This Kim Lien Xuan...

Blending old and new

For a long time, in the minds of Vietnamese people,Kim Lienhas been a common homeland. Here there is "Mother's Tru Village and Father's Sen Village" and the childhood of the beloved Father of the nation... In the imagination and memory of everyone, Kim Lien is so peaceful and quiet, with golden rice fields, fragrant lotus ponds; with wells, communal house yards and the sound of kites whistling on Chung Son peak. But, this Spring, please come back toKim Liento feel the new changes...

Kim Lien commune was recognized as a model new rural commune in 2024..., with many high-tech agricultural production models; many small-scale handicraft industries and many shops, services... Village roads and alleys are renovated, expanded, and squared. Traffic corridors are clear, with signs and direction signs installed.

To welcome the traditional Lunar New Year of At Ty 2025, every house in Kim Lien commune solemnly hangs the national flag in front of the porch. Ms. Tran Thi Ly (in Sen 1 hamlet) and her children are decorating the gate of her house with a LED light system with the words "Happy New Year" and images of the Party and national flags. Ms. Ly smiled heartily: "Kim Lien people are always grateful to the Party and Uncle Ho, so they try to beautify his homeland"...

With the same sentiment, Mr. Vuong Hoang Dong (78 years old), in Hoang Tru hamlet, carefully trimmed and trimmed his family's beautiful hedge to welcome the new year.

Mr. Vuong Hoang Dong's house is beautifully planned; with a vegetable garden, fish pond, and a well-organized poultry coop; a system of ornamental plants with banyan, ficus, and even apricot and peach trees in full bloom. In the middle of the yard is a hundred-year-old ancient house made of wood, roofed with scale tiles, built in the "5-room, 1-circle" style. It is known that this house is currently one of the five most beautiful ancient houses in Nam Dan district.

He shared: “The house was built by my grandfather in 1926, and has been passed down through 6 generations. In addition to preserving the original house and responding to the movement to build Uncle Ho's homeland bright, green, clean, and beautiful, 15 years ago, my family planted a beautiful green fence similar to the fence of Uncle Ho's house... The fence was built with the wish to beautify the family and the homeland.”

In Kim Lien commune, there are still some ancient houses that are over 100 years old, some of which were built during the Le dynasty. These houses are scattered in the hamlets. The ancient houses here are made from ironwood, jackfruit, and doi wood. For the people of Kim Lien commune, preserving the ancient houses is to preserve a cozy and affectionate living space; to preserve the good traditions of the family and clan. That is the spirit of solidarity, filial piety, and studiousness - the beauty in the cultural traditions of the local people.

Preserving the old features, preserving the village soul. In recent years, in Kim Lien commune, a movement has been launched to restore village wells. All hamlets here have ancient wells. With the awareness of preserving and promoting the value of heritage, the people of hamlets in Kim Lien commune have discussed and contributed labor and money to rebuild village wells.

The first village well to be restored was Lien Mau well, followed by Phu Dam, Trot Quan, Hong Son, Van Hoi wells... Up to now, the whole commune has had 8 village wells restored and rebuilt to be larger and more beautiful. It is known that the cost of restoring ancient wells is not small, at least 100 million VND, at most nearly 1 billion VND.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Sau, who lives next to the village well in Sen 1 hamlet, said: “The well is called Dat well or Trung Hoa well. In the past, Dat well water helped people overcome many hot and sunny seasons. We cannot forget the great merit of our ancestors who dug the well and opened the source, as well as the great merit of Uncle Ho, so we worked together to restore the well. The well has become a valuable relic of the village.”

Green Kim Lien

On the occasion of Tet, the lotus ponds in Kim Lien commune "hibernate to grow strongly in the spring and then bloom in the summer", Ms. Nguyen Thi Sau - a resident of Sen 1 hamlet said "literally" when introducing the lotus ponds next to the ancient Trung Hoa well. In this row of ponds, there are 2 sao of her family's pond. For the past few years, Ms. Sau has lent her neighbors to grow lotus without charging any fees. "Fish ponds don't make much profit, so let's just let the neighbors borrow them to grow lotus to beautify Kim Lien".

Since ancient times, lotus has become an indispensable part of the lives of people in Kim Lien commune. Lotus blooms in home ponds, lotus spreads its fragrance everywhere in the village, lotus has made the name of the village... In recent years, with the support of many programs and projects, plus the policy of the commune, the lotus growing area in Kim Lien commune has expanded significantly, from a few hectares at first to over 22 hectares. Along with that, many other precious lotus varieties have been brought in such as Dong Thap Muoi lotus, Hue lotus, thousand-petal lotus, Beijing red lotus and Quan Am lotus.

