Step through the gate of time
We arrived at Minh Mang Tomb one morning after a night of rain. The path leading up to Hieu Son Mountain was wet with dew, and drops of water still on the pine branches gently fell onto our shoulders. The atmosphere was fresh, cool, and so quiet that we could clearly hear the sound of leaves rubbing against each other and the soft sound of footsteps echoing on the dark red brick floor. I told myself to walk very slowly, as if afraid of disturbing the eternal sleep of an emperor.
The entrance to Minh Mang tomb is shaded by green trees
In front, Dai Hong Mon - the main gate of the mausoleum - stands tall against the pale grey sky. The gate is 9 m high and 12 m wide, opened only once to welcome King Minh Mang's coffin to its resting place. Since then, the gate has remained silent in the shadow of time, closing a sacred realm. Visitors can only enter and exit through two side gates, Ta Hong Mon and Huu Hong Mon.
Dai Hong Mon main gate
Side gate for visitors to visit the mausoleum
Passing through the gate, the space opens up like an ancient painting. The mountain leans, the river surrounds, the lake embraces - these three elements blend together to create a land of "water gathering to generate wealth", symbolizing complete happiness and prosperity. The large Bai Dinh yard is paved with red bricks, on both sides are rows of stone statues of mandarins, elephants, and horses - the sacred animals that protect the king on his journey to the other world. Further away is Bi Dinh, located on Phung Than Son, with its curved tiled roof as soft as a bird's wings reaching to the sky. Every detail exudes solemnity, order, and standard - true to the Confucian spirit that King Minh Mang revered.
Bi Dinh on Phung Than Mountain
Poetic imprint in harmony with nature
Leaving Bi Dinh, we entered the large royal court. At the end of the court, Hien Duc Mon appeared solemnly, opening the way to the royal palace - where the soul and memories of the dynasty were kept. The wind blew through the horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences in Chinese characters at Sung An Palace, where the tablets of King Minh Mang and Queen Ta Thien Nhan were worshiped, making soft sounds like the reading of poetry by ancient people. On the horizontal lacquered boards, pillars, and stone walls, nearly 600 Chinese poems composed by King Minh Mang himself were carved. These poems not only praised the scenery but also revealed the soul and philosophy of life of the wise king. Perhaps that is why many scholars call Hieu Lang "a poetry museum between heaven and earth of Hue".
The royal court behind Bi Dinh
Sung An Palace, where the tablets of King Minh Mang and Empress Ta Thien Nhan are worshiped.
Going further, the Hoang Trach Mon gate leads me to a poetic space: Trung Minh lake is as quiet as a sheet of paper, reflecting the treetops leaning in the morning sunlight. The lake surface is so flat that all sounds seem to disappear, leaving only the sound of birds echoing from afar. Three bridges, Ta Phu, Trung Dao, and Huu Bat, connect the two banks of the lake, like three soft strokes of a brush painting a watercolor painting in the middle of Cam Khe mountains and forests. From here, every step leads to Minh Lau, the building located in the center of the Than Dao axis - the intersection between earth and sky.
Minh Lau - Where light illuminates the soul
Minh Lau, also known as “bright pavilion”, is a square-shaped building with two floors and eight roofs, located on the top of Tam Tai Son, a small hill surrounded by a lake. This is a structure with special symbolic value: the square symbolizes the earth, the roof stretches high towards the sky, expressing the king's desire for harmony between heaven, earth and human. Looking down from Minh Lau, the entire mausoleum appears absolutely harmonious and symmetrical: each step and each path is on the Than Dao axis stretching over 700 m, a straight line connecting Dai Hong Mon gate to Minh Mang's final resting place.
Minh Lau on top of Tam Tai Mountain
It is said that King Minh Mang often came to this place on cool, moonlit nights to gaze at the moon, read books, write poems and contemplate the fate of the country. Standing in the middle of Minh Lau today, I also feel something very close to that feeling - a deep solitude but also sparkling with the light of wisdom and humanity.
Aspiration to embrace the earth and sky
Leaving Minh Lau, we crossed the Thong Minh Chinh Truc bridge, spanning Tan Nguyet lake. The lake surface curved like a crescent moon, surrounding Buu Thanh. This is a round citadel symbolizing the sun - where the king's tomb is located. From the foot of Khai Trach Son, there are 33 steps leading up to the gate of Buu Thanh, as if taking people from the mortal world to eternity. I stopped at Khai Trach Son, looking towards the quiet lake. The concentric circles from the lake, citadel, mountain to the horizon seemed to depict the aspiration to embrace the sky and earth of the late king - the one who laid the foundation for the Nguyen dynasty to reach the pinnacle of power and culture.
The Smart and Honest Bridge across Tan Nguyet Lake
The entire architecture of Minh Mang Tomb is arranged in harmony and symmetry, following the flexible law of Yin and Yang. There are about 40 large and small constructions located next to each other on the Than Dao axis, from Dai Hong Mon to Buu Thanh. Each construction has its own symbol, but when placed next to each other, they create a rhythmic whole, like a symphony of stone, wood, water and trees.
Standing in the middle of the mausoleum, I briefly thought of King Minh Mang - a man who was both serious and talented. He reigned for 21 years, was the second king of the Nguyen Dynasty, perfected the administrative system, consolidated culture, expanded the territory and laid the foundation for the stability of the country. But among the massive political works, he still devoted a part of his soul to art - the gentle light reflected in each tile and each tree canopy here.
In 1993, the Minh Mang Tomb complex and other relics of the ancient capital of Hue were recognized by UNESCO as World Cultural Heritage.
Among the tombs in Hue, Minh Mang tomb is the most massive in scale and the natural landscape is in harmony with the architecture.
The afternoon gradually fell, gray clouds gathered on the top of Hieu Son. I left the mausoleum, the small road winding around the mountainside was covered with fallen pine leaves. When I looked back, the Dai Hong Mon gate was still closed, silent in the sunset. Suddenly, I felt like I had just passed through another world - where the past and present touched each other with the breath of heaven and earth, with the whispers of sleeping souls.
