ORIGIN OF THE NAME:

The name Hue was explained in many way:
Scholar Thai Van Kiem thought, based on some old documents, the name Hue appeared from 16th century with origin Hoa from the place called Thuan Hoa province. He also pointed out that they used the name Hue instead of Hoa as it was the name of Mr. Nguyen Nap Hoa, the ancestor of the Nguyen Dynasty or it was the name of Mrs. Ho Thi Hoa, Minh Mang’s Queen, mother of King Thieu tri.
Doctor Nguyen Hy Vong quoted “Vietnamese - Portuguese - Latin Dictionary” to affirm: they had the name “Hue” before 1651 - the year they published “Vietnamese - Portuguese - Latin Dictionary” and it had no relation with Hoa province or Thuan Hoa.

Researcher Vo Huong An believed: some regions in Vietnam, they usually had to names for one thing, official one in “Han” language (old Chinese) and the other used by normal people. So, some “Nguyen Dynasty" history books, they tended to use the Han name and avoided the normal one. That explained why the name Hue never appeared in any history books. Vietnamese in A. de Rhodes time was incomplete. The appearance of two words Hue or Hoa about one place and had the same meaning allowed people to think that at that time Kim Long had other two name Ke Hue or Ke Hoa.  Those Kehue or Kehoa appeared in many ways according to the way Westerners spoke and heard until after 18th century, French called it Hue.


HISTORY

Hue originally rose to prominence as the capital of the Nguyen Lords, a feudal dynasty which dominated much of southern Vietnam from the 17th to the 19th century. In 1775 when Trinh Sa captured it, it was known as Phu Xuan. In 1802, Nguyen Phuc Anh (later Emperor Gia Long) succeeded in establishing his control over the whole of Vietnam, thereby making Hue the national capital.
Hue was the national capital until 1945, when Emperor Bao Dai abdicated and a Communist government was established in Hanoi, in the north. While Bao Dai was briefly proclaimed "Head of State" with the help of the returning French colonialists in 1949 (although not with recognition from the Communists and the full acceptance of the Vietnamese people), his new capital was Saigon, in the south.
In the Vietnam War, Hue's central position placed it very near the border between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The city was located in the South. In the Tet Offensive of 1968, during the Battle of Hue, the city suffered considerable damage not only to its physical features, but its reputation as well, most of it from American firepower and bombings on the historical buildings as well as the now infamous massacre at Huế committed by the Communist forces. After the war's conclusion, many of the historic features of Hue were neglected, being seen by the victorious regime and some other Vietnamese as "relics from the feudal regime", but there has since been a change of policy, and some parts of the historic city have been restored.

GEOGRAPHY

The city is located in central Vietnam on the banks of the Sông Hương (Hương River), just a few miles inland from the Biển Đông. It is about 700 km (438 mi.) south of the national capital of Hanoi and about 1100 km (690 mi.) north of Hồ Chí Minh City, the country's largest city formerly known as Saigon.

HISTORIC MONUMENTS

Hue is perhaps best known for its historic monuments, which have earned it a place in the UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. The seat of the Nguyen emperors was in the Citadel, which occupies a large, walled area on the north side of the river. Inside the citadel was a forbidden city where only the concubines, emperors, and those close enough to them were granted access, the punishment for trespassing being death. Today, little of the forbidden city remains, though reconstruction efforts are in progress to maintain it as a tourist attraction as a view of the history of Hue.
Roughly along the Perfume River from Huế lie myriad other monuments, including the tombs of several emperors such as Minh Mang, Khai Dinh, Tu Duc, and others. Also notable is the Thien Mu Pagoda, located not far from the city centre along the river, the largest pagoda in Huế and chosen as the official symbol of the city.
The Hue Museum of Royal Fine Arts on 3 Le Truc Street also maintains a collection of various artifacts from the city.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

Hue comprises 27 administrative divisions, including 24 phường (urban wards) and 3 xã (rural communes):

Urban wards
• An Cựu
• An Đông
• An Hoà
• An Tây
• Hương Sơ
• Kim Long
• Phú Bình
• Phú Cát
• Phú Hậu
• Phú Hiệp
• Phú Hòa
• Phú Hội
• Phú Nhuận
• Phú Thuận
• Phước Vĩnh
• Phường Đúc
• Tây Lộc
• Thuận Hòa
• Thuận Lộc
• Thuận Thành
• Trường An
• Vĩnh Ninh
• Vỹ Dạ
• Xuân Phú

Rural communes
• Hương Long
• Thủy Biều
• Thủy Xuân

CUISINE

The cuisine of Huế draws from throughout Vietnam, but one of the most striking differences is the prominence of vegetarianism in the city. Several all-vegetarian restaurants are scattered in various corners of the city to serve the locals who have a strong tradition of eating vegetarian twice a month, as part of their Buddhist beliefs.