ExperiencesCity & CultureAn Dinh Palace: A European pearl in the heart of Hue
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City & Culture

An Dinh Palace: A European pearl in the heart of Hue

Translated by Bing
Among the temples and citadels imbued with the style of court architecture of the Nguyen Dynasty, in Hue there is also a unique An Dinh palace as a jewel from the West.

For many years, An Dinh Palace has remained quiet on the bank of An Former River "cloudy sunshine and clear rain", witnessing all the visits of history.



An Dinh Palace is a unique artistic architecture of the Nguyen Dynasty, marking the period when Vietnamese fine arts began to be clearly influenced by European neoclassical styles. This project is the common point between 3 architectures: Hue garden house, French and Chinese architecture. And perhaps no villa or ancient palace will possess this feature of An Dinh Palace. 


This is a gift built by King Dong Khanh and originally named Phung Hoa Palace with the intention of being a gift for his eldest son, Prince Nguyen Phuc Buu Dao (King Khai Dinh). The latter became the residence of the Eastern Palace of Crown Prince Vinh Thuy (King Bao Dai) and the residence of King Bao Dai's family after his abdication.


An Dinh Palace has a flat terrain, total area of 23,463m2, surrounded by brick walls, surrounded by iron bars.


The large and small works in An Dinh Palace all have a close relationship with each other in a harmonious overall relationship with many meanings to create a separate, quiet and charming architectural picture in the heart of Hue city. An Dinh Palace intact has about 10 works, including marina, main gate, Trung Neutral pavilion, Khai Tuong floor, Jiu Tu Dai theater, animal barns, lakes ... Now the palace only has the main gate, the Neutral Pavilion and the Khai Tuong floor quite intact.


The main gate is built in a triangular style, the two floors of the palace and the palace are decorated with elaborate embossed crockery. The gate is the convergence of imperial motifs and royal palaces at that time such as the four spirits, the adoration of the moon, vases of fenugreek, flowers, couplets,...



A few steps away is to the Neutral Palace. The pavilion was built with an octagonal pavilion-style structure, on a high foundation. The pavilion roof has 2 layers in the form of an ancient floor. The lower roof layer has 8 sides, the upper layer 4 sides. The 12 banks of the embossed roof 12 dragons seemed to fly out in 4 directions and 8 directions of the universe. In the heart of the palace, there is a bronze statue of King Khai Dinh wearing martial arts clothes, this is the first statue carved at the scale of a real person in Vietnam.



Next is the Khai Tuong floor, the main building of An Dinh Palace. The name of the floor was given by King Khai Dinh, "Khai Tuong" i.e. the place where the auspicious omen originated. The floor consists of 3 floors, built with new materials and built in the style of a European castle. 



Inside the interior is very meticulously and ornately decorated. Prominent in the lobby of the 1st floor are 6 beautiful carvings of apricots and lotus leaves. Although these six paintings are not named, when looking at the drawing, we can easily recognize that they are the real perspective of the mausoleums of King Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, Dong Khanh.


As for the 6th painting, it is not clear from the inside out what work was painted. However, there is an opinion that this may be the Khai Dinh mausoleum when it is in the form of sketches on drawings. The reason why the painting is not similar to the current architecture is because after returning from a trip to France in 1920, King Khai Dinh changed the design of the mausoleum in a Western style, so it is no longer the same as before. 




Behind the floor of Kaixiang used to be the Jiuzi Theater, but this place has been completely destroyed and now only the foundation remains on the green grass. During the reign of King Bao Dai, this was a place to perform and reform the salary for the prince of the kingdom.


Today, An Dinh Palace is a work of the complex of Hue ancient capital relics that has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage. It can be said that the artistic and cultural values of this whole project have always had a strange attraction to lost visitors. 


Photo: Internet

Image source: Multiple authors
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