Watercolours of art features in the Forbidden City at Hu?; the imperial capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). The drawing was made for the Association des Amis du Vieux Hue (Association of the Friends of Old Hue) in the 1920s; before the disasters of 1947 and 1968. Today; less than a third of the structures inside the citadel remain.

In 1947 the French army shelled the building; and removed or destroyed nearly all the treasures it contained. Most of the buildings in the Forbidden City were destroyed by fire. Further massive destruction occurred when Hue's Citadel became the symbolic centre of the 1968 Tet Offensive. Major artillery battles were fought when the National Liberation Front and North Vietnamese forces overran Hue. The US forces finally recaptured the citadel 25 days later; but not before shelling the citadel with heavy naval bombardments as well as extensive bombing from the air.

The former Imperial City was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 and is gradually being restored.