Tiger Arena Hue- Vietnam Colosseum

Introduction

If Italy had the most famous Colosseum Rome in the world, Vietnam also had a small version similar to it. A large number of visitors tend to travel to this place to admire the unique architecture and learn more about its history. This version is called Tiger Arena Hue, one of a kind iconic of the Nguyen Dynasty history.

Let’s discover the unique monument – Tiger Arena Hue with Vietnam Vacation Travel.

The Tiger Arena Location

Tiger Arena is a tourist attraction approximately 5 km west of the center of Hue Citadel. This means you will spend around 13 minutes to get here. It is located on Bui Thi Xuan Street, Phuong Duc ward, Hue City. It is known as a national relic of Vietnam, which you must see if you are enthusiastic about historical heritage sites.

How To Get To Tiger Arena Hue?

Firstly, you need to get to Hue if you want to explore this ancient arena. There is an increasing trend for travelers to come to Hue by airplane. In this case, you can refer to this suggestion below due to the perfect and comfortable service at Vietnam Vacation Travel.

Hue airport to city transfer: 13 USD/ Sedan car.

To get to Tiger Arena, you can choose any kind of transportation depending on your preference, such as cars, motorbikes, bikes, etc. The best recommendation for you is motorbikes if you are a sportsperson.

After traveling to the Tiger Arena, you may be interested in other appealing destinations of Hue City. Therefore, you can book Hue Tours via Vietnam Vacation Travel, which provides an unforgettable experience for your journey. Plus, Vietnam Vacation Travel And Transport will offer Hue Private Cars to get to tourist attractions after Hue Tours, such as:

• Hue to Bach Ma National Park– 73 USD/Sedan car.
• Hue to Ba Na Hills private car– 90 USD/ Sedan car.
• Hue to Hoi An private car– 64 USD/ Sedan car.

Arena Ticket And Opening Hour

The ticket for Tiger Arena Hue is roughly 2.5 USD for adults and free for children under 6 years old. So, coming to the Tiger Arena with reasonable prices from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., you can enjoy a variety of activities. This means you will explore not only unique structures, historical stories, and ancient relics but also take impressive photos and admire marvelous views.

Tiger Arena Hue History

In the Nguyen Dynasty period, there were many mortal battles between elephants and tigers. These fighting are usually organized in Da Vien Island in the Perfume River. However, many dangerous incidents occurred while fighting.

Typically, the death of Mahout was due to his own trained elephant trampling him when the tiger knocked him down during the Gia Long period. Moreover, under the Minh Mang emperor, a tiger rushed and swam toward the dragon boat, where the emperor was watching the fighting. Fortunately, the emperor’s reaction and the royal guard protect him in time.

Hence, the Tiger Arena was built in 1830 to ensure safety to watch the fighting. These combats not only entertained the royal family but also trained elephants to become soldiers for the southern territory to express the dynasty’s power and serve the military, encouraging respect in martial arts as well as sacrificial rituals in celebrations.

The final mortal combats were held on Tiger Arena Hue in 1904 because of the underdeveloped condition of the economy and society, which was unable to organize these battles. This place had cultural value and architecture that was recognized as a national relic in 1988, and UNESCO honored it as a world cultural heritage site in 1993.

Unique Culture And History Spot

Tiger Arena Architecture

This site had an open-air structure and architectural doughnut consisting of two concentric circles. It is made of brick, lime mortar, and stone bar materials. The inner ring was 5.09 meters in height, and the height’s outer ring was 4.75 meters. The perimeter of the outer wall is 145 meters, and the diameter of the courtyard in the center is 44m.

The stand is divided into two parts, consisting of one for the emperor, which is located in the north and built higher than others. And another part is for officials and soldiers. A staircase system had 24 steps, the left for the royal members and the right for soldiers and mandarins.

If you stand from the grandstand of Tiger Arena, you can see 5 cages of tigers on the opposite side. These cages had closed and opened wooden door systems through the ropes. Besides, the outer wall had a great door for elephants to come into the courtyard to fight. According to humanist Mr.Phan Thuan An, the Tiger Arena was considered the biggest arena and unique architecture in Asia.

Fights At Arena Hue

If you travel to the Tiger Arena in Hue Tours, you will have a more perfect journey. In this place, visitors can go back in history to witness the “Vietnam Colosseum” and the deadly battle stories between elephants and tigers.

These mortal combats are usually held at the tiger arena once each year and end until elephants kill the tigers. Under the Nguyen Dynasty, people believed that elephants represented the strengthening of the king and good things. Opposite to the meaning of elephants, tigers symbolize evil things. Therefore, good always wins over evil, so that is the reason why almost all elephants have the best conditions to win.

Nevertheless, tigers retained fangs and claws and were full of food to have the health to create a brutal battle with elephants. Moreover, this deadly fighting will enhance the courage, determination, and fight till the last breath of mandarins.

The ritual of battle was so formal that it decorated flags and sacrificed objects. In particular, all soldiers wore red-painted outfits and hats and held weapons to stand on both sides of the road from the arena to the perfume river.

Attractions Near The Tiger Arena Hue

Thuy Bieu Eco Village

Thuy Bieu Village is a gentle and beautiful land located approximately 3 km from the Tiger Arena. Traveling to this site, you can immerse yourself in a simple and peaceful space and enjoy a hundred delicious cuisines. In particular, tourists can have a wonderful journey if they are interested in Cooking Class AtThuy Bieu Village Hue.

Dong Khanh Tomb

Travelers can visit Dong Khanh Tomb, one of the harmonious architectures between Asia and Europe. This place gives breathtaking views of Thien An Hills and Thien Thai Mountain. Moreover, you can admire unique structures and modern exhibits, especially immersing in the historical stories of the long process of forming the royal tomb.

Long Chau Temple

Long Chau Temple is a place to bury and worship elephants that served Emperor Gia Long in the nation-building process. This temple had cultural, historical, and architectural value, especially expressing the humanism of the Vietnamese.

Best Time To Travel

The best recommendation for you to do some sightseeing in Tiger Arena Hue is dry season. This means you will visit dreamy Hue country around March to August with milder temperatures to engage in various activities.

In this case, tourists can take photos, explore history stories, unique architecture, etc. Moreover, this weather is suitable for tourists to travel to other tourist attractions in this country after visiting the Tiger Arena.

Some Notes To Travel

There are some following suggestions below for you to have a comfortable journey:

• You should wear sports shoes for convenient walking.
• Remember to bring sunglasses, hats, and sunscreen because of the hot temperature in the summer.
• Do not leave any rubbish in the historical areas.

Conclusion

Vietnam Vacation Travel has introduced some information related to special architecture- Tiger Arena Hue. This site retained ancient beauty for more than 200 years and expressed blood fight stories as well as historical meaning. We hope it is sufficient for you to have an enjoyable journey when you are traveling to Hue Citadel.