Phoenix Street - The rhythm of the past and present

(Baonghean) - The dry sunshine of the last days of winter covers the streets with a sparkling golden light. Someone's dracaena flower branch stretches high, welcoming the rare warm light after the gloomy, rainy and cold days. The first time passing by, it feels like that color, that scent is somewhat out of place in the middle of the bustling, bustling street; but no, the deeper you go into the street, the deeper you feel the harmony between old and new, between past and present, between gentleness and strength...

Phoenix Street.

Those are the affectionate feelings that many people have for Phuong Hoang Street in Vinh City. Hearing the street name, perhaps even those who are most indifferent to urban design can easily imagine where the street is located. There, along the poetic Lam River, at the foot of the majestic and imposing Dung Quyet Mountain, the temple of Emperor Quang Trung; a sacred place where water gathers, surrounded by the shape of a dragon and a tiger, the "hero in cloth" "saw" that prime location and chose this area as the capital of his dynasty.

Ancient history also recorded: “Phuong Hoang Trung Do is the capital built by King Quang Trung (ie Nguyen Hue, 1752-1792) in 1788. Here, King Quang Trung gathered 100,000 troops before marching to the North to regain Thang Long citadel which was then invaded by the Qing army. This citadel was planned to be built to replace the capital Phu Xuan, named after the meaning of the Phoenix, a legendary bird. Trung Do also means the capital located in the middle of the territory controlled by Quang Trung…”.

The ancient mausoleums, unfortunately no longer exist, but the quiet echoes of a sacred ancient land seem to still linger somewhere in the urban life here. The residents on this long street stretching to the foot of Dung Quyet mountain, nearly 2 kilometers long, are mostly working people, with only a small number of government officials and civil servants who came in later following the land acquisition policy of agencies and offices in the early 90s. The working people are simple, honest and very good-natured. The road along the mountain has only had electric poles erected for about ten years now, but before that, at dusk, the desolate and overwhelming atmosphere and the cold winds blowing all four seasons through the road made strangers feel scared and hesitant. That is an instinctive feeling, but in reality, the people here still firmly affirm that Phuong Hoang street always maintains order and security in the neighborhood thanks to solidarity and neighborly affection. The cohesiveness of that neighborhood is the glue that attracts more and more residents to this street.

Phuong Hoang Street is not a newly opened road in the future expansion of Vinh city. In the past, the road was a familiar path for many city residents to go up Dung Quyet mountain - where one side of the road has become a small cemetery. The road at that time still remains in the memories of the city's residents, a narrow, dusty path, sparsely populated, with empty spaces and weeds growing next to a few vegetable patches of households. The road is clearly visible on the outskirts of the city, with only the "specialties" of wind and sunlight, which until now, even though the massive high-rise buildings have largely overwhelmed it, are still easy to imagine.

The memory of that street can easily go back a few decades, but now, Phuong Hoang Street has been evaluated by experienced real estate experts as one of the prime and valuable locations in Vinh city. That must be true, because the houses on Phuong Hoang Street are now bustling with wholesale shops, with all kinds of goods, big and small, expensive and cheap... There are restaurants: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks...; there are fashion shops for men, women, children; there are also pharmacies, mobile phone shops, photocopy shops... The old sedimentary street has now harmonized with the new rhythm of life in the city, every day walking on the street is filled with the cheerful footsteps of youth.

Vinh University is across the street, thousands of students, most of them choose to stay in rental houses on Phuong Hoang Street. The street has a high value because of the diverse needs of potential customers, houses on this street, opening any service will easily attract customers to make money. The street is therefore as bustling day and night as the inner city area.

On one side of the street from Le Duan direction, there are agencies, offices, and hotels that occupy most of the area. Occasionally turning into the street, I still stand in front of the vast yard of Duy Tan Hotel, looking out at the hustle and bustle of the street. That location gives us a feeling of both strangeness and familiarity, as if we are looking at familiar things through a new lens. Right in front of the hotel entrance is an old royal poinciana tree. In summer, the tree produces brilliant flowers. In winter, the branches and leaves, seemingly alone in the cold weather, are entwined with each other, evoking the urge for pedestrians to quickly return to their familiar homes. That wistful shape of nature, though small, still becomes a lingering feature for many people returning to that road after a series of tiring days of making a living. Amidst the hustle and bustle, there is still a peaceful and quiet atmosphere, especially when we know that at the end of that road, there is a sacred place, waiting for the souls of people to come and rely on...

Phuoc Anh