Thieu Tri Tomb – Hue Royal Tombs- Nguyen Dynasty

Introduction

Thieu Tri Tomb is one of the famous Hue Royal tombs recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site since 1993.

Located in a peaceful landscape area, highlighted by unique architecture with exquisite and harmonious carvings, the royal tomb of the Emperor of Thieu Tri has always been a destination rich in historical value, attracting a large number of tourists.

Thieu Tri Tomb Hue, Where It Is?

The Royal Tomb of Thieu Tri Hue is hidden in the middle of the vast hills of Cu Chanh village, Thuy Bang commune, Huong Thuy District, about 8km from the center of Hue city. It is quite easy to reach here by scooters, bikes, or Hue City Tour by Private Car.

Hoi An Private Taxi Travel highly recommends the Hue Tours collection such as the Hue city group tour, Hue city private tour, Hue royal tombs tour, Hue DMZ tour, Hue cooking class tour, and Hue street food tour to maximize your time in Hue. Not only exploring the Thieu Tri Royal Mausoleum but also other Hue highlight attractions such as Minh Mang Royal Tomb, Hue Imperial Citadel, Thien Mu Pagoda, etc.

Thieu Tri Royal Tomb History

Thieu Tri Tomb is also known as “Xuong Lang”, the final resting place of the 3rd Emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty -the eldest son of Minh Mang Emperor. Emperor Thieu Tri was on the throne for 7 years when he fell seriously ill, He decided to build his royal tomb. Because he passed away on November 4. 1847, due to the rush time to build the tomb, Emperor Thieu Tri’s body was laid to rest at Long An Shrine, Bao Dinh Palace for 8 months.

Before his death, Emperor Thieu Tri had time to tell his son (Emperor Tu Duc) about the construction of his tomb. So Emperor Thieu Tri’s tomb had a rather different architecture from the tomb of his predecessors, which is also the only tomb facing the Northwest – this direction is not common in the royal mausoleums or the architecture of the Nguyen Dynasty.

After Emperor Thieu Tri passed away, in February 1984, Tu Duc Emperor started to build the construction of the tomb for his father. In March 1948, the construction of the tunnel was completed to bring the king’s coffin into the tomb. Then, in November 1948, Tu Duc erected a Thanh Duc Than Cong stele with a 2,500-word poem written by himself to honor his father.

The main structure of the tomb was completed in May 1948. Emperor Tu Duc personally visited the site for the last inspection in June 1948. Then they put Emperor Thieu Tri’s body in the burial chamber about 10 days later.

Thieu Tri Tomb Hue Architecture

The structure of Thieu Tri Tomb Hue, Vietnam consists of 2 main areas: The burial area on the right and the worshiping places area on the left side.

The burial area of the tomb is located in a beautiful location, in front of which is Nhuan Trach Lake, connected to Dien Lake in the area of worshiping area through the sewer system. Behind the Nhuan Trach Lake is the front screen and Nghi Mon is cast in the style of “Two dragons guarding the moon” leading into the courtyard, stone stele pavilion, and Duc Hinh floor.

The Shrine is 100m to the left, built in its own way. To get to Buu Duc Palace (the palace of worship of the Emperor and Tu Du, the mother of the Emperor), you will pass through the Nghi Mon and Hong Trach Mon gates.

Thieu Tri Tomb Highlights

Rustic Wall Around (La Thanh)

Thieu Tri Mausoleum is not built like other Emperor tombs in Hue, instead of using natural mountains, artificial mounds in the area around the tomb as a front, post-occipital. It can also be said that Thieu Tri Tomb Hue is surrounded by rice fields and green gardens for the rustic space as the elegant and peaceful countryside.

The Unique Direction of Tomb

The Emperor Thieu Tri Tomb turned to the Northwest, the direction that had never been used in the outstanding architecture in Hue at that time, but in terms of feng shui, it was in the position of a “Deep forest waterfall”.

In addition, Vong Canh Hill has located about 1km from the tomb, with Ngoc Trang mountain on the left side adorning the tomb to give the tomb the position of “left dragon – right tiger”. The “front yard” for the mausoleum area is Cham Mountain about 8km away, and Bau Ho Cave is closer to being a natural screen for the worshiping area.

The Surrounding Terrain

Surrounding The Tomb of Emperor Thieu Tri Hue is a peaceful scene of the countryside with vast fruit trees, and green fields, along with the tomb system of mother, wife, princes, queens, and children of Emperor Thieu Tri gathered and reunited together.

In front of Thieu Tri Mausoleum is Hieu Dong Tomb (of the Emperor’s mother – Mrs. Ho Thi Hoa). On the left rear is Xuong Tho Lang (of the Emperor’s wife – Mrs. Tu Du), and in front is the tomb of “Tao Thuong” which is the resting place of the princes, little princesses, the son of Emperor Thieu Tri.

Other Famous Hue Royal Tombs

The Royal Tombs system of the Nguyen Dynasty Emperors is prominent with unique architecture, possessing many special historical values through the ages.

Khai Dinh Tomb

Khai Dinh Tomb is a tomb with many unique architectural features, the most attractive compared to all 7 tombs of the Nguyen Dynasty. It is such a great blend of the architectural combination of East and West, influenced by many architectural features such as Buddhism, Roman, Hinduism, and Gothique.

Minh Mang Royal Tomb

Minh Mang Tomb is famous for its perfect feng shui location and beautiful scenery. In addition, the architecture in Minh Mang Tomb is also extremely prominent. The Tomb complex consists of 40 large and small structures, all arranged on one axis.

The Royal Tomb Of Tu Duc

Traveling to Hue city, do not miss the Tomb of Tu Duc which is the most poetic tomb of the Nguyen Dynasty, built during the reign of the Tu Duc Emperor. This tomb possesses many architectural features with airy space, soft lines, and beautiful and poetic natural scenery.

Tomb of Thieu Tri Emperor Travel Guide

Thieu Tri Tomb Entrance fee

The Thieu Tri Tomb Hue Vietnam is open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., every day even on Tet Holiday. Currently, the ticket price to visit this royal tomb for both Vietnamese and International Visitors has a common rate of VND 50,000 per adult ticket, FREE of charge for children. If you want to visit all the mausoleum works in Hue, you should buy a ticket combo – it will save you a lot more.

• For details, please read our article Hue Entrance Fee in 2023- 2024.

The best time to visit

For the perfect visit to Thieu Tri Mausoleum Hue, you should go to Hue around January to February. At this time the weather in Hue is quite nice, neither rainy nor too humid, and very suitable for doing Hue city tours.

How to get to Thieu Tri Tomb?

Located about 8km south of Hue city center. From the center of Hue, you move West up Hanoi Road, then go to Ngo Quyen Street, continue in the direction of Dien Bien Phu and Minh Mạng roads, and reach the tomb of Emperor Thieu Tri Hue.

Visiting Regulation

As a sacred sanctuary, you need to note the following regulation in your journey to visit Thieu Tri Mausoleum:

• Pay attention to dressing discreetly, and politely which covers your knees, and chest.
• Keep order, don’t make noise, and talk loudly.
• Comply with the regulation of the tourism management, respect the meaning of the works, do not touch artifacts, and do not climb statues, or sculptures.
• Maintain general hygiene, and do not litter indiscriminately affecting the surrounding landscape.

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