Danang/Hue/HoiAn 2025 - Hue Day Tour Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh (1/4)

Stairways to heaven? But in this scene where the clouds are so dark, maybe it leads to somewhere else instead? After all, this stairways lead to a mausoleum.... The last nightlight of our one day tour, was also the highlight of my visit to Hue! To see the gothic influenced mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh! And the entrance to it did not disappoint! Look at the photo! Can you feel the vibe of the place?

It took some climbing to get to above the street level. I think the tour guide said that it takes around 220 steps to get to the tomb. To find something so gothic in the center of Vietnam, was mind blowing. It was supposed to be inspired by the gothic buildings of the west. 

 

Everything about this place was just so gothic! And I really liked it that we visited on this day when the clouds too play it's part in making this even more intense. Yes, I think the word intense correctly described this place. From the front gate, all the way in, dark, grey and gloomy. 

Although influenced by the west, the mausoleum itself still follows the three section of a royal tomb, just like the one we visited before this. So the very first section we came to, was the greeting area with monuments and stone guardians welcoming us. 

I was very much in love with the architecture design of this place. I didn't know where to shot! It was actually a lot smaller than the 1st mausoleum we visited, but the impact of it was so much stronger. It was so vertical in nature, and the colour toned was so intense!

The monument and the guards were also in grey. For some reason, I like the guardians here a lot, as you will see soon in this blog. I took so many photos of them. They reminded me very much of the terra-cotta soldiers in China, something I hope I will be able to see this year 2026 when I visit Xian with my friend.

A small....., I want to say pavilion but that doesn't seems to fit the structure here. A small hall?

Next were more steps to the actual building, which was supposed to be the second section of the mausoleum.

Everything here was made of stone instead of wood.

Some souvenir shots I took cause I was so excited to be here!

Me and some of the stone guardians of the tomb. Frozen in time forever here, to guard over the young emperor, for he was, young when he passed at the age of 40. He was king for only 9 years. Yet his tomb here reflect something so much more. 

Me again, with more guardians by my side :)