Personal creation from visual materials collected during my travel Vietnam & Cambodia (2014)
The history of Vietnam is turbulent and punctuated by numerous conflicts. Among these conflicts, a civil war fueled by two important families, the Trinh and the Nguyen. This war started in the 17th century lasted many years and divided the country for more than a century.
At the end of this conflict, Nguyen Ahn ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor under the name of Gia Long. He decided to move the capital from Hanoi to Hue, the historic capital of the Nguyens and ideally located in the center of the empire.
Very influenced by the Chinese power, Gia Long ordered the construction of a forbidden city, on the model of that of Beijing. Work on this imperial city began in 1802, after geomancers decided on the best location. The set was formed by dozens of buildings, temples, palaces, villas for the mandarins and rooms to house the numerous personnel and gardens. The whole was surrounded by fortifications and moats over a distance of more than 10 kilometers.
Access to the imperial city was strictly limited to authorized persons, such as the emperor, his family, his concubines and his court as well as the personnel necessary for the proper functioning of this forbidden city. Any intruder was immediately executed.
Half a century after the construction of the forbidden city of Hue, the French colonizers took control of the country and the role of the emperor was limited to representation, the effective power being in the hands of France. This was not without consequence on the imperial city. Since that time, the site has been sorely lacking in maintenance, and unfavorable weather conditions combined with the voracity of termites have rapidly degraded some of the buildings. A few cyclones have also played an important role, all without considering the many destructions that are caused by humans.
As you can imagine, the destruction of human origin is disproportionate to that due to a lack of maintenance. The Vietnamese Communist Party fought for the country's independence in 1941, and the Viet Minh seized the imperial city. The counter-attack led by the French destroyed many buildings in this forbidden city during the siege which lasted 6 weeks.
A new North Vietnamese attack occurred in 1968, known as the Tet Offensive. Viet Cong troops occupied a large part of the city and the Americans heavily bombarded the city to defeat the offensive, despite the principle that prohibited the bombardment of Hue, because of its cultural and religious importance. Following these fights, only a dozen buildings remained standing within the walls of the imperial city, out of the 160 that it still had at the beginning of 1968.
Located near the demarcation line set by the Geneva Accords in 1954 between the two Vietnams (the 17th parallel), Hue is the former imperial capital of Vietnam. Hue is crossed by the Perfume River and its main resources come from fishing, but above all from tourism. The city has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.
Capital of the empire, Hué was the imperial residence and one of its highlights is the Forbidden City built during the 19th century.
The city has a long history of wars and devastation. The Forbidden City was burned and destroyed in 1885 by the French who looted the city and massacred its inhabitants. It also paid a heavy price in the Vietnam War, bombed by the Americans and targeted by the Viet Minh.
The Forbidden City of Hue is inspired by that of Beijing and is much more recent, since it was built at the beginning of the 19th century by Emperor Gia Long. This huge city was essentially reserved for the family of the emperor and his court. Apart from these and the workers essential to its proper functioning, access to this city was strictly prohibited under penalty of death.
Nowadays, about 10% of the buildings remain. The natural elements and the wars that Vietnam has experienced have destroyed about 90% of this imperial city.
Music:
Disclaimer: Despite its appropriateness, copyright issues prevent the use of vietnamese traditional music in "Hue, the forbidden city • Vietnam", hence the use of royalty-free music. Despite our careful selection, some might regret this decision, which is necessary to avoid potential lawsuits. Although difficult, this decision is the only viable solution.
Due to Vimeo's copyright control system, which does not correctly filter content, and their rigid policy, we have decided to transfer all our videos to YouTube. While we have appreciated our collaboration with Vimeo for many years, this decision is necessary to ensure the continuous and uninterrupted availability of our content. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
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