Imperial Citadel of Hue

Much has been written about the Chinese Forbidden City, after all it's the largest palatial structure in the world and one of the greatest legacies of ancient China; however, it's not the only Forbidden City. You probably haven't heard of it yet but another one actually exists in the not-so-popular Imperial City of Hue, former capital and political center of Vietnam.

Ho Quyen and the Palace of the Crying Elephants

Elephants are held in high regard in many parts of the world, especially in Hindu and Buddhist countries. These sacred animals are associated with the divine and Southeast Asian monarchies transformed them into symbols of power.

Of all the places that I visited in Vietnam, Hue in the central region is easily one of my favorites because this was the seat of power of the last Vietnamese monarchy. Being a former imperial city, I thought this place HAD to have some remains of the royal court besides the Forbidden City so I did my research and found out about the Ho Quyen, Asia's version of the Roman Colosseum.