The Ngọ Môn (Chinese character: 門), also known as the Gate of Noon, is the main gate to the Imperial City, Huế, located within the citadel of Huế. It was built in 1833 in the traditional Vietnamese Nguyen style under the rule of Emperor Minh Mang. Emperor Gia Long ordered the construction of Hue Citadel in 1805. The vast complex is built according to the notions of fengshui or Chinese geomancy, but following the military principles of the noted 18th century French military architect Sebastien de Vauban. The result is an unusual and elegant hybrid, a Chinese-style Imperial City carefully aligned with surrounding hills, islands and waterways, but defended by massive brick walls between 6-12 metres high and 2.5 metres thick, punctuated by towers, ramparts, a massive earth glacis, and 24 Vauban-inspired bastions. The entire complex was further protected by wide moats, crossed by gracefully arched stone bridges leading to ten gates, the chief of which is Cua Ngo Mon, the south-east facing