The secrets of Khai Dinh Tomb - The last tomb of Nguyen Dynasty, Vietnam
Nguyen Dynasty is the last dynasty of Vietnam. There are many heritage sights in Hue city. As a former capital of Vietnam, it is easy to find many historical architectures. The most special landmarks in Hue is the King’s tomb. The most special and unique tomb among all of the landmarks is Khai Dinh Tomb. It is the last tomb of King Khai Dinh Emperor, the 12th king.
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History about Khai Dinh
Khai Dinh was the 12th King out of 13 Nguyen Kings. He became a king at the age of 31 and he died at the age of 41. The most remarkable thing he had made at his time was, Khai Dinh Tomb. With his unique characteristic, Khai Dinh was considered a special king.
King was really interested in France and spend most of his time there, despite being a Vietnamese King. He was also called “a French puppet” by some critics. Khai Dinh was hated and criticized by many of his people. However, Khai Dinh was a good and creative designer when he designed his own clothes and tomb. He used to combine the traditional patterns and culture with the French modern style. Despite having 12 wives, Khai Dinh only had one son, Bao Dai. According to some historical documents, the 12th King was not interested in sex or women. The historic documents mentioned that instead of beautiful female dancers, the king replaced them with men who dress and make up like women.
About Khai Dinh Tomb
Khai Dinh Tomb is one of the most prominent structures of the Nguyen Dynasty. It is different from all other landmarks because Khai Dinh broke the rules to build an extraordinary tomb. Many people refer to this tomb as a hot pot, where Khai Dinh just throw in everything he liked. The tomb is a great mixture of Eastern and Western architecture, so it is an unparalleled structure among all Nguyen Dynasty structures.
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Highlights :
- The size of Khai Dinh Tomb is small compared to other similar structures.
- Khai Dinh Tomb is the most expensive tomb with most materials are imported from France.
- It also took 11 years to build the tomb, which is the longest.
- The tomb is the highest, with 137 steps from the foot of a hill to the top.
- This is the tomb where the king was buried. In Khai Dinh Tomb, the king’s body is 9 meters under his statue in the center.
Secrets :
- The most special secret is the painting of 9 intricate dragons on the ceiling of the tomb. It was painted by Phan Vang Tanh, one of the most talented and famous artists of that time.
- It is said that the artist had an edgy character which he did not even care about the king.
- It was told that when the king visited the unfinished tomb, everyone had to stop working to greet the king, except for Phan Vang Tanh. Even worse, he was lying on a tall stool and paint with his feet, not his hands. The king was so mad at the artist that he wanted to cut off his head.
- The painting of 9 intricate dragons is still keeping its sharp shape and beautiful colors after almost 90 years.
- The managing persons have never seen any spider or insect on the ceiling.