Nam Giao Esplanade

The open-air altar in a pine park south of the centre where Nguyen emperors performed the realm's most sacred rite, the sacrifice to Heaven, on three stacked terraces.

Built in 1806 under Emperor Gia Long, Nam Giao is the only surviving esplanade of its kind from the Nguyen dynasty and one of the most important ritual sites in Vietnam. Three terraces rise one above the other: the square lower levels represent Earth and humanity, the round upper platform represents Heaven. Here, at first annually and later every three years, the emperor fasted, processed from the Citadel and offered sacrifices to Heaven, Earth and his ancestors, praying for good harvests and the peace of the realm; the last ceremony was held in 1945. The surrounding park of pines, some of them planted by emperors and mandarins, gives the site a hushed, austere atmosphere very different from the palaces. The ritual is re-enacted during the Hue Festival, and the altar is listed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage complex. It is a quiet twenty-minute stop on the way to Khai Dinh or Tu Duc Tomb.