Khai Dinh Tomb

Emperor #12 had been educated in Europe and was an intelligent and progressive man but failed to bring any cohesion to either the Vietnamese people or the French. His son Bao Dai abdicated to Ho Chi Minh in 1945. Western architectural influence is clearly seen in the in the ceilings and crown molding in particular. It is much more austere, built of reinforced concrete and consisting of many steps and not set within a garden/forest setting like the other two Emperor tombs on the tourist "circuit" (only certain tombs are maintained). However, he sits atop his final resting place where people can come and see him; this seemed to Nancy to be more comforting than to be entombed behind a wall with a gate that is only opened once a year (Minh Mang tomb).Read more