Imprints of revolutionary countryside

Cong Kien• DNUM_BJZAIZCABJ 08:39

(Baonghean) - Every field, stream, mountain and tree in the revolutionary countryside of Nghe An still bears the mark of a time of struggle. And today, in that countryside, from the countryside to the city, there is a joyful atmosphere welcoming the 74th anniversary of independence.

Làng Châu Sơn (Hưng Châu) từng là “chiếc nôi” của phong trào cách mạng nay đã có nhiều khởi sắc.

Chau Son village (Hung Chau) used to be the "cradle" of the revolutionary movement and has now seen many improvements. Photo: Cong Kien

We returned to Hung Chau commune (Hung Nguyen), and found Chau Son village at the foot of Nhon mountain - once the place where Nghe An Provincial Party Committee and Central Region Party Committee operated in the early days of the Party's establishment. From afar, Nhon mountain appeared with the green color of eucalyptus forests rising up in the sun and wind, in front was a vast field in the ripening stage, a prosperous and peaceful village. The roads through the village were all paved with asphalt and concrete, at the foot of Nhon mountain, houses were close together, many spacious high-rise buildings had sprung up.

Chau Son currently has 100 households (about 600 people), the source of income is entirely based on farming, the people's lives have improved, about 70% of households have good income. The average income is 30 million VND/person/year, along with the whole commune, Chau Son has been recognized as meeting new rural standards.

Mr. Le Minh Nguyet - Head of Chau Son Hamlet (Hung Chau - Hung Nguyen)

Walking on the tree-lined streets, Mr. Le Van Lieu (87 years old) - former Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district showed the location of each old house that was chosen by the Central Party Committee and Nghe An Provincial Party Committee as a place of operation. Then the trail leading to Nhon mountain every time the enemy came to search, the old places where secret documents were hidden and visited Mr. Hoang Vien's house - a National Historical Relic.

Here, the Central Region Party Committee held meetings during the leadership of the Nghe-Tinh Soviet Movement (1930-1931), the democratic struggle movement (1936-1939) and the General Uprising to seize power (1945). In particular, in 1945, the inter-provincial Viet Minh held a conference to disseminate the plan for the general uprising to seize power, and then the people rose up to gain independence and freedom...

From the top of Nhon mountain, one can see almost the entire Hung Chau area. The wind carries the fragrant scent of rice. Life has really changed and improved. Villages are excited with the joy of reaching the new rural finish line not long ago.

A corner of Thanh Chuong town. Illustration photo

Leaving Hung Nguyen “standing up first”, we went up to the midlands of Thanh Chuong, stopping by Hanh Lam commune – a “red address” of the revolutionary movement. It is impossible not to mention the event on May 1, 1930, when an estimated 3,000 Hanh Lam farmers participated in a rally, listened to the accusations of the landlord-bourgeoisie Nguyen Truong Vien and marched to burn down Ky Vien station.

The flame of revolutionary struggle flared up in Hanh Lam and quickly spread to other regions, joining forces with the workers and peasants of Vinh - Ben Thuy to start a widespread revolutionary movement - the Nghe - Tinh Soviet movement. Then, 15 years later, in the August General Uprising (1945), Hanh Lam became one of the leading flags of Thanh Chuong in regaining power for the people.

People in the resettlement area of Kim Lien village (Ngoc Lam commune, Thanh Chuong) develop commercial tea plants. Illustrative photo

Searching for traces of the old Ky Vien fort, now there are rice fields, green corn fields; smooth green tea hills and vast acacia forests. Rice, corn, potatoes, cassava give farmers a prosperous life; acacia and tea trees help people get rich, many farmers have become millionaires. The land that was once wild and remote has now formed a bustling town, the center of Cat Ngan commune in the past, the face of the modern countryside has appeared. The people of Hanh Lam today have been and are continuing to write golden pages of history, worthy of being the children of the countryside rich in patriotic and revolutionary traditions, with the spirit of the ancients.

Cây đa làng Trù, xã Nghĩa Khánh (Nghĩa Đàn) - Cây Di tích lịch sử - văn hóa Việt Nam.

The banyan tree of Tru village, Nghia Khanh commune (Nghia Dan) - Vietnam's historical and cultural relic tree. Photo: Cong Kien

Continuing up the red soil of Nghia Dan, we stopped under the banyan tree of Lang Tru (Nghia Khanh), recognized as a Historical and Cultural Relic Tree of Vietnam since 2015. The ancient tree stretches high, its branches and leaves spread shade over the entire area, its roots intertwined, creating a solid position. In the past, this area was a rubber and coffee plantation of the French colonialists, they tried to oppress, exploit the labor of our people and plunder their wealth. Unable to bear the oppression and exploitation, and encountering the "new wind" of the revolutionary movement under the leadership of the Party, the people determined to rise up and fight...

Orange garden of Mr. Nguyen Nhat Tuan's family in hamlet 13B, Nghia Yen commune (Nghia Dan). Illustration photo Minh Thai

The red land of Phu Quy - where there were large plantations - also quickly responded to the struggle movement with increasingly fervent and fierce spirit. Nghe An Provincial Party Committee sent comrades Vo Nguyen Hien and Vo Thuoc to Nghia Dan to build a revolutionary base. Here, there was Ru Am cave (now in Nghia Duc commune) which was a rather secret place, surrounded by hills and mountains, an ideal place to organize secret activities.

In mid-October 1930, at Ru Am cave, a conference was held to establish a combined Party cell of Tho Loc and Cu Lam villages. Nearly 74 years ago, on August 22, 1945, thousands of people from three ethnic groups, Kinh, Thai and Tho, from Cu Lam, Ha Suu, Thach Khe, Nghia Hung communes and workers from the stations in Quy district gathered together to shout slogans of struggle and raise high the red flag with a yellow star. Then, they marched to Nghia Dan district to fight for power.

Workers take care of rubber trees in Nghia Dan. Illustrative photo.

We walked into the village roads that were paved with flat asphalt and concrete, the residential areas were planned in a checkerboard pattern with spacious houses, straight fences evoking many changes, prosperity and a peaceful, warm life. In the fields, farmers were taking care of their crops, plowing, their voices and laughter were loud. The fertile red basalt land strips that used to be rubber and coffee plantations of the French colonialists were now converted to sugarcane plantations, the sugarcane fields stretched as far as the eye could see, the total sugarcane area of the commune now reached nearly 210 hectares.

Nông dân xã Nghĩa Khánh (Nghĩa Đàn) thu hoạch mía nguyên liệu.

Farmers in Nghia Khanh commune (Nghia Dan) harvest raw sugarcane. Photo: Cong Kien

In addition to sugarcane, Nghia Khanh also has more than 613 hectares of rice, 167 hectares of corn, 115 hectares of cassava, nearly 100 hectares of vegetables and hundreds of hectares of raw material forests, not to mention perennial crops that are regularly harvested. Along with that is a herd of nearly 2,000 buffaloes and cows; a herd of nearly 4,000 pigs, a herd of nearly 60,000 poultry and 60 hectares of aquaculture. These are truly numbers that affirm the change and prosperity of a rural area that once experienced poverty and hardship.

All over the streets of Nghe An, flags and banners are shining brightly. People from all regions are joyfully welcoming and celebrating the victory of the August Revolution, bringing the country into an era of independence and freedom. Songs are also resounding throughout the streets and villages...