A touch of Hue’s charm

tHuy Duong

An Hien Garden House is a splendid example of mandarin life in bygone days in Hue Imperial Citadel.

Situated in peaceful gardens on Phuc Nguyen Street, the An Hien Garden House is one of over 85 palaces of royal family members still in existence in the former capital, showcasing how formal Vietnamese royals lived in harmony with nature.

GREEN LIVING

Solid wooden houses steeped in history and tucked away in picturesque gardens can be found in many places across Vietnam. Those in the North feature large red-brick yards for sun-drying rice and other agricultural products, and are usually surrounded by low trees and bushes. In Hue, however, a more harmonious combination is achieved with the of the royal family, An Hien is also an ecological space that is a verdant green all year round.

Plants and trees in An Hien’s garden are arranged in three tiers: tall, old trees that provide precious wood, like jackfruit; fruit trees such as mangosteen, durian and dragon fruit from the south, apricot, persimmon and litchi from the north, and Thanh tra, or Bouea Macrophylla, and figs from the central region; and ornamental and flowering plants, including jasmine.

house set in the middle of a garden fringed by tall trees.

The An Hien Garden House is said to offer a journey into Hue’s authentic mandarin residential area and lifestyle where tradition, poetry and spirit have been preserved over time.

Built 136 years ago, the house is the former residence of a Nguyen Dynasty princess. Set in spacious 6,500 square metre lush grounds complete with a lily-fringed pond and designed in the ancient architectural style seen in Hue’s royal buildings, the house is strongly influenced by “feng shui”, where architecture, nature, and humans intertwine harmoniously. As well as being the home of generations

EXCEPTIONAL ARCHITECTURE

Besides the beauty of the lush green

garden, An Hien Garden House is also famous for its “wooden house” architecture in the Hue royal style.

According to the ancient rule of feng shui, “the back of the house must be leaning against a mountain and the door must face a river”. An Hien Ancient House was built facing the romantic Huong River. Its gate is arch shaped, underneath the middle of which is a panel with two Chinese characters reading “An Hien”, inlaid with white and white-blue clay on a black background. From the main gate, strolling down the long road, visitors will see a brick wall symbolising a mountain, bending slightly to the west to shield the main worshiping house.

Visitors can wander through a large yard shaded by century-old trees, passing by ancient bonsai pots placed in the front of the house. Turning either right or left, visitors will reach the ancient wooden house. The 135-square-metre wooden house features three spaces with two separate wings on either side and is an excellent example of traditional Hue architecture under the Nguyen Dynasty. The house is built from jackfruit wood to ward off termites.

Connecting beams link the two main pillars of the house at the ceiling, giving stability to the entire frame. The beams also create a platform for a small attic used to store the family’s precious possessions. The roof is covered with different layers of roof tiles in the Chinese yin-yang style.

The middle space serves as the “worshiping area”, containing altars positioned according to the principle “the Buddha altar is at the front, the Ancestor altar behind”. As per the rules in feudal times, the spaces to the sides are for receiving guests, under the principle of “men to the left, women to the right”, while the two wings obey a similar rule: the living space for men is on the left and the space for women is on the right. Many precious treasures from the Nguyen Dynasty court are on display in the house.

A hundred years on, having witnessed the ups and downs of history and the harshness of time, An Hien Garden House is now a peaceful place, a cultural venue and a popular stop for tourists exploring the imperial capital