Huong River –The Iconic Beauty And Historical Witness Of Hue For Centuries

It is incomplete when people visit Hue but forget the Huong River, which went through ups and downs in the history of the ancient imperial city. Huong River has become a source of sheer inspiration for artists, poets. Saying Luxurious Paris capital means the famous Seine river, also mentioning Hue ancient imperial capital means saying a meandering Huong River hugging the city. 

• Location:

Two large branches of the Huong River start from Truong Son Mountain. The left branch begins at Dong Dai and flows through 55 small and big waterfalls to Bang Lang confluence. The right branch starts at the foot of Chan Son mount and flows through 14 falls, then blend into the left stream in that confluence. Huong River is not too long, just about 100km; specifically, the central part is about 30km long. From Bang Lang confluence, Huong River flows softly and slowly through villages on the outskirts of Hue, and enters the inside of Hue, then continues to meander along with villages at the lower section before it pours into the sea. 

• Origin Of Huong River:

Famed for its poetic and romantic beauty, Huong River has different names such as Lo Dun, Linh, Dinh, Kim Tra, Huong. According to the legend, it was named the Huong River because there were a lot of Thach Xuong Bo grass species in the source of the river that blended the scent of herbs into the stream. Hence, the Huong River is not only utterly enchanting but also smells aromatic.

According to translation documents, French foreigners use the word “rivière des Parfums”, or it can also loosely translate “Perfume of River” in English to talk about the river. However, there is a wide belief among local people that this river used to flow across Huong Tra District, so it was called the Huong River.

• Charming Beauty Of Huong River:

Huong River appears enchanting in the source, curving among forests, mountains, and it brings the scent of tropical herbs. The river slowly passes by villages with green trees and clusters of red-roofed houses such as Kim Long, Nguyet Bieu, Vu Da, Dong Ba, Gia Hoi, Bao Vinh, it blends with the perfume of the flower species in Hue. Moreover, Huong River with a deep sapphire blue stream reflecting the sunshine bears the alluring beauty. Especially, the Huong River is the place for boats to flow in every corner with pensive and profound Hue chanty, which is firmly attached to the daily working life of the local people. Tourists can immerse themselves into the landscape of the Huong River and Hue chanty in the tranquil evening with sheer joy. 

In the alluring scenery of the riverside hugging the imperial citadel along with towns, forests and pagodas, Huong River seems more poetic and lyrical. The reason why Hue treasures the graceful and calm landscape is that the Huong River, the deep blue flow brings placidity along with tranquillity and harmony from the land of civilization depth.

Notably, the impressive point for the river is Truong Tien Bridge – the witness of ups and downs in Vietnam history for a hundred years. Truong Tien Bridge with the beauty of gothic architecture associating with a deep sapphire blue flow creates a violet and dreamy Hue in the evening. Perhaps, both Huong River and Truong Tien Bridge went through painful periods, so Truong Tien is considered the most iconic bridge to Huong River even though many other bridges have been built on that river. Visiting Hue, tourists still wish to pass Truong Tien Bridge with crowds of students in áo dài and white shirts or lines of Flamboyant in blossoms at the bridge end.

• Huong River And History Of Hue:

The river sticks to great national victories in building and expanding the country’s border resemble the bridge interconnecting two regions of the country. Every difficulty of important events poured into the shoulders of the imperial citadel and Huong River. It is the holy river, Linh Giang flow in history that fought for the protection of national borders, used to reflect in Phu Xuan imperial city and witnessed substantial impacts of the August revolution, Mau Than 1968 campaign.

The beauty of the Huong River becomes the enormous source for poems, songs and art, yet only when you experience, you will feel a sense of romance, calmness and placidity of this river. Meandering Huong River curving Hue city is always the notable destination for tourists when coming to Hue.

By Minh Phuong