HUE  , a

town of French Indo-China, capital of Annam, on the Hue river (Song-Huong-Giang) about 8 m. from its mouth in the China Sea . Pop. about 42,000, of whom 240 are Europeans . The country immediately surrounding it is flat, alluvial land, traversed by streams and canals and largely occupied by rice fields . Beyond the plain rises a circle of hills formed by spurs of the mountains of Annam . The official portion of the town, fortified under French superintendence, lies on the left bank of the river within an enclosure over 7300 yds. square . It_contains the royal palace, the houses of the native ministers and officials, the arsenals, &c . The palace stands inside a separate enclosure . Once forbidden ground, it is to-day open to foreigners, and the citadel is occupied by French troops . The palace of the French resident-general and the European quarter, opposite the citadel on the right bank of the Hue, are connected with the citadel by an iron bridge . Important suburbs adjoin the official town, the villages of Dong-Bo, Bo-vinh, Gia-Ho, Kim-Long and Nam-Pho forming a sort of commercial belt around it . Glass-and ivory-working are carried on, but otherwise industry is of only local importance . Rice is imported by way of the river .

A frequent service of

steam launches connects the town with the ports of Thuan-an, at the mouth of the river, and Tourane, on the bay of that name . Tourane is also united to Hue by a railway opened in 1906 . In the vicinity the chief objects of interest are the tombs of the dead kings of Annam .