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T
he Huong River shapes Hue and
gave birth to the development
of the old capital. Also known
as the Perfume River, it runs
for roughly 100km from the imposing
Truong Son mountain range through
forests of tropical flora down to the
delta’s fields, villages and Hue itself.
Four hundred years ago, the first
Nguyen Lord built Thien Mu pagoda on
the hill of Ha Khe where locals could
pray for the control of floods and good
fortune for the region. Around the
pagoda, the Tay Son rulers and the
Nguyen dynasty built their capital and
citadels along the banks of the river.
The former imperial city of Hue
- once home to the royal throne of
Vietnam’s Nguyen Dynasty - is divided
by the river and a network of canals.
With rich architectural heritage, Hue
is one of the more delicate flowers on
Vietnam’s tourist trail. During his trip to
Hue in 1981, the former General Sec-