Hoa Van Hai Communal House - preserving the heroic tradition of the Soviets in Nghe Tinh

Hoa Van Hai village was formerly called Phuc Hai. During the reign of King Minh Mang (1820 - 1840), because the word "Phuc" coincided with the name of the Nguyen King, the village's name was changed to Van Hai. During the Le Trung Hung period, Van Hai village belonged to Co Dam commune, including 4 villages: Ky Pha, Yen Phu, My Cau, and Van Hai. During the reign of Minh Mang, the population of Van Hai village grew rapidly, and each village had its own local authority. In 1946, the old villages were merged, and the word "Hoa" was placed at the beginning, so Van Hai was called Hoa Van Hai. In October 1955, Co Dam commune was renamed Xuan Hoa commune. In 1974, following the State's policy, Xuan Hoa commune took back the traditional old name of the village, Co Dam commune. However, the name of Hoa Van Hai communal house remained unchanged.

Tourists can visit the relic by many means and from many different directions. From Ha Tinh town, cross Ho Do bridge, go north, through Thach Ha and Loc Ha districts, to Nghi Xuan land, at Km 27, turn east 500m to reach Hoa Van Hai Communal House relic. If from Vinh city - Nghe An, follow National Highway 1A to the South, cross Ben Thuy bridge, turn east along Provincial Road 8B, to Nghi Xuan town, follow Provincial Road 22 to Km 27, turn east 500m to reach the relic.

Hoa Van Hai Communal House is located in the central economic and cultural development planning belt of Nghi Xuan, 7km from the memorial site of the great poet Nguyen Du and Nguyen Cong Tru, 9km from Xuan Hai seaport, and 3km from Xuan Thanh beach. Therefore, the conditions for travel and tourism development here are very favorable.

Van Hai village is a coastal village, the people here mainly live on farming, the rest work in fishing and traditional pottery making. The people of Van Hai village have a long tradition of patriotism. During the Can Vuong period to save the country, many people followed Phan Dinh Phung to Vu Quang base to raise the flag of uprising, among them were some who became talented generals of Mr. Phan. When Nguyen Hang Chi and Trinh Khac Lap led the anti-tax uprising movement in Central Vietnam (1908), the whole Co Dam commune stood up to participate in the movement. Here, there were also many struggles between the gentry and the peasants to keep the land and the village. Those traditions of struggle have trained the strong fighting will of the people of Hoa Van Hai village.

Besides the tradition of patriotism, the people here have a tradition of learning. In the exams, the village always has people who passed and became mandarins. Although life is hard, the people still try to send their children to school. These are good seeds to sow in the nursery of the revolutionary movement later.

Van Hai village is not far from Vinh city. Due to high taxes, many people had to go to the city to work as workers in factories such as: Sawmill, wood factory, Vinh power plant. During this period, the factories were in the process of proletarianization, so the consciousness of the proletariat class and national identity was soon awakened among the working class and was welcomed and transferred to the countryside.

The above conditions were the basis for the people of Hoa Van Hai village, when encountering progressive ideas, patriotism, and national consciousness, to quickly ignite into a revolutionary movement. That was also the basis for Van Hai village to soon become a Communist village.

Hoa Van Hai Communal House is not only a place to worship the village's tutelary god but also a meeting place for intellectuals and patriotic youth, an address to receive progressive ideas and a place to mark the historical changes of later revolutionary movements.

In the early 20th century, the movement to pardon Phan Boi Chau, to mourn Phan Chu Trinh, progressive books and newspapers, revolutionary poems, like new winds, directly influenced Van Hai village, awakening the youth in the ranks of teachers, students and those who were interested in current events. Realizing that Hoa Van Hai village was a place where revolution could be launched and sown, around October 1925, comrade Ha Huy Tap returned to the village communal house, organized many speeches, and spread patriotic ideas to the youth. The speeches had a positive influence and awakened patriotism among the intellectual class.

At the end of 1927, Nguyen Tri Tu - a teacher at the French - Vietnamese school, belonging to the Tan Viet - Ha Tinh Headquarters, was sent to Nghi Xuan, along with comrades Ngo Huu Yeu, Ho Van Ninh, Tran Manh Tao, and Phan Viet Chieu to organize a conference at Hoa Van Hai communal house. The conference discussed the program of activities, strengthened the revolutionary organization, and decided to establish the Tan Viet Nghi Xuan group with comrade Ngo Huu Yen as the group leader. From January 1928 onwards, Hoa Van Hai communal house became a place to propagate and recruit members of the Tan Viet organization in the entire Nghi Xuan area.

In 1929, the Indochinese Communist Party was born, issued a manifesto, distributed leaflets and operated vigorously, greatly influencing the Tan Viet organization in Nghi Xuan. At the end of June 1929, at Hoa Van Hai communal house, the Tan Viet Nghi Xuan organization held a meeting with all members and announced its complete transformation into the Indochinese Communist Party.

After the Communist Party of Vietnam was born, Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee assigned comrade Tran Huu Thieu - Provisional Secretary of Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee to contact comrades in the Indochina Communist Party of Nghi Xuan district to prepare for the establishment of the Provisional Party Committee of Nghi Xuan Communist Party.

On May 12, 1930, at Hoa Van Hai communal house, under the direct leadership of comrade Tran Huu Thieu, a congress was held to establish the provisional Party Committee of Nghi Xuan district with the participation of comrades: Ngo Huu Yen, Ho Van Ninh, Phan Viet Chieu, Tran Manh Tao, Nguyen Thi Kim. The congress elected a provisional Executive Committee with comrade Phan Viet Chieu as secretary.

