Le Hoan Street: Endless rainy street

(Baonghean) - The long rain makes the deserted streets suddenly become silently enduring. How many streets in Vinh City have the "identity" of each segment divided into three and sometimes people passing by can't remember the name like Le Hoan Street? Even though that street, that road, who knows, in a few decades, will be a model street at least in terms of the architecture of the houses on both sides of the street (?)...

A few years ago, Le Hoan Street was still nearly 2 kilometers long, curving into 3 sections connecting Le Hong Phong Street to Nguyen Sy Sach Street, between the newly planned office and residential areas of the new Hung Phuc Ward (separated from Hung Binh Ward and a small part of Hung Dung Ward). When the road running across the short bend in the middle was completed, Le Hoan Street was officially divided into 3 sections: Tran Huy Lieu, Duong Van Nga (the bend coincides with the above-mentioned road) and Le Hoan with only nearly 1 kilometer left.

Le Hoan Street

I guess, I only have the desire to "run and jump" but not the real understanding, to go through the four seasons to learn and write about the streets in Vinh City. Therefore, I still have limited feelings about the soul of each street rhythm on the important land that has been carefully guarded since the Dinh, Ly, Tran, Le dynasties...; and 227 years ago, Emperor Quang Trung also chose to build Phuong Hoang Trung Do! That is just to assume, in the low fields and high hills during the city reconstruction period of the current Hung Phuc ward, who knows, hundreds of years ago, there were rural communities, spiritual activities nestled in some simple temples? Or maybe it was a military camp bustling with swords and swords for training soldiers?

I walked from the beginning of the street in the rain, looking along the long, straight asphalt street like a drawn sword waiting, under the green scabbard were the intertwining branches of the two rows of trees on the street. Where are the battle swords here? And suddenly, I looked up at the street name sign and then wandered to think about a famous person with many historical details. Why is the street name not named Le Dai Hanh as the posthumous name of the king who founded the Tien Le dynasty? But still called Le Hoan - the famous Ten-way General of the Dinh dynasty? History, unofficial history and even literature somewhere still have sympathy for a Ten-way General who was good at suppressing internal rebellions, but are still "distant" from the Emperor who founded a dynasty that defeated the Song and pacified the Champa, revived and opened a new period of development for the country. Isn't it a bit unfair to him and not to the country and the people?

But most likely, there have been many people who have been wandering like me when passing through the quiet, four-season streets behind the high walls of villas and mansions. The city has developed but there are still people struggling to make a living, the streets still have many "village in the middle of the city" spaces, so does the construction of such majestic and luxurious citizen housing create a feeling of "distance" in the private and public perception? If so, it is also natural; think that our city has a beautiful street in terms of street-front architecture, which, despite its grandeur and luxury, still retains the necessary contemplation.

This street is home to Dang Thai Mai Secondary School, famous for its quality education. On the opposite side, there used to be restaurants and pubs that changed owners several times but failed to do business. Now, there are a few popular shops selling noodles, pho, and coffee. Since the "Ly ly" shop changed its name to "Eden", other coffee shops have also given themselves strange names: "Bird" Coffee, but the cage doesn't have any birds, only a few colored light bulbs, "Link ke" Coffee, which was renovated from the reception square ofa motel, and a beer shop also has a strange name "Bar Cu" but I don't understand what the intention is...?

This is the street corner thanks to Duy Tan Street, which curves the sidewalk, making the Royal Poinciana and Parasol trees at the corner lean and twist together like a passionate love between husband and wife after a long separation. The shape of that longing green tree makes us keep turning our heads to look back at the beginning of the street where Duong Van Nga Street runs across like the belt of the hilt of "Le Hoan's sword"; and then we are lost in thought about the robe of Queen Mother Duong Van Nga draped over the shoulders of General Le Hoan, who crowned him king, and then there are many comments about her remarriage to her husband's general - Dinh Tien Hoang. I believe in the eternal good qualities of the Vietnamese people, and secretly admire the intention of the urbanists who named these two streets that are forever connected!

In the cold winter of last year, many of my colleagues and I often cozy up together in a makeshift barbecue restaurant in an empty lot in the middle of Le Hoan Street. Oh, the excitement of “universal” conversation about human affairs, national and international affairs… at this restaurant. However, just the day before, but the next day we had an appointment, we had to rush to ask which number, which street. That is, we wasted the feeling of a street with gates, stone walls, decorative paintings of vines, flowers and ornamental plants; The banyan, fig, and Indian laurel trees... twisting in the old shape in the courtyards of the houses, stretching their branches and leaves out onto the street, seeming to convey the fragile desire of a young girl through the glass windows on the upper floors, the colored lights showing off the luxurious interior... And on this rainy day, the long street of trees seems to have forgotten the season of changing leaves, still flowing with the deep, thoughtful green of the rosewood, royal poinciana, and parasol trees, making the red leaves of a few small banyan trees, and the clusters of young buds, the golden orange of the mango, are so captivating.

I turned into the Hanoi pho restaurant at the end of the street, famous for its beef brisket pho, but greedily sniffed the lemongrass scent of the Hue bun shop next door, then absentmindedly and regretfully watched the thin smoke swirling in the rain next to the grilled bun la cha stall. Just three snack shops open all day, but they made the whole end of the street always bustling, like a necessary fertility reason to make the street less pensive; and here were the rice shops, the coal shops, the tile shops, the aluminum and glass shops... The saleswoman in a sweet shirt sat next to a basket of white rice like a silkworm seller sitting next to a cocoon, the mechanic happily chatted and swung his welding rod like a shepherd swinging a buffalo whip... Why did the street seem to have returned to the bustling rhythm, the bustling daily life of Nguyen Sy Sach street? And then, passersby kept rambling about a time when Dinh Bo Linh waved the flag of a mock battle, fostered the will of a king, and later recruited a talented general - an emperor to open the dynasty; Of course, historical, folk and cultural relics still want to remember the name his parents gave him since the beginning of man: Le Hoan.

Article and photos:Sam Temple