Kim Lien commune has allowed people to contract out ponds and lakes on public land to grow lotus without charging any fees. However, people must ensure that the lotus is always green and beautiful; they can only harvest lotus products and are not allowed to pick the flowers themselves... Coming to Kim Lien in the summer, you will see the fragrant lotus flowers: lotus blooms in ponds, next to rice fields and even in many flower pots... enhancing the beauty and cultural value of Uncle Ho's homeland.

Lotus flowers not only create a beautiful ecological environment but also contribute to the development of a new type of green economy. Ms. Tran Thi The - a lotus grower for many years said: Lotus grows very quickly, from a few initial clusters, after only 1 year, lotus fills the pond without much money or care. Lotus products can be sold from flowers to leaves, seeds, shoots, tubers... The economic efficiency of growing lotus is much greater than that of raising fish or growing rice.

In Kim Lien commune, there is currently a Sen Que Bac Cooperative, specializing in purchasing all lotus products that people grow to process into many lotus products such as lotus tea, lotus sweet soup, lotus seed milk, lotus kimchi, pickled lotus root... These products have been recognized as 3-star and 4-star OCOP products. Lotus products are popular and sell very well. Tourists to Kim Lien all want to have a souvenir or gift; lotus products are suitable for that desire. Lotus trees have created opportunities for local economic development.

Countryside tourism

Kim Lien in the days before Tet seems to be more splendid, clean and beautiful. Walking on the road along the lake in Sen 2 hamlet, you can see the plots of land along the road, in front of each household, flowers are planted. Meeting Mr. Vuong Ba Tung - Vice Chairman of Kim Lien Commune People's Committee when he was checking the flag and flower roads, he shared: "Kim Lien people are welcoming the new year with a joyful and excited spirit, determined to build a rich and beautiful homeland according to Uncle Ho's wishes".

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Over the years, environmental sanitation and landscape beautification have always been taken care of by the government and people of Kim Lien. The commune has built many models of "Bright - Green - Clean - Beautiful" roads and hamlets, typical residential areas such as the hamlets: Sen 2, Mau 6, Hong Son. Families are very proactive in building miniature landscapes, making green fences with string of pearls, man hao, and border trees.

Mr. Vuong Ba Tung - Vice Chairman of Kim Lien Commune People's Committee (Nam Dan).

Every Sunday, all the people in the commune clean up in front of their houses, village roads, alleys and public places. The collection and treatment of waste is done in a systematic and orderly manner. People leave household waste in their gardens. On the 5th, 16th and 25th of each month, the waste will be brought to the village's garbage collection point for the environmental sanitation company to collect. The determination of this collection point has been agreed upon by the villagers in a meeting, to avoid the situation of littering and causing environmental pollution.

Aiming to develop Kim Lien commune into a tourist village, Kim Lien commune has been and is continuing to integrate resources into new rural construction. The commune focuses on building multi-functional intra-field roads, serving both production and tourism activities, while exploiting the characteristics of agricultural landscapes to create a regional brand. Currently, there are a number of roads that have been formed running through rice fields and flower fields; connecting residential areas - production facilities - cultural facilities serving tourism and cultivation.

On the eve of Tet, the scent of incense wafts throughout Kim Lien commune. From the homes of the households that are running homestays, we can hear the singing and melodies of Vi. Mr. Vuong Ba Tung said: “The Hong Son Vi and Giam Folk Song Club is practicing performances to serve the program to celebrate the Party and celebrate Spring of the commune. Vi and Giam folk songs are like the flesh and blood, like the breath of the people of Kim Lien commune for many generations. In Kim Lien commune, there are currently many Vi and Giam Folk Song Clubs operating regularly and with quality. The clubs are always ready to serve tourists upon request.”

“Rural renewal, high and low fields/ Harvesters and plows are bustling throughout the homeland/... Is it true that the homeland carries a heavy oath/ Uncle Ho's words of long ago have now become strength/ Dai Hue grows up among thousands of green trees/ The gentle Lam River carries a heavy load of alluvium".The lyrics of the Vi and Giam songs in Kim Lien commune today sound simple and honest, supporting the souls of those far away and calling those to return./.