Huế

History

The region's history dates back some 2,800 years according to archaeological findings from the Sa Huỳnh culture, as well as from relics in the region.

The oldest ruins in Huế belong to the Kingdom of Lâm Ấp, dating back to the 4th century AD. The ruins of its capital, the ancient city of Kandarpapura (lit. 'the city where Śiva burnt Kama'), is now located in Long Tho Hill, three kilometers to the west of the city. Kandarpapura might have only been established during the reign of Kandarpadharma (r. 629–640) and it was named after the king, certainly it may be not the name of the capital of former Lâm Ấp kingdom. Another Champa ruin in the vicinity, the ancient city of Hoa Chau is dated back to the 9th century. Đại Việt became an independent nation in 938 AD; four centuries of territorial conflicts between Đại Việt and Champa followed. The two provinces then changed their names to Thuận and Hóa.

In 1306, the King of Champa, Chế Mân offered Vietnam two Cham prefectures, Ô and Lý, in exchange for marriage with a Vietnamese (Trần dynasty) princess named Huyền Trân. The Vietnamese King Trần Anh Tông accepted this offer. He took and renamed Ô and Lý prefectures to Thuận prefecture and Hóa prefecture, respectively, the two being often referred collectively to as Thuận Hóa region. In 1307, Đoàn Nhữ Hài was appointed by the emperor, Trần Anh Tông, to administer the area. Settlers from the north (Thanh Hóa) migrated south and integrated with the people of the Kingdom of Champa. During this time, the settlement of Hóa Châu province began, which included the area of present-day Huế.

Between the settlement of Thuận Hóa (1306) to the founding of Phú Xuân (1687), there were conflicts and uncertainties for the local people, which including the fall of the Trần Dynasty to the renaissance of the Hồ dynasty.

In 1592, the Mạc dynasty was forced to flee to Cao Bằng province and the Lê emperors were enthroned as de jure Vietnamese rulers under the leadership of Nguyễn Kim, the leader of Lê dynasty loyalists. Later, Kim was poisoned by a Mạc dynasty general which paved the way for his son-in-law, Trịnh Kiểm, to take over the leadership. Kim's eldest son, Nguyen Uông, was also assassinated in order to secure Trịnh Kiểm's authority. Nguyễn Hoàng, another son of Nguyễn Kim, feared a fate like Nguyễn Uông's so he pretended to have a mental illness. He asked his sister Ngoc Bao, who was a wife of Trịnh Kiểm, to entreat Trịnh Kiểm to let Nguyễn Hoàng govern Thuận Hóa, the furthest south region of Vietnam at that time.

Because Mạc dynasty loyalists were revolting in Thuận Hóa, and Trịnh Kiểm was busy fighting the Mạc dynasty's forces in northern Vietnam during this time, Ngoc Bao's request was approved, and Nguyễn Hoàng went south. After Hoàng pacified Thuận Hóa, he and his heir Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên secretly made this region loyal to the Nguyễn family; then they rose against the Trịnh lords. Vietnam erupted into a new civil war between two de facto ruling families: the clan of the Nguyễn lords and the clan of the Trịnh lords.

Thuận Hóa and Phú Xuân became the location of the Đại Việt kingdom once Nguyễn Hoàng was appointed head of Thuận Hóa (1511–1558). Lord Nguyễn Hoàng (1558–1613) established bases at Ai Tu, Tra Bat and Dinh Cat, while his lords moved palaces to Kim Long (1636), where they would eventually base their operations in Phú Xuân (1687). The Nguyễn lords ruled the area until the Trinh clan conquered it in 1775.

However, Tây Sơn rebellions broke out in 1771 and quickly occupied a large area from Quy Nhon to Bình Thuận province, thereby weakening the authority and power of the Nguyễn lords. While the war between Tây Sơn rebellion and Nguyễn lord was being fought, the Trịnh lords sent south a massive army and easily captured Phú Xuân in 1775. After the capture of Phú Xuân, the Trịnh lords' general Hoàng Ngũ Phúc made a tactical alliance with Tây Sơn and withdrew almost all troops to Tonkin and left some troops in Phú Xuân. In 1786, Tây Sơn rebellion defeated the Trịnh garrison and occupied Phú Xuân. Under the reign of the emperor Quang Trung, Phú Xuân became the Tây Sơn dynasty capital. The Tây Sơn insurgent army conquered the Nguyễn capital after winning the battle of Phú Xuân in 1786, where they continued north and overthrew the Trinh Dynasty. In Phú Xuân, Nguyễn Huệ appointed himself king; with internal strife within the Tây Sơn Movement and the death of Nguyễn Huệ (1792), Nguyễn Ánh took advantage of the situation and conquered Gia Định with the support of foreign forces. He became attached to the Tây Sơn movement and took over Phú Xuân and the throne, thereby choosing the dynasty title of Gia Long (1802).

