Perfume River ( Sông Hương River)

A visitor to Hue once remarked after his vacation here: “A visit to Hue would not be complete without a boat excursion on the gentle Perfume River, or else you cannot feel the romance of Hue

The romantic Perfume River

”.The Perfume River(Vietnamese: Sông Hương or Hương Giang) is a river that crosses thecapital city of Hue, in the central Vietnamese province of Thua ThienHue. Perfume or Huong River is around 80 kilometers long, and owes itsname to the fact that it flows through many forests of aromatic plantsbefore reaching Hue, bringing with it a pure and fresh aroma.

Source and flow

ThePerfume River has two sources, both of which begin in the Truong SonMountain range and meet at Bang Lang Fork. The Ta Trach (LeftTributary) originates in the Truong Dong mountains and flows northwesttowards Bang Lang Fork. The shorter Huu Trach (Right Tributary) flowsthrough the Tuan ferry, landing towards Bang Lang Fork.

Then it flows in south-north direction passing the temples of Hon Chen and Ngoc Tran, and  turns north-west, meandering through the Nguyet Bieu and Luong Quan plains. From this, the Riverthen continuously flows int the north-east direction to Hue city, onlyan echo of Truong Son mountain, and passes the rest place of the NguyenEmperors. The river of green water continues its itinerary, passing HenIslet and various villages, crossing the Sinh junction, which is knownas the capital of ancient Chau Hoa, before emptying into the Tam GiangLagoon.

FromBang Lang to Thuan An estuary, the Perfume River is 30 km long and runsvery slowly (as the river level is not much above sea level). ThePerfume River darkens as it winds along the foot of Ngoc Tran Mountain- home of the Jade Cup Temple - where there is a very deep abyss.

Artist inspiration

The poetic romantic Perfume River is the deep inspirations to numerous artists, poets, and composers;

                                                 "Who turns to Hue

                                                  Who comes back to Ngu Mount

                                                  Who comes back to Huong River

                                                  The river water never sinks

                                                  Ngu Mount birds fly back to friends

                                                  Whoever are children of Hue remember to return…”

arethe beautiful lyrics of a famous song, “Who comes to Hue”, written byDuy Khanh. In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Hue fallinto the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma, and a beautifulpoetic view. I have asked several artists about the reason for theirinspiring love for Perfume River, and received nearly the same answer:“Well, my inspiration derives from the pure water, the fascinatinglandscape, and the gentle bridge over the river”.

Today,travellers coming to Hue could not miss a while of boating along theriver. Most of them admit that this is one of the most beautiful andextremely splendid riverside landscape (especially at night when lightsare on) that they have ever visited!

A river tour

Perfume River at night

Asmentioned, the river flows through a series of beauty-spots, takingvisitors to every corner of the ancient citadel when you travel byboat. Along the river, you can visit Da Vien, Phu Xuan, and Truong TienBridges, come to the Tomb of Minh Mang, Hon Chen Shrine, Thien MuPagoda, and finally to bathe in the sea. Upstream, at the Tomb of ThienTho, you can hear the rustling of the pine tree, which may help youbecome a… poet!

Whenthe night comes, the surface of the river glistens under the moonlight,and the songs of the boat rowers can be heard breaking the silence.Just come here and you will feel the pure atmosphere of romance andbeauty!

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