Perfume River

The Perfume River (Vietnamese: Sông Hương or Hương Giang; Hán nôm: 香江) is a river that crosses the capital city of Huế, in the central Vietnamese province of Thừa Thiên Huế.

Origin of Name

In the autumn, flowers from orchards upriver from Huế fall into the water, giving the river a perfume-like aroma.

Source and flow

The Perfume River has two sources, both of which begin in the Dãy Trường Sơn mountain range and meet at Bang Lang Fork. The Ta Trach (Left Tributary) originates in the Truong Dong mountains and flows northwest towards Bang Lang Fork. The shorter Huu Trach (Right Tributary) flows past the Tuan ferry landing towards Bang Lang Fork.

The river then flows in south-north direction past the temples of Hon Chen and Ngoc Tran and then turns north-west, meandering through the Nguyet Bieu and Luong Quan plains. Continuing on, the Huong River then flows to the north-east to Huế city, only an echo of Truong Son mountain, and passes the resting place of Nguyen emperors. The river of green water continues its itinerary, passing Hen Islet and various villages, crossing the Sinh junction, which is known as the capital of ancient Chau Hoa, before emptying into the Tam Giang Lagoon.

From Bang Lang to Thuan An estuary, the Perfume River is 30 km long and runs very slowly (as the river level is not much above sea level). The Perfume 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.

The river snakes through the villages of Kim Long, Nguyet Bieu, Vy Da, Dong Ba, Gia Hoi, the Dinh market, Nam Pho, Bao Vinh, and through Huế.

Life around the river

The locals who live beside the river in Huế are often very poor and wash their clothes and bathe in the polluted water. Also, they earn money by dredging the river bed for sand. This sand is collected and then sold to cement manufacturers for a tiny price.

Surrounding area

The 105m Ngu Binh Mountain has a striking and symmetric figure. On both sides of the Even Mount (Bang Son) are 2 small mounts called Ta Bat Son (Left Mount) and Huu Bat Son (Right Mount). After observing that Bang Son resembled a screen, the Nguyễn Dynasty decided to build up Huế which became known as their "Forbidden Purple City." Emperor Gia Long approved the design of geomancers which chose this mount as a front altar of the imposing and solid defending wall system, and renamed it Ngu Binh.

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