Having hundreds of wives and concubines sounds bizarre and out of this world especially in this date and time, and that is probably the reason why the Forbidden Purple City in Hue is one of the most visited places in Vietnam. In fact, even pictures of the forbidden city are enough to rouse interest in tourists.
Built inside the Imperial City, which has a wall 12 feet high and four feet thick sitting inside the Citadel with a wall 2 kilometers by 2 kilometers, the Forbidden Purple City with slightly thinner walls is a citadel within a citadel within a citadel. It lies within the center of the Imperial Enclosure and houses hundreds of royal concubines. No other male person besides the Emperor was allowed behind its narrow gates. In fact, the only male servants that could go through it were eunuchs especially assigned to guard the place. [Read more…]