Inside the palace it is a visual feast compared to the less-inspiring blackened exterior of the mausoleum. Colourful floor tiles, a huge dragon-in-the-clouds mural that was painted by artists using their feet adorns the ceiling of the middle chamber, and bright frescoes of inlaid ceramics and glass depicting the four seasons, cover the walls.
Nine metres below a life-size bronze statue of Khai Dinh made in France in 1922, the king's remains are entombed
Lacking the tranquil calm and colour of the other Nguyen Dynasty Tombs, Khai Dinh's exterior is quite austere and monotone, especially in bad weather.
On a steep hillside outside Hue, in Central Vietnam, this grandiose dragon staircase leads up to the entrance gates and the first courtyard of Khai Dinh's Tomb.
Entrance gates to the first courtyard. The tomb climbs the hillside in terraces of cement, slate and marble, and was 11 years in the making.
The first courtyard is filled with stone statues of elephants, horses and civil and military mandarins. Khai Dinh reigned from 1916 to 1925
