Inside Hue Citadel

Flag Tower
The Flag Tower is locat¬ed in front of Hue Citadel. It comprises two parts: pedestal flag and flagpole. It was built by bricks during King Gia Long's reign, in 1807. It consists of three storeys with 17.40m high. At first, the flagpole made of wood. In 1948, the flagpole was erected by con¬crete with 37m high as at present day.

Hue Antiques Museum
The Hue Antiques Museum is a gallery displaying collections of bronze, pottery, chinaware, Phap Lam enamel, court robes, headgear and personal belongings of former Vietnam Kings. It is a seven compartment, two-bay building construct¬ed in the "double" architecture, originally called the Long An Palace (King's Security) in the Bao Dinh Residence of Tay Loc Precinct. When the French troops took Bao Dinh Residence for their headquarters in 1885, Long An Palace was removed and materials were stored But, in 1909, by order of King Duy Tan, they were moved to the present-day site (3 Le True St.) where the New Library was built as well as the office of the Association of Friends of Old Hue.

It served later as the Khai Dinh Museum during King Khai Dinh's time, in 1923. The building (former Long An Palace) housing the museum is a monument of remarkable value. The wooden panels are covered with 35 poems and essays composed by King Thieu Tri.

Nine Holy Cannons
These Nine Holy Cannons are housed in two buildings beside the The Nhan and Quang Duc gates in the Citadel of Hue. On February 1803, King Gia Long ordered all bronze wares of the Tay Son Dynasty to be collected and melt into nine can¬nons. The work was completed at the end of January 1804. The cannons were named after the four seasons and the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. They are the "Holy Invincible Generals". Each cannon is 5.10m long and weights more than 10 tons. Their barrels are elab¬orately inscribed with the titles, position order, weight, instructions, writings on fights against the Tay Son Dynasty, and the collection of bronze wares for casting.

Originally, they were positioned in front of the Ngo Mon, at the foot of the Royal Citadel wall, but they were later moved by order of King Khai Dinh to the present-day site. The cannons have never been used for military purposes and just playa symbolic role as guardian spirits for the Citadel.

National University(Quoc Tu Giam Hue)
The National University was the famous University of former Vietnam, once locat¬ed in the Imperial City. It was established under King Minh Mang' reign in 1829. The University was attend¬ed by students of several statuses, for example, Ton Sanh (King's sons and nephews), Am Sanh (mandarins' sons), Hoc Sanh and Cong Sanh (excellent stu¬dents of humble origin). The courses last¬ed all year long with some weeks of holi¬day for the Lunar New Year. Lazy stu¬dents were punished with a rattan rod whereas hard-working ones were award¬ed. There were no examinations, no tests, only competitions for scholarship consisting of money, rice, and oil-lamp. The rice was excluded after boarding facil¬ities was being offered. Besides, each student was granted a uniform including a pair of trousers, a loose-fitting blue dress and a headgear.

In 1908 under King Duy Tan' reign, the university moved to a new place as it is today (3 Le Loi St., Hue City). In 1996 the University was given a major renovation and a statue of President Ho Chi Minh was erected. It is now called Hue University