Hue: The City on the Perfume River

Hue, the former Imperial City of Vietnam, lives with it's river, the Song Huan, the river of perfume, the river of fragrance. It's enticing nickname probably came from the fragrant pollen which it carries at certain times of the year. Numerous songs and poems sing the praises of this river and of the colorful life on it's banks. Yet Hue is not only the city at the river, Hue is in fact the cultural heart of Vietnam. In the 19th century, modeled on the Forbidden City in Beijing, an Imperial Court emerged which was intended to proclaim the power and the wealth of the Nguy dynasty. This unique program gives an unprecedented close-up look at the former Imperial City with it's fascinating tombs, temples and citadel.