Vignettes of the World
The Co Ha Gardens After asking for some directions, I found the Co Ha Gardens. These gardens were developed by the first four Emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty. Although, at some point in history, they fell into disrepair, the Vietnamese have restored most of them. …
The Dien Tho Residence The Dien Tho Residence was where the Queen Mother of Vietnam’s Emperor lived. The lives of women have always interested me, and so I chose to go westward for a walk. Indeed, in this morning hour there were few tourists there. …
I woke at 7:30 and had breakfast at the hostel. Breakfast was an egg pancake (they called it an omelet), a bread roll, some fruits and coffee with milk. At that point in my trip I still wondered, at every Vietnamese meal, why it was that no matter how simple the meal was, it always tasted so heavenly. Surely that it was the best breakfast, but perhaps I would only have one egg from then on.
When I asked about transportation to the Imperial Palace, the lady told me to walk. On Google Map it said 22 minutes, but I wanted to take a grab bike. I anticipated lots of walking within the sites, and I should preserve my energy for the most worthy cause.
There was no bike around so I headed out on foot. About ten minutes later a driver hollered and I got on the bike right away.
The ride to the Citadel was so cool. To get to the entrance at the Noon Gate (Ngo Mon), we had to ride on a bridge. The Citadel gradually came into view, dreamily, like in a filming lens. My imagination fused into the reeling rolls of time. At this morning hour the sun was behind us. Against the bright morning rays the Citadel was black. Its brazen darkness seemed to bespeak the rise and fall of Vietnam in modern history, from a dynastic beginning to colonialism; from a war of ideology to the uneasy peace under communist rule. The Citadel stood proud and strong against the tides of history, and within an all-around moat called the Golden Water Canal, the imperial enclosure welcomed the visitors with its glory and its wounds, both of which were amply visible, and authentically so.
At this very flag tower, the U.S. national flag once flew, albeit only momentarily. The U.S. marines reclaimed control of Hue (only with hard-fought battles) following the Tet Offensive of 1968. In an act of defiance, a soldier hoisted the United States flag here. The U.S. officials ordered the national flag to be taken down very soon after.
At Ngo Mon, the Noon Gate, I entered into the Imperial Enclosure. It was a beautiful day and women in traditional Vietnamese ao dai posed for photographs.
Construction of the Noon Gate completed under the reign of Emperor Minh Mang in 1833. As with all other gates in Vietnam, only the Emperor may enter through the central entrance. The smaller gates on the two sides were for the mandarins. This practice has remained so today, meaning that all of the central gates of imperial structures are shut. There is no longer an Emperor to speak of for Vietnam. I, of course, entered via the side gates.
Photo: The central gate of the Noon Gate at the Imperial Enclosure remains shut.
Emperor Gia Long was the founding emperor of the Nguyen (the Vietnamese pronounce this surname as “Win”) Dynasty. In 1802, he ordered the construction of the Citadel. The structures of Hue’s Imperial Palace would model after the Forbidden City in Beijing. Construction completed in 1833. The result was a magnificent palace compound with 300 original buildings. War and natural disasters have done irreversible destruction on the structures. By now, only 80 of the original 300 buildings remained. And even the 80 structures were in ruins.
I first visited the Palace of Supreme Harmony. A tour guide was giving an introduction to a group in Mandarin. The Vietnamese Emperor used to receive the mandarins here in the throne room. In the middle of the Hall, all goods on display were the original, with the exception of the top décor, what used to be a golden canopy. The French took everything of value when they left. They took not the royal sedan, but the golden canopy above the throne. The canopy on display now has 2kg’s worth of plated gold. The royal sedan chair, on the other hand, was rather small. This would comport with the fact that Vietnamese Emperors of those days were men of short statures.
According to the Lonely Planet, the Vietnamese Emperor actually rarely showed himself to his officials, “thus feeding the aura of mystery so closely associated with imperial power.”
With regards to restoration, the nonexistence of blueprints for the buildings made it exceedingly difficult. Also, because it was an imperial residence, few pictures, if any, existed.
