Khai Dinh Tomb

The most extravagant of Hue's royal tombs: blackened concrete and dragon staircases outside, a dazzling palace of glass-and-porcelain mosaic within.

Twelve years in the making, from 1920 to 1931, Khai Dinh's mausoleum on Chau Chu mountain is unlike any other Nguyen tomb. Built of reinforced concrete and financed by a controversial tax increase, it fuses Vietnamese royal layout with European and Gothic-inspired detail, from the wrought-iron gates to the spire-like pillars of the courtyard. Climb 127 steps past dragon balustrades and a court of stone mandarins, elephants and horses to reach Thien Dinh Palace at the top. Inside, every surface glitters with mosaics of broken glass and porcelain forming dragons, clouds and the four seasons, beneath a ceiling painted with nine dragons. A life-size gilded bronze statue of the emperor, cast in France, sits above the burial vault. The tomb is small enough to see in an hour but rewards slow looking; visit early or late to avoid tour groups and the heat of the exposed terraces.