In 1802, Nguyen Ánh, a successor of the Nguyễn lords, recaptured Phú Xuân and unified the country. Nguyễn Ánh rebuilt the citadel entirely and made it the Imperial City capital of all of Vietnam. Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (later Emperor Gia Long) succeeded in establishing his control over the whole of Vietnam, thereby making Huế the national capital.

The second emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty to rule from Huế, reigning from his birthday on 14 February 1820 until his death, on 20 January 1841 was Minh Mạng. He was a younger son of Emperor Gia Long, whose eldest son, Crown Prince Cảnh, had died in 1801. Minh Mạng was well known for his opposition to French involvement in Vietnam, and for his rigid Confucian orthodoxy.

After the French conquest of Vietnam, Phú Xuân was officially renamed to Huế in 1899. It remained the capital of Annam, one of French Indochina's six constituent regions, until the State of Vietnam was established in 1949. Prior to 1975, the province was known simply as Thừa Thiên. During the French colonial period, Huế was in the protectorate of Annam. It remained the seat of the Imperial Palace until 1945, when Emperor Bảo Đại abdicated and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) government was established with its capital at Ha Noi (Hanoi), in the north.

While Bảo Đại was proclaimed "Head of the State of Vietnam" with the help of the returning French colonialists in 1949 (although not with recognition from the communists or the full acceptance of the Vietnamese people), his new capital was Saigon, in the south.

The city was also the battleground for the Battle of Huế, which was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. During the Republic of Vietnam, Huế, being very near the border between the North and South, was vulnerable in the Vietnam War. In the Tet Offensive of 1968, during the Battle of Huế, the city suffered considerable damage not only to its physical features but also to its reputation from combination of American military bombing of historic buildings held by the North Vietnamese and from the massacre at Huế. The city suffered from heavy fighting during the Vietnam War, as it was the second-most northerly province of the South Vietnam, close to the North Vietnamese border (DMZ) at the 17th parallel. 2,893 U.S. soldiers died in Huế, more than in any other Vietnamese province. The Massacre at Huế occurred here; an estimated 2,800 to 6,000 civilians and South Vietnamese army prisoners of war were slaughtered by the Việt Cộng during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

After the war's conclusion in 1975, many of the historic features of Huế were neglected because they were seen by the victorious communist regime and some other Vietnamese as "relics from the feudal regime"; the Communist Party of Vietnam (then Workers' Party of Vietnam) doctrine described the Nguyễn dynasty as "feudal" and "reactionary". With the adoption of liberalizing reforms, however, these hostile policies have been abandoned. Many of the city's historic areas and buildings are undergoing restoration, most notably the full reconstruction of Kien Trung Palace in 2024, and the city is quickly developing into a tourism and transportation hub for central Vietnam.

The province saw a large influx of northern settlers soon after the Vietnam War ended, as with the rest of the former South. At the same time, Thừa Thiên was merged with Quảng Bình and Quảng Trị to form the province of Bình Trị Thiên, before being reformed again as Thừa Thiên Huế in 1989. Thừa Thiên Huế and neighboring Quảng Nam province suffered greatly from severe flooding in 1999.

In recognition of Huế's rapid development, the city became Vietnam's sixth centrally-governed municipality in 2025. As part of this process, Huế was merged with the rest of Thừa Thiên Huế province to streamline administration. The National Assembly of Vietnam voted and passed a resolution to establish Huế city as a direct-controlled municipality, comprising the entirety of Thừa Thiên Huế province. At the same time, the former provincial city Huế was divided into two new districts, Phú Xuân district and Thuận Hóa district. Huế municipality officially came into operation in 2025.

Geography

The Perfume River (called Sông Hương or Hương Giang in Vietnamese) passes through the center of the city. The city also accommodates the Tam Giang–Cau Hai lagoon, the largest lagoon in Southeast Asia, which is 68 kilometres (42 mi) long with a surface area of 220 square kilometres (85 sq mi). The city is divided into four distinct zones: mountainous areas, hills, plains, and lagoons separated from the sea by sandbanks. It has a coastline of 128 kilometres (80 mi) with extensive beaches. The mountains, located along the western and southwestern borders, cover more than half of the province’s total area, with elevations ranging from 500 metres (1,600 ft) to 1,480 metres (4,860 ft). The hills, which lie between the mountains and the plains, account for about one-third of the territory and range in height from 20 metres (66 ft) to 200 metres (660 ft), with occasional peaks rising to 400 metres (1,300 ft). The plains occupy roughly one-tenth of the surface area, reaching elevations of up to 20 metres (66 ft) above sea level. The lagoons, located between the hills, represent the remaining 5% of the city’s area.