After the provisional District Party Committee was established, Hoa Van Hai communal house was chosen as the secret headquarters. The work of recruiting new Party members was vigorously promoted. Many secret meetings of the District Party Committee were held at the communal house. Many cadres of the provisional Provincial Party Committee of Ha Tinh and the Central Region Party Committee went directly to Hoa Van Hai communal house to hold meetings and mobilize the people to rise up and fight.

At this communal house, on April 28, 1930, the Nghi Xuan District Party Committee met to discuss organizing the struggle on May 1, 1930, by hanging red flags on Com - Gia Lach mountain (south of Ben Thuy) and distributing leaflets at markets and houses of village tycoons. After the struggle movement to celebrate International Labor Day on May 1, 1930, the Nghi Xuan District Party Committee held many meetings at Hoa Van Hai communal house to discuss organizing large-scale struggles of inter-communal and inter-district nature such as the struggle to support the Russian October Revolution, the struggle to support the Guangzhou Commune on December 12, 1930...

The printing agency of Nghi Xuan District Party Committee was initially located in Gia Lach, Xuan An Commune. To meet the requirements of direction and propaganda, the District Party Committee quickly moved the printing agency to the upper house of the communal house. Many sets of incense tables, lamp tables, and worshiping objects of the communal house were used as tools to print leaflets and newspapers to serve the struggles. In addition to printing leaflets, many documents such as the Party's Brief Platform; Shipwreck Diary; Revolutionary Path; Xich Sinh Newspaper of Ha Tinh Province were also printed at Hoa Van Hai communal house and sent to the bases in the northern region of Ha Tinh.

Since December 1930, under the pressure of revolutionary movements, the enemy government in Hoa Van Hai village almost collapsed. The people, under the direction of the District Party Committee and the Provincial Party Committee, rose up to destroy the enemy apparatus and established a Soviet government. This was the first worker-peasant Soviet government established in Nghi Xuan district. Hoa Van Hai communal house was chosen by the people as the headquarters of the Soviet government. At the communal house, the people organized to take rice from the rich and distribute it to the poor, and opened classes to teach the national language. Cultural activities such as singing ca tru and weddings were organized and exchanged here.

Hoa Van Hai communal house is also the birthplace of the Farmers' Association, Youth, Women's Union, and Children's Army. During the Nghe Tinh Soviet period, Hoa Van Hai communal house became the nerve center of Nghi Xuan district Party Committee, witnessed many meetings and was the starting point of struggles in Nghi Xuan region.

Not only was it a meeting place, a temporary party committee of Nghi Xuan District established, and a working place for the Soviet government, Hoa Van Hai Communal House was also the retreat headquarters of the Central Region Party Committee in 1931 - 1932. When the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement was terrorized by the French colonialists, burned down and destroyed, in an attempt to drown the movement in a sea of ​​blood, the Central Region Party Committee chose Hoa Van Hai Communal House as a temporary refuge, in order to preserve its strength. The communal house was a place to maintain contact, a meeting place to exchange necessary information. The leaders of the Central Region Party Committee such as Nguyen Phong Sac, Le Mao, Le Viet Thuat, Nguyen Duc Canh, and Nguyen Duy Trinh disguised themselves as civilians to cross the Lam River to Hoa Van Hai village to temporarily take refuge, avoiding the enemy's pursuit. Hoa Van Hai Communal House at this time became a contact point, a meeting place, and a command center of the Central Region during the final period of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement.

After the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement was drowned in blood, Hoa Van Hai village was named the Red village (communist village). The French colonialists and feudalists also concentrated their forces to terrorize and wipe out Hoa Van Hai village. They organized a network of secret agents to hunt down, interrogate, and shoot communists. Many cadres of the Central Region Party Committee, Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee, and Nghi Xuan Party Committee, who were directly operating in Hoa Van Hai village or at the foot of Hong Linh mountain, were surrounded and chased by the enemy.

Hoa Van Hai communal house and the large open space in front of the communal house became the place where the colonial feudalists imprisoned, interrogated, tortured and executed communists, including comrade Phan Viet Bieu - a cadre of the Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee assigned to work in Hoa Van Hai. He was followed and captured by secret agents, who used all kinds of brutal torture methods, forcing him to lie in the middle of the communal house yard, straining his eyes to look at the summer sunlight. After two days of not getting any statement, they hung him from a tree. Three days later, they forced everyone in Hoa Van Hai village to witness the execution of Phan Viet Bieu in front of the communal house gate.

Despite being brutally repressed and terrorized, the solidarity between the Party and the people grew stronger. The masses of Hoa Van Hai still wholeheartedly sheltered and protected the cadres and revolutionary bases. All the families of the people in Hoa Van Hai village had members arrested, tortured or had their houses burned down. Many families had members exiled to foreign lands, such as Tran Van Hoanh, Phan Nam Tuyet, and Tran Dinh Vuong. However, those who stayed at home remained loyal to the Party, hiding, raising, and finding ways to provide for the cadres.

In 1932, Hoa Van Hai Communal House - a witness to many typical historical events, was burned down by French colonialists and feudalists, leaving only the harem house behind, where the Central Region Party Committee once placed its printing agency and secret operations during the Nghe Tinh Soviet period.

On March 9, 1966, the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam - Pham Van Dong awarded the Certificate of Merit to the people of Hoa Van Hai village for their achievements in protecting the Party and the revolutionary achievements in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement. Currently, the Certificate is respectfully placed by the people at Hoa Van Hai communal house.

With its inherent typical values, in 2001, Hoa Van Hai Communal House was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).