We drive outskirts of Hue to visit the most impressive tombs of Emperor Tu Duc and Emperor Khai Dinh.
The tomb of Tu Duc, the ‘poet Emperor’, is set in an elegant garden with a magnificent lake and pavilion complex. The centerpiece of the tomb is simplicity itself despite the lavish opulence of his reign (it’s really just a monument – he was buried elsewhere to thwart grave robbers).
Despite his cultural pursuits and desire to achieve a humble lifestyle, it was under Tu Duc that the Nguyen court reached its zenith of lavish opulence. Tu Duc withdrew into court life, seemingly indifferent to the people he ruled, and the brutal treatment of the three thousand artisans and workers pressed into service to build his tomb.
In complete contrast to Emperor Tu Duc's stylish creation, the tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh is appears at first to be an unprepossessing concrete construction. Its interest lies within in an uneasy combination of Vietnamese and European features and the use of fragments of ceramics and glass for decoration.
Nevertheless, Khai Dinh’s tomb is of great interest as an architectural watershed, the cusp between the influences of a Chinese past and a Western oriented future. The lavish embellishments inside the tomb come as a shock after the grimy and rather sombre façade and courtyard. A golden effigy of the Emperor seated on his throne under a magnificent cement canopy extravagantly decorated with ceramic fragments could be regarded as a masterpiece.