Dubbed the most beautiful mausoleum of the Nguyen Dynasty, Khai Dinh Tomb has a unique and profound architectural feature that later generations will not stop talking about. Like the result of a “foolish play” of the famous puppet and fallen king, Khai Dinh Tomb today becomes an architectural work, a famous historical tourist destination, attracting tourists to this piece of land. ancient capital land. Danang Motorbike Adventure will join you to discover Khai Dinh Tomb right in the following article!
About King Khai Dinh and Khai Dinh Tomb
Khai Dinh De, born Nguyen Phuc Buu Dao, was the 12th emperor of the Nguyen dynasty in Vietnamese history, reigning from 1916 to 1925. He was honored with the title of Hoang Tong. Khai Dinh was judged as a weak king before the French, not interested in politics but only fond of playing, gambling, and eating luxury.
King Khai Dinh was a quite perfectionist, fastidious king, so with his own tomb, he also studied and studied very carefully. And after consulting many geographers, he chose the slopes of Chau Chu mountain, in Thuy Bang commune, Huong Thuy town, located outside the imperial city of Hue and about 10km from the city center to become a peaceful place. his break.
Khai Dinh Tomb is one of the mausoleum areas of the Nguyen Dynasty, which is recognized to inherit and promote many of the most brilliant achievements of Vietnam’s ancient architecture. The tomb is designed quite elaborately, meticulously with many unique and sophisticated architectural and artistic styles, harmoniously combining the outstanding cultural beauty of East and West. Exploring Khai Dinh Tomb becomes a meaningful journey both culturally and historically for posterity.
History of construction of Khai Dinh Tomb
Discovering Khai Dinh Tomb, we know that the mausoleum was started construction on September 4, 1920, the construction process of this most beautiful mausoleum in Hue lasted for 11 years. Although Khai Dinh Tomb in Hue is a mausoleum with a small area (the area of Khai Dinh Tomb is 117m × 48.5m), it takes a long time to complete, and takes the most effort and money with the architectural style. sumptuous, splendid architecture, a combination of outstanding East and West.
King Khai Dinh ascended the throne in 1916, was the 12th king of the Nguyen Dynasty and was the last to build a mausoleum – preparing the eternal resting place of a king. Tomb of Khai Dinh Hue preserves many historical, cultural and artistic values, which is a testament to the cultural interference of Vietnam with prominent Western countries for a while.
Discover Khai Dinh Tomb – splendid architecture
Overall, Khai Dinh Tomb of Hue is a rectangular floating block, consisting of 127 steps, through the first 37 steps is the Tam Quan gate, followed by Nghi Mon and Bai Dinh courtyard, on the top are two floors of courtyards, each floor is separated from the ground floor. 13 steps apart, Thien Dinh Palace is in the highest position.
Triple gate
Exploring Khai Dinh Tomb, we will start with the outstanding Tam Quan gate with majestic and superficial architecture, which is the entrance to visit Khai Dinh Tomb of Hue, you will need to step through the first 37 steps to get there. . The pillars at the Tam Quan gate area were built in the Hindu style, showing the unique cultural and architectural interference between Vietnam and India.
Nghi Mon and Bai Dinh yard
To be able to set foot in Nghi Mon and Bai Dinh courtyard, we will have to go another 29 steps from Tam Quan gate. Entering Nghi Mon and Bai Dinh courtyard of Khai Dinh Tomb, visitors will see statues of courtiers and soldiers lined up in four symmetrical rows as if recreating the adoration scene of the court under King Khai Dinh when he was alive. . A special feature is that each statue is carved with extremely sophisticated motifs, clearly showing the culture and customs of old Vietnamese mandarins and people from 1916 to 1925.
Thien Dinh Palace
After going through the leveling floor (3rd and 4th floor) inside Khai Dinh Hue mausoleum, visitors will reach Thien Dinh Palace, located on the 5th highest floor, where the body of King Khai Dinh is buried, and also This is the most unique sightseeing area, showing the creativity, breaking ways and love of art of King Nguyen Khai Dinh.
Khai Thanh Palace
Khai Thanh Palace is a part of Thien Dinh Palace, where the altar and body of King Khai Dinh is located, below the palace is the king’s body, above is a bronze statue of King Khai Dinh. The architecture at Khai Thanh Palace shows elaborate and sophisticated. In the middle of Khai Thanh Palace is the main shrine, with Buu Tan weighing 1 ton made of reinforced concrete, but looking extremely elegant and soft.
Bronze statue of King Khai Dinh
Tomb of Khai Dinh Hue is considered to be a revolutionary mausoleum, following its own design, inside there are two bronze statues of the king with a ratio of 1:1: (other tombs do not have a king statue inside. mausoleum). 2 statues inside Khai Dinh Tomb include one sitting on the throne in Khai Thanh Palace, one standing:
- The statue on the throne in Khai Thanh Palace was carved and cast by two Frenchmen in 1920, and the Hue artisans made the gold inlaid part.
- The standing statue was cast in Hue by a worker, native of Quang Nam, in Hue, at first the statue was located at An Dinh Palace, only to be moved to Thien Dinh Palace in 1975.
Move to Khai Dinh Tomb
Khai Dinh Tomb of Hue is located in an area quite close to Hue city center, only about 9km, so the journey to discover Khai Dinh Tomb is quite convenient in moving, it takes about 20 minutes to move. From Hue city center, you move west to Hanoi road, then go to Ngo Quyen street, continue in the direction of Dien Bien Phu and Minh Mang streets to reach Khai Dinh Hue mausoleum.
Some experiences when discovering Khai Dinh Tomb
- Khai Dinh Tomb is a sacred and sacred place, so when coming here visitors need to wear discreet and long clothes, do not wear revealing clothes such as shorts, two-piece tops… because it will be disrespectful to the king who died. hidden.
- Currently, Khai Dinh Tomb has an entrance ticket price of 75,000 VND / time for adults and 15,000 VND / time for children from 7 -12 years old.
- The most appropriate time to visit Khai Dinh Tomb is January to February every year because the weather at this time is quite cool and pleasant, suitable for sightseeing and sightseeing activities.
Exploring the tomb of King Khai Dinh is a journey to learn about memorable culture and history, as well as an experience in architecture and art that is worth experiencing. Danang Motorbike Adventure believes that this is one of the Hue tourist attractions not to be missed when coming to the ancient capital.
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