1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Hué

HUÉ, a town of French Indo-China, capital of Annam, on the Hué river (Song-Huong-Giang) about 8 m. from its mouth in the China Sea. Pop. about 42,000, of whom 240 are Europeans. The country immediately surrounding it is flat, alluvial land, traversed by streams and canals and largely occupied by rice fields. Beyond the plain rises a circle of hills formed by spurs of the mountains of Annam. The official portion of the town, fortified under French superintendence, lies on the left bank of the river within an enclosure over 7300 yds. square. It contains the royal palace, the houses of the native ministers and officials, the arsenals, &c. The palace stands inside a separate enclosure. Once forbidden ground, it is to-day open to foreigners, and the citadel is occupied by French troops. The palace of the French resident-general and the European quarter, opposite the citadel on the right bank of the Hué, are connected with the citadel by an iron bridge. Important suburbs adjoin the official town, the villages of Dōng–Bo, Bo-vinh, Gia-Ho, Kim-Long and Nam-Pho forming a sort of commercial belt around it. Glass- and ivory-working are carried on, but otherwise industry is of only local importance. Rice is imported by way of the river. A frequent service of steam launches connects the town with the ports of Thuan-an, at the mouth of the river, and Tourane, on the bay of that name. Tourane is also united to Hué by a railway opened in 1906. In the vicinity the chief objects of interest are the tombs of the dead kings of Annam.