This imperial complex established in 1307 by the king who unified Vietnam with the middle Champa people. In 1687 it also oversaw the Dang Trong of the south. The Nguyen dynasty remodeled and from 1802 until 1945 rules Vietnam from here–with the French at some point installing puppet emperors until the capital was moved to Hanoi in 1945.

They had trained elephants representing the imperial government and declawed tigers representing those who might wish to overthrow. The tiger put up a clever fight leading to the elephants stomping to death a trainer so it was banned early in the 1900s.

This is the gift shop. Those chairs are all wood and seem to be the Vietnam mid-century style.

We took a boat to a temple and lunch at the Dieu Thanh monastery. After lunch we talked through our guide’s translation with a nun who arrived at 15 and hopes to spend her life there. They have a tolerant attitude towards a couple of vendors who fail to sell but who put our left-over lunches in bags to take home.