An Hien Garden House

An Hien at Kim Long was built in the nineteenth century and passed through the hands of a Nguyen princess and later owners, and it is generally shown as the model of the Hue nha vuon - the garden house, in which the building and the planting are designed as one to geomantic rules. The gate is on the axis with a screen wall behind it so that nothing looks straight in, a path leads between planting to the house, and the garden is arranged in zones with fruit trees, ornamental beds and a pond, each with a function. The house itself is a nha ruong, a timber-framed hall with three bays and two wings.

What you actually see

• A garden house laid out as one design - building and planting together.
• A screen wall behind the gate - so nothing looks straight in.
• Zoned planting - fruit, ornamental beds and a pond.
• A three-bay timber hall - the nha ruong at the centre.

When to go

Year round. An hour.

Honest expectations

It is one house and garden and takes half an hour. Ownership and opening have changed over the years, so access is not always certain. Other garden houses at Kim Long are private. It is a short trip from Hue.

Nearby

Thien Mu pagoda is upstream; Hue's citadel is downstream.