạc (nya nyak) — the refined court music, listed by UNESCO
• chùa Thiên Mụ (choo-a thee-en moo) — the Pagoda of the Celestial Lady
• bún bò Huế (boon bo hway) — the spicy beef noodle soup of Huế
• áo dài (ao zai) — the long traditional Vietnamese tunic