Table Of Contents
Introduction
Minh Mang Tomb Hue is one of 7 Hue Royal Tombs built under the Nguyen Dynasty. The relic is an attractive destination that attracts a large number of tourists to visit Hue City.
The Royal Tomb of Minh Mang Emperor impresses all kinds of tourists with its ancient traditional architecture, imbued with Confucian identity. This is an ideal place for people who would like to admire the architectural art of the mausoleum and understand more about the important historical periods of the Nguyen Dynasty.
Minh Mang Royal Tomb History
Minh Mang succeeded Gia Long Emperor in 1820 and made great contributions to reforming the country. At that time, he wanted to build a royal mausoleum to be a place to relax after the main worries as well as the burial area.
To start the construction plan, the courtiers spent 14 years searching for a suitable location and finally chose Cam Khe mountain because it converges all the great Fengshui elements of water, mountains, and trees. After that, Minh Mang emperor changed the name of the mountain to Hieu Son and named Hieu Lang as the name for his mausoleum.
Minh mang tomb Vietnam constructing in 1840 and three years later it was completed by his successor, Thieu Tri Emperor. So this royal tomb was built with the great effort of over 10 thousand workers and craftsmen.
Tomb Of Minh Mang Location
Minh Mang Tomb Hue, Vietnam is standing on the Tam Tai Son mountain, belongs to Huong Tho commune, Huong Tra district. It is about 12 km from Hue city center to the west. The tomb of Minh Mang is a harmonious blend of picturesque nature and unique architecture, which reflects the talent and virtue of the emperor.
What Makes Minh Mang Tomb Attractive?
The Tomb of Minh Mang Hue has a total area of about 18ha, including 40 large and small monuments arranged symmetrically. The monuments are distributed on 3 major axes and are parallel to each other, taking the main axis as the center.
The shape of the mausoleum of Minh Mang Hue looks from above like the emperor’s body in the posture of resting. His head resting on Kim Phung mountain, his legs stretched out at the confluence of Perfume river in front of him. The two halves of the Trung Minh lake, are the emperor’s hands, naturally relaxed.
Minh Mang Tomb is surrounded by the green of trees, the calm, quiet space of lakes, and the solidity of mountains. This charming beauty is also embellished by a fragrant lotus pond in the middle of the mausoleum grounds.
Dai Hong Mon (The Great Gate)
Nowadays when visiting the Minh Mang Tomb, tourists have to enter the 2 side gates. Because the center gate which is called Dai Hong Mon is closed forever after taking the coffin of Minh Mang into the tomb. In the past, these right-left gates for civil-military mandarins or women, men can get in and out of the Tomb.
The Dai Hong Mon is built of lime and brick, has 3 entrances and 24 sophisticated architecture roofs with decorative motifs of carp turning into dragons and dragons, unicorns.
In front of the Minh Mang Tomb right side gate, there is a ticket stand where you can buy the Minh Mang Tomb entrance ticket. The toilet is right behind the ticket stand.
Courtyard & Stele Pavilion
Right behind the Dai Hong Mon is the Honour Courtyard where the stone sculptures of the civil servants, military mandarins, horses, elephants waiting for Minh Mang Emperor to do business in the afterlife.
As you know, all the emperors thought that this life is just a temporary life, when you passed away, you would live an eternal life. So what you needed in this life, you would need them in the afterlife.
After climbing up to the stepway paved by bluestones, you will reach Thanh Duc Than Cong stele pavilion. A huge stone stele which is over 14 tons written about Minh Mang Emperor’s bio as well as his great contribution to Vietnam. This great stele was erected by his son, emperor Thieu Tri to honor his father.
Sung An Palace
The temple area includes Hieu Duc Mon and Sung An Palace. This is the area for worshiping Minh Mang Emperor and his first lady. Stepping into the Sung An Shrine, you will feel the sacred, ancient space with a world full of relaxation and transcendence. Following the Minh Mang Tomb construction plan, this is the working palace in the afterlife of the emperor. But after his death, the royal family council set up altars to worship him.
The palace also has 17 stone steps that bring visitors to Hoang Trach Mon with the cool blue sky, the scent of wildflowers, and the immense beauty of the lake interspersed with small lotuses.
Minh Lau Pavilion
Behind the Sung An Palace, there are the 3 bridges through the Trung Minh Lake leading to Minh Lau Pavilion. Minh Lau in Minh Mang mausoleum Hue means the morning floor – a place for the king to reflect on cool, windy moonlit nights. The building has a square, two-story, eight-roof architecture located on Tam Dai Son hill.
Behind is a beautiful flower garden built following the “longevity” word. Minh Lau is beautifully decorated, bearing the breath of Confucianism and the philosophy of life.
Tan Nguyet Lake
Tan Nguyet Lake is the next destination that you should visit in the journey to visit Minh Mang Tomb of Hue. The lake is shaped like a new moon embracing the sun symbol of Buu Thanh. This is the architecture that represents the ancient concept of transformation – the factor that creates the universe.
The “bright bridge” crossing Tan Nguyet lake leads to Buu Thanh- the burial area in Tombeau Minh Mang. Buu Thanh is a forest covered by a round wall. This is the symbol of the sun which means this is the center of the Universe.
So far, we have not known where actually the coffin of Minh Mang Emperor is. Maybe in the Buu Thanh or could be in a different area. If you book our Hue City Private Tour or Hue City Group Tour, our local guides will reveal the secret of the royal tomb of Minh Mang as well as tell you a lot of interesting stories.
Minh Mang Tomb entrance fee
To enter the tomb of Minh Mang Hue, you have to buy an entrance ticket. It is not only the entrance fee but also you had contributed to the preservation of the Royal tomb of Minh Mang emperor. The Minh Mang Tomb ticket costs 200,000 VND/ person (roughly 10USD). If you visit other attractions such as the Khai Dinh Tomb, the Royal tomb of Tu Duc; Hue Imperial Citadel, etc. You should buy a combo ticket, you would save a lot of money. For details of the Hue entrance fee, please have a look at our article below
Travel Tips
Minh Mang Tomb opening hours
The Hue royal tombs including the royal tomb of Minh Mang are open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day even on the Tet holiday in Vietnam. So it is easy to plan your Hue day trip with all the Hue must-visit attractions. The best way is to book Hue City Tour full day via Hoi An Private Taxi Travel. All entrance tickets and a lovely lunch at a local food restaurant are included.
How to get to Minh Mang’s tomb?
You can easily get to Tombeau Minh Mang Hue Vietnam from the city center. Nowadays, there are a lot of means of transportations to travel to Minh Mang mausoleum such as scooters with helmets; grab bikes, taxis as well as Hue private car.
If you have a lot of time, a dragon boat trip to go upstream of the Perfume River is a great way to admire the poetic river, Truong Tien Bridge, Hon Chen temple, Tu Duc Tombs, Vong Canh Hills.
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