HUE; Historic Land

    Hue served as Vietnam’s capital under the emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945, and the city’s regal past can still be seen inside the walls of the Citadel and the Imperial City. Both were heavily damaged during the Tet Offensive of 1968 when the Communists took the city from the South and held it for 3 weeks, but now thanks to UNESCO funding, much of the City is being faithfully restored to its former glory.

TOMB OF EMPEROR TU DUC

   Born in 1829, Emperor Tu Duc had the longest reign of all in the Nguyen Dynasty. The King died in 1883 after 35 years on the throne.
   Emperor Tu Duc was an expert in eastern philosophy, history, and literature. He left 4,000 verses and 600 proses, yet during his reign he the king failed to gain the respect of the citizens. It was during the construction of his tomb that the soldiers and artisans rebelled and joined Ung Dao (a distant cousin of the king) in the attempt to overthrow the king. Being a romantic, the king immersed himself in the world he created at the site of his tomb. The king ordered the construction of his tomb to be a fairyland with poetical features, making it a lifetime dream and a world for his eternal life after death. Architectural features of Tu Duc Tomb include poetry elements in free form. It was designed to blend with the natural setting of the landscape. Man-made elements were built and placed in strategic areas to achieve perfect harmony.

   In an attempt to foil grave robbers, his body was not even buried in the tomb, and all those who were involved in the burial were beheaded. His body and treasures are at a destination which to this day is unknown. The centerpiece of the tomb is a huge stone tablet that is estimated to weigh over twenty tones upon which are inscribed various clarifications of his rule. There are also a number of temples and other buildings within the tomb grounds, along with a nice lake with an island in the center. Towards the end of his rule, Tu Duc spent a lot of time on this island and generally within his tomb, accompanied by his entourage. The tomb of Tu Duc is about 7 km out of the center of Hue city.

The majestic and serene tomb of Emperor Tu Duc is set amidst frangipani trees and a grove of pines. Tu Duc designed the exquisitely harmonious tomb, which was constructed between 1864 and 1867, for use both before and after his death.

The enormous expense of the tomb and the forced labor used in its construction spawned a coup plot which was discovered and suppressed in 1866.

    Tu Duc’s tomb, which is surrounded by a solid octagonal wall, is entered from the east via Vu Khiem Gate. A path paved with Bat Trang Tiles leads to Du Khiem Boat Landing, which is on the Shore of Luu Khiem Lake. From the boat landing, Tinh Khiem Island, where Tu Duc used to hunt small game, is off to the right; across the water to the left is Xung Khiem Pavilion, where the emperor would sit among the columns with his concubines composing or reciting poetry. The pavilion, built over the water on piles, was restored in 1986.

THE IMPERIAL CITY

   This complex held the palaces, pavilions, civil and religious ceremonies, and official audiences with the civil mandarins. It surrounded the forbidden purple city. Originally the roofs of the main buildings were covered in glaze yellow tile, the imperial color, the less important buildings had green or plain tile. The imperial city was bordered by a wall 600 meters on each side, five meters high and protected by a 15 meter moat. There are four gates to the compound. North was the gate of peace, east was the gate of humanity, west was the gate of virtue, and south was the South gate, so named because the emperor was symbolized by the sun which shines it’s brightest at noon.

   Like Hanoi and other former Chinese capitals the main gate, the meridian gate faced south toward the river. Beyond the south gate is gold water pond, which is spanned by three bridges leading to the paved esplanade of great welcome where, arranged according to importance the nine ranks of court mandarins, gathered during official ceremonies, civil mandarins on the right, military mandarins on the left.

The Provisional New 7 Wonders of Nature

Here is a finalist of provisional New7Wonders of Nature, based on the first count of vote results announced at the N7W headquarters in Zurich on 11/11/11. The process of confirming the provisional New7Wonders of Nature results is now underway, and includes the following:

- The validation of all phone and SMS voting results.
- The verification of the calculation.

- The preparation of the Official Inauguration event for each confirmed New7Wonder of Nature.

They will update and announce as each one of the New7Wonders of Nature is confirmed and expect to start doing this in early 2012 once the validation, verification and preparation process is complete for each one. At that point, each confirmed New7Wonder of Nature will host an Official Inauguration at the location and in the capital city, during which the Official New7Wonders of Nature Plaque will be ceremonially presented as the final confirmation of the status as one of the Official New7Wonders of Nature as voted by the people of the world.

More information www.new7wonders.com

Finalist: Amazon

The Amazon Rainforest, also known as Amazonia, the Amazon jungle or the Amazon Basin, encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.7 billion acres), though the forest itself occupies some 5.5 million square kilometers (1.4 billion acres), located within nine nations. The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total flow greater than the top ten rivers worldwide combined. It accounts for approximately one-fifth of the total world river flow and has the biggest drainage basin on the planet. Not a single bridge crosses the Amazon.

Finalist: Halong Bay

Halong Bay is located in Quáng Ninh province, Vietnam. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. The bay has a 120-kilometer-long the coastline and is approximately 1,553 square kilometers in size with 1969 islets. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves, other support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of seafood and 450 different kinds of mollusks. Another specific feature of Halong Bay is the abundance of lakes inside the limestone islands, for example, Dau Be island has six enclosed lakes. All these island lakes occupy drowned dolines within fengcong karst.

Finalist: Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls, in Iguazu River, are one of the world's largest waterfalls. They extend over 2,700 m (nearly 2 miles) in a semi-circular shape. Of the 275 falls that collectively makeup Iguassu Falls, "Devil's Throat" is the tallest at 80 m in height. Iguazu Falls are on the border between the Brazilian state of Paraná and the Argentine province of Misiones and are surrounded by two National Parks (BR/ARG). Both are subtropical rainforests that are host to hundreds of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna.

Finalist: Jeju Island

 

Jejudo is a volcanic island, 130 km from the southern coast of Korea. The largest island and smallest province in Korea, the island has a surface area of 1,846 sqm. A central feature of Jeju is Hallasan, the tallest mountain in South Korea and a dormant volcano, which rises 1,950 m above sea level. 360 satellite volcanoes are around the main volcano.

Finalist: Komodo

Indonesia’s Komodo National Park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller ones, for a total area of 1,817 square kilometers (603 square kilometers of it land). The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon. Later, it was also dedicated to protecting other species, including marine animals. The islands of the national park are of volcanic origin. 

Finalist: PP Underground River

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is located about 50 km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. It features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. a navigable underground river. A distinguishing feature of the river is that it winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. It includes major formations of stalactites and stalagmites and several large chambers. The lower portion of the river is subject to tidal influences. The underground river is reputed to be the world's longest. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water's edge. Monkeys, large monitor lizards, and squirrels find their niche on the beach near the cave. 

Finalist: Table Mountain

Table Mountain is a South African icon and the only natural site on the planet to have a constellation of stars named after it - Mensa, meaning “the table.” The flat-topped mountain has withstood six million years of erosion and hosts the richest, yet smallest floral kingdom on earth with over 1,470 floral species. Table Mountain boasts numerous rare and endangered species. It is the most recognized site in Cape Town, the gateway to Africa, owing to its unique flat-topped peaks which reach 1,086 m above sea level.