Tomb of Khai Dinh
In 1916, Khai Dinh became the Emperor of Vietnam after his predecessor was exiled by the French colonial government. Khai Dinh worked
closely with the government of France, and by the end of his reign he was considered to be nothing more than "a salaried employee of the
French government." Due to this close collaboration, he was very unpopular amongst the people of Vietnam.Like a number of Vietnamese
emperors,
Khai Dinh desired the preparation of a tomb in anticipation of his death, but he was the last member of the Nguy?n dynasty to make
this decision.
Before his death, Khai Dinh visited France, where he was likely influenced by the architectural styles there, evidenced by the
European influences in his mausoleum. In anticipation, Kh?i ??nh allegedly "raised taxes by thirty percent in order to finance the construction
of the lavish tomb." However,
Swart and Till argue that while the French, who controlled the nation's finances, "did increase taxes substantially
during [the Emperor's] reign",
they would have been unlikely to do so solely for the purpose of the tomb. Construction began on 4 September
1920 but would not be complete
by the time of Khai Dinh's death in 1925. Khai Dinh's three-day funeral took place in late January 1926,
where a funeral procession traveled from the Imperial City to the unfinished tomb. After 11 years of construction, and six years after Khai Dinh's
death, the tomb was completed under Bao Dai,
Khai Dinh's son and successor, in 1931.
The Tomb of Khai Dinh became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, along with other Nguy?n dynasty structures in Hue. It is open to
the public for visiting.
Reference : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Kh?i_??nh