The tour guide also said certain things about Vietnamese history of which I could not be sure. He said that Vietnam was always divided north-south (since the 16th century). Only until Ho Chi Minh, who with his communist campaigns called for a united, independent and sovereign Vietnam, did Vietnam become one country.
It would become relevant again in a later entry, when I would be touring the Vietnamese Emperor’s reading room. The tour guide also told the group that there were no written word of Vietnamese in all of ancient Vietnam. The written word then was always Chinese (as shown in the Emperor’s reading room). The first written Vietnamese appeared in 1651, and only until the French romanized it in the 19th century did it become a systematically written language.
That was all that I took from the tour guide by eavesdropping, but these were very much loaded historical facts to me. So I departed and went westward to visit the Emperor’s Mother’s quarter, Dien Tho.
Photos: The Palace of Supreme Harmony (Thai Hoa Palace) and its front courtyard.
Source
The Lonely Planet on Vietnam.
Ho Sheung Heung is an established village with a long history in Sheung Shui. Its beginning can be traced back to 800 years ago, as far back as the Yuan Dynasty. Four villages together make up the larger area known as Ho Sheung Heung. They …
It was a rainy and stormy weekend but we managed to visit the Port Island for a good stretch of eight hours, and the sun shined upon us throughout. The Port Island is a small island in the middle-to-western side of Mirs Bay (Tai Pang …
The first walk at the Kwu Tung Reservoir turned out to be a spooky experience. My grandfather was buried in the hillside graveyard across from the reservoir. When I got there, I was saying in my heart, “hi Grandpa, I am here.” The hillside graveyard was always overgrown with very stubborn vegetation. As such my intention was not to visit his grave. It was impossible to find my way to it without my father. I just said hi, and then I turned left onto the path that led me to the reservoir.
Photo: A walk on the Kwu Tung Reservoir’s dam.
The hill ahead will enable an aerial view of the reservoir’s heart shape.
Literally after taking two photographs under bright sunlight, I saw dark clouds rolling from afar. Within five minutes, the wind started blowing and the gray sky rained down droplets. Dead leaves swirled around, and the whole area turned from bright and sunny to pre-storm eeriness in the matter of a few minutes.
Being my determined self, I was unwilling to leave. When it started lightning and thundering, however, I knew that I had to leave. I thought to my heart, “maybe Grandpa did not want me to stay that day.”
The Kwu Tung Reservoir is a small water preservation facility in Sheung Shui. According to some bloggers, it was first an irrigation reservoir. Since there is not much use for its intended purpose now, the water is preserved for use by the Fire Department.
Photos: panoramic view of the reservoir on ground
Although it is not of common interest now, the Kwu Tung Reservoir was once a favorite hangout spot for the local children. Both my paternal and maternal families grew up in the vicinity of the Kwu Tung Reservoir. My parents, uncles and aunties remember playing there when they were children.
In recent years, the Kwu Tung Reservoir has also become somewhat of interest to light hikers. The Reservoir is not big, but it is in a beautiful heart shape. That has attracted many photo-taking in the nearby Ki Lun Shan, where you can see beautiful aerial view of the reservoir and the Kwu Tung area.
About two weeks after my first visit at Kwu Tung Reservoir, a woman who was hiking alone there went missing. Six days later, searchers found her body in Ki Lun Shan Au.
Maybe my grandpa really did not want me to stay that day.
But on a sunny day yet another two weeks later, I did visit the Kwu Tung Reservoir for the second time. There are only a few points to tour on that site. The first is the dam, which is a narrow pathway. After passing the dam, one will come across the path up the hill. About 2/3 of the way up, you will be able to capture the Kwu Tung Reservoir’s aerial view. The heart shape is clear.
I only climbed 2/3 of the way up because going further up would entail a very difficult climb down. Although the pathway is visible, it is very steep. It will be extremely dangerous on rainy days. I climbed back down on all fours in the same way that I climbed up, meaning, I faced the ground climbing down.
Once you are down on the dam level, there is another pathway on your left, which will lead you to a view across the dam.
It takes only about half-hour to tour this site. Although it is possible to get to Ki Lun Shan from the Kwu Tung Reservoir, it is not an easy hike and one should never do that alone.
There are haunted stories at Kwu Tung Reservoir because there have been many accidents here from hiking. Safety must come first.
