Dong Khanh Tomb is also known as Tu Lang – this is the mausoleum of the 9th king of the Nguyen Dynasty, one of the 7 most beautiful mausoleums in the ancient capital. Possessing unique Asian-European architecture, Dong Khanh Tomb has been recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage. It is located in Cu Si village, Thuong Hai hamlet, Thuy Xuan commune, Hue city.
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King Dong Khanh’s name was Nguyen Phuc Ung Thi, also known as Duong and Bien. He was born in 1864 and died in 1889. After the mutiny in 1885, King Ham Nghi abandoned the throne to Tan So, the Hue court negotiated with the French to bring Ung Duong to the throne, naming it Dong Khanh. After three years on the throne, King Dong Khanh fell ill and died in 1889 at the age of 25.
Having ascended the throne in February 1888, emperor Dong Khanh built Truy Tu palace to worship his father. While the palace was still under construction, Emperor Dong Khanh suffered from disease and abruptly passed away. Then, emperor Thanh Thai crowned and renamed Truy Tu palace as Ngung Hy to worship emperor Dong Khanh. Emperor Dong Khanh was simply buried on Ho Thuan son hill about 30m to the west of Ngung Hy palace. The entire tomb area is called Tu Lang. In 1916, emperor Khai Dinh (Emperor Dong Khanh’s son) had the palace repaired and Dong Khanh tomb constructed. The entire tomb area including Bai Dinh, Bi Dinh, Buu Thanh and Huyen Cung were reconstructed under emperor Khai Dinh’s reign. The construction was basically completed in July 1917 and officially completed in 1923.
The process of building Dong Khanh mausoleum took place through 4 kings Dong Khanh, King Thanh Thai, and Duy Tan to Khai Dinh Emperor (1888-1923), so Dong Khanh mausoleum bears the mark of two architectural schools of two different historical times.
Worship area: constructions are designed in the ancient architecture multi – succeeding roofs style. Inside the main palace and independent houses are red pillars decorated with the four holly animals, four seasons and 24 drawings illustrating “Nhi thap tu hieu” story – Chinese story about twenty-four filial exemplars in Ngung Hy palace. Ngung Hy palace is rustically decorated with terra-cottas such as fighting cock and fishermen. However, colorful glass doors and the two drawings describing Franco – Turkish war in Napoleonic period and other artifacts show the influence of Western European culture.
Tomb area: The architecture of the tomb is almost completely “Europeanized” style from architecture and decoration to building materials. The memorial house is a variation of Roman – East Asian architecture. The tall, thin mandarin statues are made from cement and brick (instead of stone statute), evil tiles and plaid brick.
In general, the tomb of Emperor Dong Khanh is the beginning of Eurasian – Neoclassical architecture.
Dong Khanh Tomb is a unique architectural work in the system of mausoleums in the ancient capital of Hue. When you travel in Hue, don’t miss to learn about this mausoleum. Elephant Travel will take you to explore Hue and come to learn about this mausoleum with an enthusiastic guide, knowledgeable about Hue history.
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