Hue is the capital city of Thừa Thiên–Huế Province and has a population of 340,000. Located in the centre of the country, Hue was the capital of Vietnam from 1802–1945 and the royal lifestyle and customs have had a significant impact on the characteristics of the people, even long afterwards. Huế is well known for its historic monuments, which have earned it a place in UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. The seat of the Nguyễn emperors was the Citadel, which occupies a large, walled area on the north side of the Perfume River. Insidethe citadel was a forbidden city where only the emperors, concubines, and those close enough to them were granted access; the punishment for trespassing was death. Today, little of the forbidden city remains, though reconstruction efforts are in progress to maintain it as a historic tourist attraction. Along the Perfume River from Huế are numerous other monuments, including the tombs of several emperors and the city’s largest pagoda and its official symbol.
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