Take Bus Route 76K from Sheung Shui toward the Yuen Long direction (the bus does not stop in Kwu Tung South from Yuen Long to Sheung Shui) and get off at Kwu Tung Market. Alternatively, green top minibus route 51A also takes you from Sheung Shui MTR Station to Kwu Tung South. Enter Kwu Tung South Road and walk all the way for about 15 minutes, you will pass by the public toilet half-way. The Kwu Tung Reservoir is on the left of Kwu Tung South Road.
As discussed above, there is a reason why the Kwu Tung Reservoir is haunted. There are some danger points. For example, the dam itself is very narrow and one is prone to slip on a rainy day. The climb up the hill next to the reservoir is very steep, and going down on that path is especially dangerous. Do not go on rainy days.
The time has come and Kwu Tung Village is scheduled to be demolished in 2023 to make way for the Kwu Tung North New Development Area. Kwu Tung—A New Development Area As part of the Hong Kong Government’s initiative to provide housing for an expected …
I have been very eager to visit the Waterfall Bay at Wah Fu Estate for a while. After a stretch of rainy days last week, the water flow must be voluminous there. Therefore on the first sunny morning I headed out to the Southern District …
Views of the fish ponds at Ma Tso Lung has become a hot spot for photo-taking in recent years, especially for sunset photos. This area of the New Territories used to be restricted border area. In 2013, the Hong Kong Government lifted the border restrictions and this area became available for public access.
Before the restrictions were lifted, Ma Tso Lung was hidden away and untouched by development. There are the six villages of Ma Tso Lung Village, Liu Pok Village, Shun Yee San Tsuen Village, Tak Yuet Lau Village, Lok Ma Chau Village and Ha Wan Village. Because of its seclusion, the natural habitat of Ma Tso Lung prided in the biodiversity to which it has given home. A stretch of wetland spans all the way from San Tin in the west to Mai Po, Ma Tso Lung and eastward to Ng Tung River. The abundance of fresh water marshes often greet rare migratory birds when they make their winter rounds into Hong Kong.
Although initially there were concerns that when the border restrictions were lifted the natural habitat of the once-remote Ma Tso Lung could come under danger from human traffic, it seemed to me that the area has remained, by and large, untouched. I found the drive-through within the Ma Tso Lung Villages to be exceedingly pleasant. It was a meandering path in tranquility. These pockets of rural communities apparently live in peace, a quiet humility as shown in their understated abodes.
I finally found the way to the viewing point. The wide-open views on a sunny summer day was very soothing. The skyline of Shenzhen in the background makes an interesting juxtaposition to the rustic fish ponds in Hong Kong’s northern border. The spot overlooks the Futian area of Shenzhen. The pictures could have well been commercial stills for real estate marketing.
By private car, turn left onto Ma Tso Lung Road from Ho Sheung Heung Road and drive through the villages. Remain on Ma Tso Lung Road until you reach Liu Pok Road. Make a right onto Liu Pok Road, and watch out as you ascend the hill. You will soon come across the first “intersection” where there is a way up further on your left. Turn left onto this way and park when you see the stairs that lead up to the Ma Tso Lung Police Post (also known as the MacIntosh Cathedral). Head up on foot, and right next to the gate to the Police Post, the way to the viewing point is on your right on a clearly trodden track. Follow this track and you will see the fish ponds within five minutes.
Photo Above: the Ma Tso Lung Police Post (MacIntosh Cathedral)
Photo Below: the track on the right of the gate of the Police Post leads you to the viewing point
By public transport, take Minibus 51B and get off at Shun Yee San Tsuen. Then head back on the same way until you reach the intersection of Ma Tso Lung and Liu Pok Road. Go straight onto Liu Pok Road, head up on the hill, until you see the first opening to your left. Turn left on that path up to reach the Ma Tso Lung Police Post (as with above). The track to the viewing point is on the right of the gate of the Police Post.
The Six Villages of Ma Tso Lung Opens, The Sun.
When I was young, I was always fascinated by a beautiful natural lake that I saw when the train passed between the University and Tai Po Market stations. Back then, it was simply a lake with a lone rock in its middle. This scenery in …