Bạch Mã National Park is a protected area in the city of Huế. The area covers 220 square kilometres (85 sq mi) and is divided into three zones: a strictly protected core area, an administrative area, and a buffer zone.

Climate

Huế’s climate mostly resembles the rest of central Vietnam, characterized as tropical monsoon, but because of the topography and altitude, several climatic types occur which can be the same as found in temperate latitudes (A Lưới and Bạch Mã). In the plains and hills, the average annual temperature is 25 °C (77 °F), while in the mountains it is lower, at around 21 °C (70 °F) (Statistical Yearbook 2004).

The cool season extends from November to March, accompanied by northeasterly winds. January records the lowest average monthly temperature, 20 °C (68 °F), though temperatures in the plains can drop to 12 °C (54 °F). Relative humidity in this season is generally high, ranging from 85% to 95%. From April to September, the climate becomes warmer, with average monthly temperatures reaching 29 °C (84 °F) in July and extremes of up to 41 °C (106 °F). Despite high humidity in July, the relative humidity may occasionally decrease to around 50%.

The annual precipitation in the city is 3,200 millimetres (130 in), but there are important variations. Depending on the year, the annual average may be 2,500 millimetres (98 in) to 3,500 millimetres (140 in) in the plains and 3,000 millimetres (120 in) to 4,500 millimetres (180 in) in the mountains. In some years the rainfall may be much higher and reach more than 5,000 millimetres (200 in) in the mountains. The rainy season is from September to December—about 70% of the precipitation occurring in those months. Rainfall often occurs in short heavy bursts which can cause flooding and erosion, with serious social, economic and environmental consequences. The historic floods of November 1999 led to 600 deaths and affected 600,000 homes.

Biodiversity and conservation

A remote region known as the "Green Corridor" is home to many rare species. New species of snake, butterfly, and orchid have been found there in 2005 and 2006, as stated by Chris Dickinson of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on 26 September 2007. The scientists discovered 11 new species of plants and animals, including a snake, two butterflies and five leafless orchid varieties. The new snake species is a white-lipped keelback (Hebius leucomystax). The new butterfly species are a skipper from the genus Zela, and the other from Satyrinae. The new plant species also include one in the genus Aspidistra, and a poisonous Arum perennial.

Administrative divisions

Huế city is subdivided into 40 commune-level administrative units, include 21 wards and 19 communes:

Demographics

The average population of the province is 1,143,572; which consist of approximately 567,253 males and 576,319 females. The rural population is approximately 587,516 while the urban population is 556,056 (2015).

Culture

Clothing

The design of the modern-day áo dài, a Vietnamese national costume, developed from the costumes worn by civilians in Đàng Trong in the 18th century after the costume reform of lord Nguyễn Phúc Khoát. A court historian of the time described the rules of dress as follows:

Thường phục thì đàn ông, đàn bà dùng áo cổ đứng ngắn tay, cửa ống tay rộng hoặc hẹp tùy tiện. Áo thì hai bên nách trở xuống phải khâu kín liền, không được xẻ mở. Duy đàn ông không muốn mặc áo cổ tròn ống tay hẹp cho tiện khi làm việc thì được phép.

Outside court, men and women wear gowns with straight collars and short sleeves. The sleeves are large or small depending on the weather. There are seams on both sides running down from the sleeve, so the gown is not open anywhere. Men may wear a round collar and a short sleeve for more convenience.

— Đại Nam thực lục

This outfit evolved into the áo ngũ thân, a type of five-part costume popular in Vietnam in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by Paris fashions, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other artists associated with Hanoi University redesigned the ngũ thân to create the modern áo dài in the 1920s and 1930s. While the áo dài and nón lá are generally seen as a symbol of Vietnam as a whole, the combination is seen by Vietnamese as being particularly evocative of Huế. Violet-coloured áo dài are especially common in Huế, the color having a special connection to the city's heritage as a former capital.

Cuisine

The cuisine of Huế forms the heart of Central Vietnamese cuisine, but one of the most striking differences is the prominence of vegetarianism in the city. Several all-vegetarian restaurants are scattered in various corners of the city to serve the locals who have a strong tradition of eating a vegetarian meal twice a month, as part of their Buddhist beliefs. Nam Châu Hội Quán is a traditional dining hall. Huế dishes are known for their relatively small serving size with refined presentation, a vestige of its royal cuisine. Huế cuisine is notable for often being very spicy.

