Citadels & Palaces

Dien Khanh Citadel (Khanh Hoa province)

The Dien Khanh Citadel was built by Nguyen Anh in 1793 with an area of 36,000 square meters according to the Vauban military architecture which was popular in Western Europe in 17th - 18th centuries.

The citadel's wall was in an inequilateral hexagon of 3.5m height. The outer face was vertically constructed while the inner was a little bit sloping by two terraces forming a favorable pavement. Inside the corners, there were large fields which were convenient for military resident. On the top of corners there stood fortresses of 2m high with canons above. On the roof of the citadel, there planted closet bamboo and other barricade trees. Surrounding the citadel were moats of 4 to 5 meters deep, 10 meters wide, flooded by water.

At first the citadel had 6 gates but nowadays it remains only 4 ones which are East Gate, West Gate, Front Gate (to the South), Back Gate (to the North). There had been here royal palace, private residents of feudal mandarins, warehouses and jails...

Dien Khanh is one of the oldest citadels in the south of Vietnam and it is one of the precious vestiges for studying ancient citadels.

Hoang De Citadel - Do Ban Citadel (Binh Dinh Province)

The citadel was built at the end of the 10th century, during the reign of Emperor Yangpuku Vijaaya.

This was the last capital of the Champa Kingdom where the Cham Kings lived between the 11th and the 15th centuries. Several pieces of stone walls, moats, and granite-tiled roads remain from the Citadel.

Inside the Citadel, there are ancient Cham remains, such as square wells and statues of small lions and elephants. Next to the back door is Thap Thap Hill (Ten Tower Hill), on which there are ten Cham Towers. Of note is the 20m-high Canh Tien Tower with white-stone statues of a snake, two elephants, and monsters on the corners. There are many remains and objects related to Cham culture and the Tay Son movement in Thap Thap Di Da Pagoda and Nhan Thap Pagoda, two ancient pagodas situated to the north and south of the citadel.

In 1778, Nguyen Nhac proclaimed himself the Central Emperor. He established the capital, which he named Hoang De Citadel, expanded the citadel to the east, and built many grand monuments. In 1799, the citadel was occupied by the Nguyen Dynasty, and rebaptized Binh Dinh Citadel. In 1814, the Nguyen Dynasty destroyed the old citadel and built a new one about 5km south of the old citadel.

In 1833, it was moved onto a foundation of 2.33m high by Emperor Minh Mang. It is 44m long, 30.50m large, 11.80m high and contains a 5-compartment, two-bay main building connected with a 7-compartment, two-bay front building. The columns are lacquered red and decorated with golden dragon designs. On the roof ridge rest two dragon designs paying homage to the moon. Eaves and roof corners are ornamented with head-turning dragon designs. These and the moldings along the eaves are inlaid with multicolored ceramic chips. The roof is covered with yellow enameled tiles.

Over the middle compartment hangs a carved board with big Chinese characters "Thai Hoa Dien" (Palace of Supreme Harmony). Inside is the throne, covered by a golden canopy with brocaded circular dragon designs. Above each compartment hangs a colorful glass-sided hexagonal or octagonal lantern. In 1839, in an attempt to adorn this historic monument, Emperor Minh Mang ordered the framework to be lacquered red and gold. It was later supplied with European-styled paving by Emperor Thanh Thai, in 1899, and colored glass door on front and back sides by Emperor Khai Dinh, in 1923. (It was originally left open and shaded with blinds only).

The interior decorations include some jugs and other antiques. On the court stands a line of carved pedestals, each with a vase for rare plants. Constructors of the Throne Palace have succeeded masterly in creating two contradictory features: cool in summer and warm in winter. From the throne in the center, one can also distinctively hear sounds made anywhere in the palace. Of this phenomenon, no researcher in acoustics or architecture could ever give an exact explanation.

The great court in front of the palace, known as the Great Rites Court (or Esplanade of Great Salutation), is paved with Thanh stones and consists of two terraces: the upper was reserved for high-ranking civil and military mandarins. On both sides of the court are two rows of small steles called Pham Son showing the positions mandarins should take according to their ranks.

The lower terrace, beside the Trung Dao (Central Path) Bridge, is for elders and village authorities in ceremonial occasions. At both corners of the court stand two bronze Kylins. Kylin is traditionally a harbinger of peace and a reminder of ritual solemnity.

Between Ngo Mon Gate and the court is the Thai Dich Lake (Grand Liquid Lake), dug in 1833 and spanned by the Trung Dao (Central Path) Bridge. The bridge, secured by iron banisters, connects the two monuments. At both ends we find a gateway elaborately carved with five-clawed dragon designs in high relief (dragons among clouds on bronze columns). Though symmetrically built, the two columns with two dragons, one slithering down and one soaring up really create an attractive liveliness.

The Throne Palace is the site where solemn ceremonies took place such as: the Coronation Day, the Crown Prince Coronation Day, the Ambassador Receiving Ceremony, Emperor's Birthday Anniversaries, etc. Great meetings were held here twice a month while regular ones took place in the Can Chanh Palace (Palace of Audiences) behind the Great Golden Gate. The Palace was seriously damaged in 1968 during the American bombings. Typhoons, rains and floods have aggravated the calamity and thus deprived the monument of original appearance.

Quang Tri Citadel was built in 1824, during the 4th year of the reign of Minh Mang. The citadel is approximately 60km north of Hue. The citadel had a style of Vauban architecture with its circuit of 2,160m – one door each side. There were four fortresses jutting out from each four corners to control the four citadel gates. Inside was the town palace surrounded by a system of thick walls with circuit of 400m. The town palace was a three-roomed house whose two wings were used as places for the King to worship, and to give promotions to his inferiors or to occasionally celebrate festivals. Outside the town palace, there were a flagpole and castles such as Tuan Vu, An Sat and Lanh Binh and a rice store, etc and under the French domination, soldier camp and tax agency were added. However there are no remains of the past there nowadays – due to the destruction of U.S bombs in the hot summer of 1972.

The incident of 81 days and nights (from June 28 to September 16, 1972) has made this citadel well-known all over the world. By using fire-power, the South Vietnam puppet troop was determined to re-occupy Quang Tri Citadel within a couple of days. Quang Tri Town, therefore, had to suffer from the U.S bombardment and shelling of 140 B52 aircraft in turn, more than 200 tactical planes, 12 – 16 fighter planes and cruisers. Within 40 days and nights it had suffered 80,000 tons of bombs – as many as that in the World War II in African battlefield within a month. Sometimes the number of bombs dropped in Quang Tri a day was far more than that on the whole South battlefield in the years of 1968-1969. Especially, on July 25, there were 5,000 shells fired at an area of 3km2 of Quang Tri and its vicinity once suffered 20,000 shells of big size a day. The US aggressors used bombs and shells with their destructive capacity, to destroy Quang Tri, equivalent to 7 atomic bombs they dropped onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki – Japan in 1945. It is, really, unbelievable that each inhabitant in this land had to suffer 7 tons of bombs averagely. All were determined, side by side with Quang Tri to fight to their last breath. The Northern people had saved everything such as: ammunition, food and etc. to send to Quang Tri.

The citadel has gone down in history as a glorious period of the nation’s war against foreign invasion. The Vietnamese people are proud of it, and foreigners admire it. Looking at its walls riddled with bullet holes, visitors will feel how devastating the war was. In order to commemorate the soldiers’ meritorious service, a monument was set up in the centre of the citadel as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Quang Tri people and army and as a token of gratitude to the sacrifices of the fallen soldiers for the independence and freedom of the nation.