Our StoryMap explores representation and placemaking at the heart of Huế.
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Huế is a coastal city in Central Vietnam, center of Thừa Thiên Huế province, widely known as Vietnam’s former capital and the seat of the Nguyễn family – the country’s last dynasty (1802-1945). Occupying a narrow plain between the Trường Sơn mountain range and the sea, Huế was built on the banks of the Hương (Perfume) River and it maintains a close relationship with its natural surroundings. Though Huế was never a large city or one with commercial importance, its nature as a capital draws from its sacred geography as well as its traditional character that continues to define the city today. The Perfume River Valley has historically been the city’s rear gates, laying beyond the citadel when approaching Huế by sea. Here, its location and its history make it both central and peripheral to the city, forming a symbolic and functional node, but also existing on the fringes where the sacred and the mysterious converge.