(HBO) – Away from the urban hustle, Tan Lac district in the northern mountainous province of Hoa Binh is still moving forwards on the path of reform and development. That is my own thought about the land and Muong ethnic minority people here.
A road in Chieng village, Lo Son commune - one of the
poorest communes of Tan Lac district - has been concreted to meet people's travel
need.
The though
came to me when I returned to Dich Giao, the first in Tan Lac district recognised
as a new-style rural commune, travelling on wide rural roads and crossing new schools
with full of students’ laughter.
Dich Giao was previously
known as a commune with low living conditions. Local people’s per capita income
was around 12 million VND and poor families accounted for 26 percent of the total
households in 2011.
How could such
a poor commune earn new-style rural area status four years later? Chairman of
the People’s Committee Bui Van Dinh said the determination and consensus of the
commune’s Party Organization, administration and people were the impetus behind
the success.
Residents in Dich Giao donated more than 50,000 sqm of
land for new-style rural projects as they were well aware that the new-style
rural building would lay a foundation for socio-economic development and
improving their living standards. They did not wait for support from the
government but playing an active role in the work.
The commune has set targets of maintaining and improving
19 national requirements for a new-style rural area between 2016 and 2020;
increasing per capita income to 44.2 million VND; reducing the poverty rate to
2 percent; raising the rate of trained workers to 55 percent; having 90 percent
of its population covered by health insurance and all households get access to
clean water.
Meanwhile, Quyet Chien commune is home to 360
households with over 1,640 residents but it has only
372 hectares of
farming land, including
90
hectares of rice and over
150 hectares of maize.
Most of its people are living in difficult circumstances.
The commune has taken advantages of its advantages in terms
of soil and climate to grow chayote for sale, thus help local famers improve
their living conditions.
With assistance from the Good Neighbours International
(GNI) of the
Republic of
Korea, in August last
year, local farmers zoned off 2,200 sq.m for growing clean vegetables and
fruits. The success of the project has encouraged the commune to come up with a
long-term project for off-season vegetable production by 2020. It will be a new
opportunity for Quyet Chien to develop clean agriculture and improve incomes
for local people.
Vice Chairman of the district’s People’s
Committee Bui Van Nho said the living conditions of people in 23 communes and
towns of the district may still vary but they have been improved remarkably.
Hoa Binh province has carried out multiple programmes and initiatives to revive its cultural heritage which has gradually fallen into oblivion through the ebbs and flows of history.
The most prominent and defining feature in the prehistoric era of Hoa Binh is the Hoa Binh Culture. The Culture was first discovered in Hoa Binh. The significant prehistoric culture represents not only Vietnam but also Southeast Asia and southern China. Through excavations of cave sites in the limestone regions of Hoa Binh, French archaeologist M. Colani introduced the world to a "Stone Age in Hoa Binh province – Northern Vietnam" in 1927. On January 30, 1932, the First Congress of Far Eastern Prehistorians, held in Hanoi, officially recognised the Hoa Binh Culture.
Known as the "Land of Epic History”, Hoa Binh province, the gateway to Vietnam’s northwest, boasts a strategic location and a unique cultural tapestry woven by its ethnic minority communities.
The People's Committee of Luong Son District recently held a ceremony to receive the certificate recognizing Sau Communal House in Thanh Cao Commune as a provincial-level historical and cultural site.
Recognising the importance of cultural heritage preservation in protecting and promoting the value system of Vietnamese culture, and serving socio-economic development in the new period, Party committees and local administrations in Hoa Binh province have identified it as a key task in the cultural development strategy. The province has been making efforts in mobilising resources, creating consensus among people and engaging ethnic communities in preserving and promoting cultural identity.
Hoa Binh province has captured growing attention both domestically and internationally for its distinctive cultural heritage and rich history. Most notably, it has been renowned for its famous Hoa Binh culture, considered the cradle of ancient Vietnamese civilisation. Looking ahead to significant milestones in 2025 and the 140th anniversary of province establishment in 2026, Hoa Binh Newspaper presents a comprehensive overview of the province's development across economic, social, cultural, tourism, and security domains.
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