China Beach, Hai Van Pass, and Hue, 9/25-26

Only a short distance north Hoi An is China Beach in Danang. It was a large U.S. in-country R&R center during the conflict. It remained unspoiled for many years after the reunification, but is now being discovered by international high rise hotels and resorts. The public beach we were on will cease to be public soon.

The water is warm and the beach beautiful, so we all enjoyed our stay.

Between Danang and Hue is the Hai Van pass, which transects a mountain range that crosses Vietnam on an east-west axis. It was a strategic position, as reflected by the French bunkers shown below. The U.S. also defended the pass, but it didn't do much good, as the North Vietnamese went around it via the Ho Chi Minh trail to the west.

The hawkers at the summit are the most aggressive I have seen anywhere. They attack you, even before you leave the bus. Viet and I didn't warn the students ahead of time, so they could get the full effect. Most snapped a few quick pictures and jumped back on the bus.

The hawkers must sell things, as they are there every day, but their aggressive behaviour turns most off.

The view from the summit is spectacular, so it is worth dealing with them for a short period of time.

After we settled into our hotel in Hue, we went to Princess Ngoc Son's ancestral home, where the husband of her granddaughter, Mr. An, told us about the Imperial Court of Hue, and also feng shui. I didn't realize the requirements for feng shui were so rigid. The Imperial Palace site was chosen so it could be on a north-south axis, with two islands in the Perfume river forming the east and west guardian lion and dragon. Water has to be present, and another guardian to the south, which in this case is a lone mountain in the distance.
You can see the same configuration in Mr. An's garden, and in the various temples and monasteries we have visited.

Inside the ancestral home, Mr. An showed us various family heirlooms, including a Ming bowl from the 15th century. To his rear is the family altar, with the picture of his wife's grandfather. He was a high mandarin in the Imperial Court. Afterwards Mr. An's family served us a delicious meal in the garden.

The next morning we crossed the Perfume River to visit the Hue Citadel. The old city is surrounded by 10km of 2m-thick walls. The flag tower is the tallest in Vietnam, and it was from this staff that the flag of the National Liberation Flag flew for 26 days during the Tet offensive of 1968. Bitter house to house fighting by Marine and Army units was required to retake the city, as depicted (not very well) in the movie Full Metal Jacket.

The previous picture showed the outer moat, and this picture shows the inner moat around the Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Palace is a citadel within the Citadel. It housed the emperor's residence and the main government buildings. Over the entrance to the Imperial Palace is the Thai Hoa Palace, from where the emperor could view parades in the courtyard below. We are sitting on the balcony of the palace while Viet explains more about the mandarin system, which was copied from the Chinese, and the ways of the Imperial Court.

The first time I visited the Citadel, our guide told us an interesting story about how the Viet Cong were able to take the fort so quickly and easily. Viet Cong entered during the day posing as tourists, then hid in the Imperial Palace when it closed on the eve of Tet. Just before the attacks were due to commence they overpowered the few guards present, and opened the gates for other Communist troops to enter. They had the flag displayed on the mast before anyone outside was even aware the attack was underway. They attacked on the eve of Tet because they knew most would be partying. Sounds sort of like George Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas Eve to surprise the British!

The picture to the right shows a third moat, which surrounds the family buildings and the Forbidden City which was where the Emperor lived with his concubines.

Below Josh is about to be eaten by one of the dragon sentries, which are replacements, as we saw a stockpile of them ready to be painted and placed as part of the restoration.





We watched a performance of traditional songs and dances in the Royal Theater.

A male and female dragon danced around the stage, then the mother gave birth to the baby dragon, shown here with the father.





Another performance was a lantern dance.

It was another sweltering day in Hue, so ice cream tasted pretty good after the cultural show. Viet says it is the hottest he has ever seen it in Hue. Lucky us. How did Robin Williams put it?

Much of the Imperial Palace, and nearly all of the Forbidden City were destroyed during the French Indochina War, and then further damaged during the Tet offensive. This gate still shows the bullet marks. Restoration efforts continue.







One area of the Imperial Palace that has been meticulously restored is the To Mieu Temple, which contains shrines to all the emperors of the Nguyen dynasty. Outside the temple are nine large brass urns, with the largest in the center honoring the father of the Nguyen dynasty, Gia Long. There are nine urns, but 13 recognized emperors. Since nine is a fortuitous number for Buddhists, they put nine to represent all of them. In addition to the thirteen, there were two emperors who are not recognized, because they were pretenders installed by the French, and a third, the last emperor Bau Dai, because he abdicated.

After leaving the Citadel, we had lunch nearby in a crazy restaurant where the tourists have written all over the walls, and the owner gives each patron an autographed home-made bottle opener made with a flat stick and a small hex bolt. He demonstrates it with a karate chop, and catches the opener before it falls.

He showed us pictures from all over the world that people have sent him showing them using the opener. He is not shy in promoting his business, as the sign out front indicates. I checked the Lonely Planet Guide and couldn't find mention of his establishment, so I'm not sure about the other claims either.

Our last stop on this hot day was the tomb of one of the emperors, Tu Duc. He is not particularly liked, one because of the cost of his tomb and the forced labor used to construct it, but probably mostly because he was the one who delivered Vietnam to the control of the French.

The grounds are very serene and beautiful, including a man-made lake with an island in the middle. Tu Duc liked to canoe on the lake, and hunt stocked game on the island.

The students persevered through the heat.

The tomb itself is not much to see, and they are not even sure his remains are actually here. The tombs contained treasures owned by the emperor, so the government always planted the rumor that the remains were stored somewhere else to discourage tomb raiders.

The seven mandarins guarding the tomb were much more interesting to look at.