Huế cuisine has both luxurious and popular rustic dishes. It consists of several distinctive dishes from small and delicate creations, originally made to please the appetites of Nguyen feudal lords, emperors, and their hundreds of concubines and wives.

Besides Bún bò Huế, other famous dishes include:

• Bánh bèo is a Vietnamese dish that originally comes from Huế city. It is made from a combination of rice flour and tapioca flour. The ingredients include rice cakes, marinated-dried shrimps and crispy pork skin, scallion oil and dipping sauce. It can be considered as street food, and can eat as lunch or dinner.
• Cơm hến (baby basket clams rice) is a Vietnamese dish originating in Huế. It is made with baby mussels or basket clams and rice; it is normally served at room temperature.
• Bánh ướt thịt nướng (steamed rice pancake with grilled pork) is the most well-known dish of people of Kim Long- Huế. The ingredients include steamed rice pancake, vegetables – Vietnamese mint herb, basil leaves, lettuce, cucumber and cinnamon leaves, pork and is served with dipping sauce.
• Bánh khoái (Huế shrimp and vegetable pancake) is the modified form of Bánh xèo. It is deep fried and served with Huế peanut dipping sauce containing pork liver. Its ingredients include egg, liver, prawns and pork belly or pork sausage, and carrot. It is served with lettuce, fresh mint, Vietnamese mint, star fruit, and perilla leaves.
• Bánh bột lọc (Vietnamese clear shrimp and pork dumplings) can be wrapped with or without banana leaf. It is believed to originate from Huế, Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty. Main ingredients include tapioca flour, shrimps and pork belly; it is often served with sweet chili fish sauce.
• Banh it ram (fried sticky rice dumpling) is a specialty in Central Vietnam. It is the combination of fried sticky rice dumplings which is sticky, soft and chewy, and crispy stick rice cake at the bottom.

Additionally, Huế is also famous for its delicious sweet desserts such as Lotus seeds sweet soups, Lotus seed wrapped in logan sweet soup, Areca flower sweet soup, Grilled pork wrapped in cassava flour sweet soup, and Green sticky rice sweet soup.

Religion

The imperial court practiced various religions such as Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The most important altar was the Esplanade of Sacrifice to the Heaven and Earth, where the monarch would offer each year prayers to the Heaven and Earth.

In Huế, Buddhism enjoyed stronger support than elsewhere in Vietnam, with more monasteries than anywhere else in the country serving as home to the nation's most famous monks.

In 1963, Thích Quảng Đức drove from Huế to Saigon to protest anti-Buddhist policies of the South Vietnamese government, setting himself on fire on a Saigon street. Photos of the self-immolation became some of the enduring images of the Vietnam War.

Thích Nhất Hạnh, a world-famous Zen master who originated from Huế and lived for years in exile including France and the United States, returned to his home town in October 2018 and resided there at the Tu Hieu pagoda until his death in 2022.

Among Buddhist sites in the surrounding midland area of Huế is Chùa Phổ Lại, which hosts religious, cultural, and community activities.

Tourism

Huế is well known for its historic monuments, which have earned it a place in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. The seat of the Nguyễn emperors was the Imperial City, which occupies a large, walled area on the north side of the Perfume River. Inside the citadel was a forbidden city where only the emperors, concubines, and those close enough to them were granted access; the punishment for trespassing was death. Today, little of the forbidden city remains, though reconstruction efforts are in progress.

Roughly along the Perfume River from Huế lie myriad other monuments, including the tombs of several emperors, including Minh Mạng, Khải Định, and Tự Đức. Also notable is the Thiên Mụ Temple, the largest pagoda in Huế and the official symbol of the city.

A number of French-style buildings lie along the south bank of the Perfume River. Among them are Huế High School for the Gifted, the oldest high school in Vietnam, and Hai Bà Trưng High School.

The Huế Museum of Royal Fine Arts on 3 Le Truc Street also maintains a collection of various artifacts from the city. In addition to the various touristic attractions in Huế itself, the city also offers day-trips to the Demilitarized Zone lying approximately 70 km (43 mi) north, showing various war settings like The Rockpile, Khe Sanh Combat Base or the Vịnh Mốc tunnels. Most of the hotels, bars, and restaurants for tourists in Huế are located on streets of Phạm Ngũ Lao, Chu Văn An and Võ Thị Sáu, which together form the backpacker district.

