The tomb of King Minh Mang of the Nguyen Dynasty in Hue has a massive and majestic architecture, the Than Dao road is 700m long.

After his death, King Minh Mang's body was buried in Hieu Lang, a majestic structure with special value in terms of architecture, art, culture and history of the Nguyen Dynasty.

The ancient beauty of Bi Dinh (stele house) in Hieu Lang, Huong Tho commune, Hue city, Thua Thien Hue province. Photo: Thanh Hoa/Vietnam Pictorial.

King Minh Mang's real name was Nguyen Phuc Dam, the fourth son of King Gia Long (the founder of the Nguyen Dynasty, the last monarchy in Vietnamese history).

King Minh Mang was born in 1791 and died in 1841 at the age of 49. He ascended the throne in 1820 and reigned for 20 years and 341 days.

According to the records of Ton Nhon Phu, the agency responsible for recording birth and death records as well as worship, temples, and genealogy in the royal family, King Minh Mang had 142 children, including 78 princes and 64 princesses.

Emperor Minh Mang was also the king with the most concubines and children among the 13 kings of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Architecture and landscape of Bi Dinh cluster and Bai Dinh yard in Hieu Lang, Huong Tho commune, Hue city, Thua Thien Hue province. Photo: Thanh Hoa/Vietnam Pictorial.

According to history books, Minh Mang is considered an active, decisive king, well-versed in Confucianism and a talented politician and military strategist.

During his years on the throne, King Minh Mang made many decisions in administrative reform and land reclamation.

In particular, Emperor Minh Mang was the one who named our country Dai Nam at that time, and was the one who made great contributions in affirming our country's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos by sending naval and citadel guards to inspect, control, draw maps, exploit seafood and chemicals, organize tax collection and rescue ships in distress, build temples, erect sovereignty steles, plant trees to make it easier for passing boats to recognize...

Thanks to these great contributions, King Minh Mang is considered to have made many contributions to the expansion of the country, making Dai Nam a powerful nation in Southeast Asia at that time.

Hien Duc Mon complex, Sung An palace and the court yard of Hieu Lang - the final resting place of King Minh Mang of the Nguyen Dynasty. Photo: Thanh Hoa/Vietnam Pictorial.

Returning to the construction of King Minh Mang's tomb, the project's name is Hieu Lang. After 7 years on the throne, King Minh Mang began sending people to find land to build his tomb.

Although the geographer Le Van Duc had chosen a good piece of land in Cam Ke mountain, about 14 kilometers from Hue citadel, near Bang Lang junction, the confluence of the Ta Trach and Huu Trach streams to create the poetic Huong river, it was not until 14 years later that the king decided to build his tomb here.

After personally reviewing and approving the design submitted by the mandarins Bui Cong Huyen, Truong Dang Que and the Imperial Guard, in April 1840, the king ordered the construction of Hieu Lang to begin.

In January 1841, while the construction of the mausoleum was underway, the king fell ill and suddenly passed away.

King Thieu Tri ascended the throne, just one month later, in February 1841, and ordered the mandarins Ta Quang Cu, Ha Duy Phien, and Nguyen Tri Phuong to command nearly 10,000 soldiers and construction workers to continue the project according to the design left by his father, and by early 1843 it was completed.

Inside the Sung An Palace, where the altar of King Minh Mang and his queen is located, is splendidly gilded with red paint. Photo: Thanh Hoa/Vietnam Pictorial.

From a desolate mountainous area, through the hands of labor and creativity of humans, a majestic mausoleum was formed, both brilliant in architecture, in harmony with nature and profound in ideological value.

The entire Hieu Lang complex is surrounded by a 1,750m long La Thanh ring. Inside La Thanh is an architectural complex consisting of many palaces, castles, and pavilions arranged symmetrically along a 700m long Than Dao road, starting from the main gate Dai Hong Mon and extending to the king's tomb at the back.

From above, the mausoleum looks like a person lying down in a very comfortable position with his knees on Kim Phung mountain, his legs stretched out to the river junction in front, and the two halves of Trung Minh lake on either side like naturally hanging arms.

The combination of magnificent architecture and poetic scenery creates the unique beauty of Hieu Lang. Photo: Thanh Hoa/Vietnam Pictorial

From the outside in, between more than 25 large and small architectural works are lakes and hills covered with cool green pine trees, creating a poetic and romantic scene.

Among them, we can mention typical works such as the main gate to the mausoleum is Dai Hong Mon; behind Dai Hong Mon is Bai Dinh, on both sides of Bai Dinh yard are two rows of stone statues of civil and military mandarins, elephants and horses standing in attendance; at the end of Bai Dinh yard is Bi Dinh, inside is the Thanh stone stele "Thanh Duc Than Cong" inscribed with the stele inscription of King Thieu Tri writing about the biography and merits of his father King Minh Mang.

Behind Bi Dinh is a large court yard divided into 4 levels; at the end of the court yard is Hien Duc Mon, which opens the temple area, the main place of worship. Behind Hien Duc Mon is Sung An Palace, a large palace located in the center of the mausoleum complex, in which are the tablets of the king and queen.

After the Sung An Palace, cross a bridge to reach Minh Lau, which is a transitional stop between the human world and the underworld. Following Minh Lau, across a half-moon lake is Buu Thanh, where the king's body is laid out.

Hieu Lang has a poetic and charming beauty. Photo: Thanh Hoa/Vietnam Pictorial.

The highlight in the construction planning of Hieu Lang is the smooth combination of architecture (man-made elements) and natural landscape (natural elements), creating a harmony between spiritual space and ecological landscape space.

The tomb of King Minh Mang is completed in majestic symmetry, concretizing the emperor's will and the nation's potential with a large-scale, most magnificent mausoleum construction project among the feudal dynasties and monarchies of Vietnam from the founding of the nation until the national name Dai Nam was adopted under Minh Mang.

With special values ​​in terms of architecture, landscape, culture, history... in 1997 Hieu Lang was recognized as a national architectural and artistic relic, contributing significantly to the Hue Monuments Complex (including Hieu Lang) being recognized as a World Cultural Heritage in December 1993.

Source: https://danviet.vn/lang-mo-vua-minh-mang-nha-nguyen-o-hue-kien-truc-do-so-nguy-nga-duong-than-dao-dai-700m-20240812123651205.htm