Da Vien Islet

To the court of the Nguyễn emperors, one small island in the river stood for a tiger. They called it Bạch Hổ, the White Tiger. The Nguyễn dynasty was Vietnam's last royal dynasty, which reigned from 1802 to 1945. The island itself is a diamond-shaped patch of earth that lies quietly in the Perfume River, southwest of the citadel of Hue. People of old called it Cồn Dã Viên.

When the Nguyễn emperors chose the site for their citadel, they did not look only at the soil or the building materials. They read the shape of the mountains, the shape of the river, the shape of heaven and earth. Cồn Dã Viên lies exactly where feng shui places the element of the White Tiger. It stands guard on the right side of the citadel, a natural screen in the middle of the river. It was a small island, but it carried the duty of guarding an entire imperial capital.

The island was more than a guard post. Around the year 1868, Emperor Tự Đức chose it for a royal garden. He had fragrant flowers and rare plants set out in the middle of the flowing river. He turned the diamond of earth into a garden afloat on the water. At early dawn the river would still be misty. The scent of blossoms would drift from the island on the wind, and a figure in court dress would stand watching the water go by.

The Perfume River wraps around Cồn Dã Viên from both sides. That makes the island seem joined to the land and set apart from it at the same time, as if it were floating between sky and water. That distance gives the little island its quiet, thoughtful beauty.

Today, from the riverbank, the island is still there. The water still flows around it, the trees are still green, and the shape of the White Tiger of old still rests silently on the surface of the river. It is a reminder that Hue does not lie only in its palaces and tombs. It hides in every bend of the river, and in every small plot of land that holds the memory of a whole dynasty.