Today's Hue is the provincial capital of Thua Thien-
Hue.The melancholy beauty of Hue, capital of the last
Vietnamese feudal regime, derives from the quiet Song Huong (Perfume River) weaving
its course between rolling hills housing the temples and tombs of the Nguyen Kings. This
feature of Hue has been enhanced by the recent addition of many modern hotels and offices
on the banks of the river.On the southern bank of Perfume
River, construction has started beside the Huong Giang Hotel for the new, three-star,
138-room Hue Hotel. Director of the Thua Thien- Hue Tourist Company Nguyen Thanh Dan, said that the hotel has been partly put into
operation and all the hotel rooms under his charge had been booked for June by tourists
from France, United States, Norway, Australia
and Germany. There will be 600 Germans, 350 French and so on. In July, the company will
welcome more than 300 American tourists, most of them veterans of the Vietnam War, who had
visited Hue at least once during the war. Hue is one of the three biggest tourist centres
of Vietnam. Its attraction lies first of all in the many temples, palaces and mausoleums
of Nha Nguyen (Nguyen Dynasty) built between 1805 and 1832.
The old citadel measures 11 kilometres in circumference with a 21-metre thick wall
and a flagpole standing 54.4 metres high. The Nguyen kings, from Tu Duc and Minh Mang to
Ðong Khanh and Thieu Tri were buried in mausoleums of different architectural styles. Hue
also boasts nearly one hundred Buddhist pagodas and temples. Visitors should not miss
Thien Mu Pagoda built in 1601 on a very poetic site on the bank of Perfume River, or the
Tu Dam pagoda.
Among Hue's many tourist attractions are Perfume
River, Ngu Mountain, Trang Tien and Phu Xuan bridges, Vong Canh (Belvedere) Hill, Bach Ma
(White Horse) Mountain, Hai Van Pass, Tam
Giang Lagoon, Thuan An and Canh Duong beaches
and further north, the Cua Tung and Cua Viet
estuaries. Hue also boasts the National College which was attended by Ho Chi Minh in his
young age, Duong Mo village with fascinating records from the fight against the French,
and the museum devoted to Phan Boi Chau, a prominent patriot during the early years of
French domination. From Hue, you can rent a car from the Thua Thien- Hue tourist company
to visit the system of tunnels in Vinh Moc village dug during the US air war of
destruction against North- Vietnam and Hien Luong bridge at the demarcation line
established between North and South Vietnam following the 1954 Geneva Conference. Then you can proceed to Con Tien and Doc Mieu,
famous battle sites where vestiges of the US defence line are till visible, and further
west, the Ho Chi Minh Trail.Visitors will never be bored by monotony or repetition during
a ten-day or five-day package tour of Hue.If you are an admirer of antiquities, you may
order a "royal feast" at the Huong Giang Hotel or sit on a "dragon"
rowboat (which used to cater for the royal family only) and listen to the mellow song of
young girls rowing. If you want to watch the quiet glory of dusk over the Huong River you
can hire a room at the Huong Giang or Hue hotels. If you like to listen to the lapping of
sea waves, go to Tan My Hotel on the beach at Thuan An. If you want a completely still
night, you may choose Thuan Hoa or Morin hotels. Wherever you go you will be treated to
the most varied traditional dishes of Hue, prepared and served by lovely girls dressed in
the violet "ao dai" (long gown) which is also a typical feature of Hue.
From
Ha Noi or Ho Chi Minh City, you can reach Hue by air, land and water. A twice weekly air
service has just been inaugurated between Phu Bai
airport in Hue and Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City. A similar service will soon
operate between Hue and Ha Noi, and arrangements are being made with Thai Airlines to link
Phu Bai with Bangkok. In 1991 the Thua Thien- Hue tourist company received 60,000 guests
including 10,000 foreigners. Investment on
infrastructure will increase from 4.2 billion dong in 1991 to 10.5 billion this year. With
its present capacity, Hue can receive at any
one time 1,100 guests at both state-owned hotels which have more than 500 rooms, plus at
private mini-hotels and homes.
