ENVIRONS OF HUE From the Truong Son Mountains, a river flows through primal forests, over cascades and waterfalls, towards Hue. It also passes through forest of Huong Bai - fragrant medicinal plants - from which comes its name: 'River of Perfumes'. One can imagine a maiden of Hue washing her luxuriant hair with the fragrance from orange blossoms and pomelo, and lemon trees mixed with the discreet scent of Huong Bai. Farther down the river, boatmen and their passengers pass back and forth, greeting each other sometimes with folk songs or satirical poems. Passing the tombs of Ming-Mang and Thieu-Tri, one reaches the Hon Chen Shrine, which is always covered by clouds of smoke from incense sticks - especially on the annual festival day, when the area is full of life. At that time lamps and candles float on the river, there is joyful music, and boats and sampans flock to the shrine. Some of them form a procession, fill with flowers and lamps. When dusk comes, people release fish bought in the market, returning them to their free life in the water. Candles are placed on paper lotuses, so as to 'liberate the lamps',and the river is transfigured with sparkling lights. The Nam Giao (Esplanade of the sacrifice to the Sun and Earth) is where the most important ceremony took place once every three years. Being the "Son of Heaven", it was the King's duty to make the offerings. For three days before the ceremony, he also had to fast and abstain drunkenness and sensual pleasures, 21 boiled buffaloes on 21 huge lacquered wooden trays were placed on the shrine. This ritual ceremony was a very luxurious and costly affair. Between 2000 to 5000 man- darins and soldiers walked in a procession consisting of three columns, with 30 elephants in front followed by hundreds of horses covered with strings of multicolored flowers; then sedan chairs, carriages, parasols and flags and soldiers with all manner of weapons. After the ceremony, His Majesty attended the tiger and elephant fights in the Royal Arena, a large circular enclosure with a brick rampart. At the same time, in the city, there were performances of Tuong musical drama and other music. The Thien Mu (Celestial Lady) Pagoda stands on top of a hill between the River of Perfumes and the mountains. It is the seven-story octagonal tower 22m high, which was built on the foundation of an old demolished pagoda of Cham origin in 1601. According to the legend, one night, an old woman dressed in a red tunic and green pantaloons, who was sitting on the mound, proclaimed the need for a temple in this sacred place; she disappeared immediately into the clouds. The name of the temple comes from this legend. In this pagoda there are three bells which ring out over the whole area, three stelae (the largest being 2.6 m. high and 1.2 m. wide) relating the legend of the pagoda, as well as ancient drums, gongs, wooden fish and statues. Behind the pagoda is the Dai Hung Temple, adorned with statues of a guardian genie and generals coming from Heaven. On the shrine are bronze statues of Sakyamuni, Amitabha Buddha and Maitreya Buddha. Bach Ma (White Horse Mountain) is 1400 meter high. Mirrored by the water and covered with white clouds, it looks quite like a galloping horse. At the foot of Bach Ma Mountain is the forest of Bach ma, where there are many pleasant villas and rest houses set among pine and fir trees. Next to the forest is Vong Canh (Belvedere) Hill. When dusk falls, this hill is colored with marvelous pinks and violets, throwing ethereal light on the cottages and orchards, and over the archaic tones of pagodas and temples. Ngu Binh (Hill of the Royal Screen) is the natural screen of Hue, over 150 m. high, covered by pine trees, some of them centuries old. From this hill, one can see the whole panorama of Hue. In the city of Hue itself, the visitor cannot fail to be impressed by it serene atmosphere; houses and public buildings are all screened by trees. But the most well-known places for gardens are the nearby hamlets of Vi Da and Kim Long. In these places, there are gardens everywhere, with groves of areca, longan and tamarind trees, and many kinds of apricot flowers (such as 'queen', 'white', 'cherry', 'four season' and multi- colored varieties). The radiant yellow apricot is the symbol of Hue. Blossoming together and lasting only fifteen days, the apricot flowers fade on the same day. It is the subject of many poems. There are also many kinds of chrysanthemums, lotuses, floating hearts, poinsettias and daisies. Kim Long was the local capital from 1636 to 1686. During that time, a visiting Chinese bronze was moved to write of its "many buildings and palaces... all magnificently lacquered in red and gold". Now Kim Long is known not only for its gardens and orchards, but for its handicrafts: embroidery, weaving and, above all, the conical palm-leaf 'poem hats'. Between the two almost transparent layers of palm leaves lies a short poem, a sweetheart's name or a love-symbol. The color of its chin-strap is carefully chosen. A present of poem hat signifies the acceptance of love. Please look at the Hue and Environmental map menu for more details.
