Dien Tho Palace

Inside the Imperial City of Hue lies a part that many people cross without knowing who once lived there. These were the most powerful women of the Nguyễn dynasty, Vietnam's last royal dynasty, which reigned from 1802 to 1945. They were not the reigning empress, and they were not the consorts who attended the emperor. They were his grandmothers, whom the whole court addressed with deep respect as Empress Dowager and Grand Empress Dowager.

Diên Thọ Palace was built in 1804, in the first years after the Nguyễn made Hue their capital. From then until the end of the dynasty, eight Empresses Dowager and four Grand Empresses Dowager lived within its grounds, and died there.

The grounds were not small. At 17,500 square meters, Diên Thọ is the largest palace complex still standing in the Imperial City. It is far wider than many other buildings there. It was designed with room for a whole court to live at ease, with gardens, a lake and many halls, large and small.

Inside stands a small pavilion right beside the lake. Wind stirs the water, and the shadows of trees fall across moss-covered tiled roofs. Together, water and shade make a quiet place in the heart of the citadel. The grounds also hold a hall for the worship of the Buddha. There the Empresses Dowager could burn incense and chant sutras, following the rites of the court.

The women lived here for more than a century of the dynasty's reign. Each generation left its own mark: the morning chanting, the soft sound of water by the lakeside pavilion, the scent of incense drifting out of the Buddhist hall, the long shadows of trees on the mossy courtyards.

Standing in the grounds today, a visitor sees roof tiles that have faded in color and wooden columns carved with the care of Nguyễn craftsmen. The wind off the water is as cool as ever. And somewhere in that stillness, one feels something that has not changed. It is the respect a whole dynasty gave to the women who supported its emperors from their earliest years.