Hue Travel Package Tours, Vietnam Tour Information Hotel Guide

HUE PROVINCE OVERVIEW

Geography	Demographics	Telephone
Capital: Hue Region: North Central Coast Area: 5,054 km2	Population:1,119,800 Density: 221.6/km2 Ethnicities: Kinh, Ta Oi, Co Tu, Bru - Van Kieu, Hoa	Calling code: 054
Town and Districts
Phong Dien, Quang Dien, Huong Tra, Phu Vang, Huong Thuy, Phu Loc, Nam Dong, A Luoi.

General Information

Thua Thien-Hue Province is located in Central Vietnam. It is next to Quang Tri Province to the north, Danang to the south, and Quang Nam Province to the south-west. This province leans up against the Truong Son mountain range and is washed by the East Sea, along its 120km seashore.

History
Hue originally rose to prominence as the capital of the Nguyen family, a feudal dynasty which dominated much of (then) southern Vietnam from the 17th to the 19th century. In 1775 when Trinh Sa captured it, it was known as Phu Xuan. In 1802, Nguyen Phuc Anh (later Emperor Gia Long) succeeded in establishing his control over the whole of Vietnam, thereby making Hue the national capital.
Hue was the national capital until 1945, when Emperor Bao Dai abdicated and a Communist government was established in Ha Noi (Hanoi), in the north. While Bao Dai was briefly proclaimed "Head of State" with the help of the returning French colonialists in 1949 (although not with recognition from the Communists and the full acceptance of the Vietnamese people), his new capital was Sai Gon (Saigon), in the south. In the Vietnam War, Hue's central position placed it very near the border between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The city was located in the South. In the Tet Offensive of 1968, during the Battle of Hue, the city suffered considerable damage to not only its physical features, but its reputation as well, most of it from American firepower and bombings on the historical buildings as well as the now infamous massacre at Hue. After the war's conclusion, many of the historic features of Hue were neglected, being seen by the victorious regime and some other Vietnamese as a "relics from the feudal regime", but there has since been a change of policy, and some parts of the historic city have been restored.