Minh Mang Tomb (Hieu Lang)

Minh Mang Tomb is located on Highway 49, Huong Tho, Hue City, on Cam Khe mountain, near Bang Lang junction, which is the confluence of two streams Huu Trach and Ta Trach forming the Perfume River , 12km from the ancient capital of Hue.

King Minh Mang's name was Nguyen Phuc Dam - the second son of King Gia Long. In 1820, Crown Prince Dam ascended the throne and took the name Minh Mang. King Minh Mang ascended the throne when the central monarchy under the Nguyen Dynasty was thoroughly consolidated. As a Confucian scholar, devout Confucianism, and dislike of the West, the entire architecture of Minh Mang's mausoleum was built on the basis of ideology influenced by Confucianism. After being king for 7 years, King Minh Mang sent people to find land to build Son Lang for himself. By 1840, the construction of Hieu Lang began. Four months later, Minh Mang went to check that the job of digging lake Trung Minh was not satisfactory, so he demoted the supervisors and suspended the work. A month later, the work was continued, but King Minh Mang fell ill in January 1841. King Thieu Tri ascended to the throne, mobilized nearly 10,000 soldiers and construction workers to continue the work according to the king's plan. father left. In August 1841, King Minh Mang's body was buried in Buu Thanh and in early 1843 the construction of the new mausoleum was completed.

Minh Mang Tomb is an architectural complex of 40 large and small works, located on a cool hilly area, rivers and lakes. The entire mausoleum is like a human body lying with its head on Kim Phung mountain, legs stretched out at the confluence of rivers in front, the two halves of Trung Minh lake like naturally surrendered arms. The mausoleum has a depth, from Dai Hong Mon to the end of La Thanh, 700 meters apart. Although Vong La Thanh is high, it does not limit the view from the inside of the mausoleum to the beautiful mountains outside, the landscape silhouetted against Trung Minh Lake looks like a watercolor painting. Inside La Thanh, architectural works are arranged symmetrically, symmetrically in pairs through the main axis radiating the mausoleum. All are arranged in a strict, systematic order, expressing the personality and style of King Minh Mang himself.

Buu citadel built in a circle signifies that the king is the sun, the supreme being who has the power to dominate the entire monarchy society. In the front part of the mausoleum, the architectural density is sparse and airy, the deeper you go, the thicker the architecture. The contrasting architectural layout of the main items in the mausoleum gives the mausoleum a required majesty of the mausoleum. However, at the edge, following the winding path around the two lakes and the border around the mausoleum, mixed with trees, there are small architectural works used for sightseeing such as: Diaoyu communal house, guardhouse. Nghenh Phong, Reindeer porch, Quan Lan department, Ta Hu Hoai ... make the entire mausoleum complex majestic but still in harmony with nature and magnificent grace.

When visiting Minh Mang Tomb (Hieu Lang), most tourists feel the difference compared to the mausoleums of the Nguyen Dynasty because of its harmonious beauty, quietness and hidden potential life. Coming to Minh Mang Tomb, people do not feel the atmosphere of solitude and mourning, but rather the purification and revival between life and death. We see in King Minh Mang having a serene and wise attitude towards death, being a man influenced by Lao - Trang doctrine, so he had the concept: "Among all kinds of creatures, only humans are aware of their own nature. own body and the surrounding universe, thus knowing how to choose an attitude towards nature. Sometimes it's in harmony with nature, sometimes it's about conquering and controlling or taking advantage of nature."

Opening hours: The mausoleum is open to visit all days of the week from 07:00 - 17:30

Fare:

Adults: 150,000 VND

Elderly people: 50,000 VND

Children: 30,000 VND