In the first 11 months of 2012, Huế received 2.4 million visitors, an increase of 24.6% from the same period of 2011. 803,000 of those 2.4 million visitors were foreign guests, an increase of 25.7%. Although tourism plays a key role in the city's socioeconomic development, it also has negative impacts on the environment and natural resource base. For example, services associated with tourism, such as travel, the development of infrastructure and its operation, and the production and consumption of goods, are all energy-intensive. Research by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network has identified traditional 'garden houses' as having the potential to increase tourist traffic and revenue. Apart from the environmental, economic and cultural benefits provided by garden houses, their promotion could pave the way for other low carbon development initiatives.

Economy

The retail sales of goods and services (trade, hotel, restaurant, tourism) in the province is 10,960.6 billion đồng, or 0.9 percent of national GDP. This is compared with 12.7 percent for Hanoi and 23.5 percent for Ho Chi Minh City (2009). The province has more than 120 km of coastline, which provides for a seafood industry that produces over 40,000 tonnes per year, consisting of over 500 species of fish.

There are more than 100 mines for minerals and non-mineral resources with the majority consisting of limestone, granite and kaolin. Arts and crafts (wood works, fabrics, furnitures, paper arts, pottery, etc.), literature (textbooks), and spicy cuisines (includes dry goods and vegetarian fare) are the main exports of this region. Exquisite custom-made áo dài (Vietnamese long dress) and nón lá (conical hat) are popular souvenirs for foreign visitors and overseas Vietnamese. Toy-making, lantern design, paper flower crafting, and figurine-making are traditional local crafts. Fruits such as rambutan, jackfruit, lychee, durian, peach, dragon fruit, star fruit, mangosteen, coconut, and kumquat are grown in this area, thanks to substantial rainfall received each year.

Huế is home to a vast number of historically significant buildings, largely a legacy from its time as a capital of the Nguyễn dynasty (1802–1945), including the Imperial Citadel, the Flag Tower, the Royal Palace, and the Royal Tombs. Huế's Forbidden Purple City was once reserved solely for the royal family's use; it was severely damaged during the Vietnam War. Outside the city is the religious site known as Nam Giao Hill ("Heaven's Altar"). Huế Brewery Ltd is located on the Hương Giang river, a popular brand widely known across Vietnam. The Brewery is a joint state-private partnership founded in 1990, with an initial investment of US$2.4 million and a capacity of 3 million liters per year, which has since grown to a capacity of 100 million liters per year in 2007.

Infrastructure

Education

The municipality is home to Huế University (e.g.: Huế Economic University, Huế University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Huế Pedagogical University, Huế Forestry and Agriculture University, Huế University of Sciences, Huế University of Arts, Huế Conservatory of Music and Huế College of Foreign Languages). As of 2009, the city had 190 schools, 1302 classrooms, 2184 teachers and 36,200 pupils.

Huế city has 35 public high schools and 1 continuing education center under the Department of Education and Training. In addition, there are private high schools and those affiliated with several universities. The most famous high school in Huế is Quốc Học – Huế High School for the Gifted. It is well known for its high quality of education and French heritage.

Health

The Huế Central Hospital, established in 1894, was the first Western hospital in Vietnam. The hospital, providing 2078 beds and occupying 120,000 square meters (30 acres), is one of three largest in the country along with Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi and Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, and is managed by the Ministry of Health.

Transportation

Huế railway station provides a rail connection to major Vietnamese cities, via the North–South railway. Phu Bai International Airport is just south of the city centre.

Vietnam's National Route 1 along with North–South Expressway East and West, which runs the entire length of the nation from north to south, passes through Huế. Huế and Đà Nẵng are the main intermediate stops on the railway line from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. This province is served by two sea ports, Thuận An Port and Chân Mây Port.

Phu Bai International Airport, the province's sole airport, is situated 15 km south of Huế; it ranks fourth in passenger numbers among Vietnam's airports. While a new terminal was completed in 2023 to receive international flights, Phu Bai currently still only has direct flights to domestic destinations; the first international routes to Kunming, Taipei and Seoul are planned to be inaugurated in 2025.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Huế is twinned with:

• Gyeongju, South Korea
• Hanoi, Vietnam
• Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Honolulu, United States
• Namur, Belgium
• New Haven, United States
• São Luís, Brazil
• Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Cooperation and friendship

In addition to its twin towns, Huế cooperates with:

• Blois, France

Notable residents

• Thích Nhất Hạnh, Buddhist monk
• Trịnh Công Sơn, composer
• Ngô Đình Thục, Catholic archbishop
• Ngô Viết Thụ, architect
• Ho Ngoc Ha, singer and actress
• Quang Lê, singer