Tomb of Dong Khanh, Hue (must see)

Dong Khanh Tomb or Tu Lang is a relic in the complex of Hue relics, this is the burial place of King Dong Khanh, the mausoleum is located in the middle of a countryside in Cu Si village, Duong Xuan commune before, now Thuong Hai village, Thuy Xuan ward, Hue city.

Dong Khanh is the oldest but was put on the throne last. At that time, when King Hiep Hoa was killed (1883), Ton That Thuyet and Nguyen Van Tuong established Prince Ung Dang (adopted son of King Tu Duc, Ung Duong's second brother) as king, taking the era name Kien Phuc. After being on the throne for 8 months, Kien Phuc died, his younger brother Ung Lich was succeeded, and named Ham Nghi.

Ham Nghi reigned for a year, then the capital fell (July 5, 1885), had to leave the throne and follow Ton That Thuyet to the Son Room of Tan So, to issue the Can Vuong against the French. The courtiers and protective government put Ham Nghi's brother on the vacant throne, which is Dong Khanh. Dong Khanh was king for 3 years, then he passed away at the age of 25. The king did not expect to die so early, so he never thought about his future birth. Dong Khanh Tomb exists, in fact, where King Dong Khanh resides permanently in his father's shrine. The birth of this mausoleum was quite difficult.

Born in such a long process, Dong Khanh mausoleum bears the mark of two architectural schools of two different historical times. If the traditional style really stops in the architecture of Tu Duc Tomb and the modern style is clearly reflected in the later architecture of Khai Dinh Tomb, Dong Khanh Tomb is a transitional step. The rather isolated existence of the two mausoleum and mausoleum areas further clarifies this.

In the electrified area, in general, the works still have the old appearance: the architecture is identical to the main hall and the dependent houses, still the rows of columns are painted with splendid gilded paint with decorative projects four spirits, four quarters... familiar. Notably, Ngung Hy Palace, a work that is considered to be the first place to preserve the art of gilding, the famous lacquer art of Vietnam. On the puzzles in the interior are a series of boxes decorated with topics such as mai bird, juniper, succubus, bamboo strip... with lacquer, mosaic and emboss. Especially in the main hall, there are 24 drawings of paintings in the legend of the Twenty-fourth filial piety telling about the filial examples in China.