For Hue, the Ngô Đồng tree is not only a poetic symbol but also stands alongside 28 other tree species adorning the nine great urns, representing the flora and fauna of Vietnam. This historic tree is now rare, with those planted during the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng no longer existing. Within the Imperial City, fewer than 10 trees remain. The most beautiful tree today stands in Tả Vu, about 18 meters tall with a diameter of 0.7 meters. Additionally, they are scattered across the Minh Mạng and Tự Đức tombs, Thương Bạc park, Phu Văn Lâu, and Tứ Tượng park.
Such a noble tree, according to the Đại Nam Nhất Thống Chí, nearly two centuries ago, the tree was brought from Guangdong to plant on both corners of the Cần Chánh Palace in the Imperial City of Hue. Emperor Minh Mạng also ordered the soldiers to search the mountains for the leaves, bring them back, and plant them at the palace corners. Taking the leaves up to the mountains to find the Ngô Đồng tree was akin to bringing the mythical and poetic tree to be planted on the sacred land of Huế.
According to folklore, the Ngô đồng tree (parasol tree) is the favored resting place of the Phoenix – the King of All Birds (Bách điểu chi vương), a sacred creature in many myths and legends of both the East and the West. In Eastern mythology, the Phoenix symbolizes grace, virtue, and noble ideals. Along with the dragon in the Four Sacred Creatures – long (dragon), lân (kirin), quy (tortoise), phụng (phoenix) – it joined forces with the god Pangu to create the world.
The Phoenix governs fire (element of Fire), the summer season, and the southern direction – embodying purity and divinity, soaring within the celestial aura. It only perches on the Ngô đồng tree and feeds on bamboo fruit. The image of the Phoenix resting on the Ngô đồng tree symbolizes a virtuous and talented person finding a place worthy of their contributions.
Amid the lush greenery along the banks of the Perfume River, every year, just as spring fades and summer begins, around the middle of the second or third lunar month, the Ngô Đồng flowers bloom. On the tall tree trunks, the flowers start as a soft purple, gradually darkening into a deep purple as they mature. The tiny petals, like beads, form clusters that do not tangle on the branches, and from any angle, the Ngô Đồng flowers create a serene and meditative atmosphere in the air, their gentle, ethereal presence like a dream drifting between heaven and earth. Especially when the seasonal winds blow through the Perfume River, the color of the Ngô Đồng flowers becomes even more elusive, and perhaps those purple buds stir up a violet evening on the sidewalk, carried by the gentle winds, as Trịnh Công Sơn once sang about Hue.
