Miracle at Bai Ngang

(Baonghean) -A child who has returned from far away from home must be surprised to see that the face of the coastal commune has changed so much. 100% of the roads are paved with concrete, 3 schools have met national standards, the medical station has "finished" phase 2, the average income per capita has reached 24 million VND/year, the commune has met 19/19 NTM criteria... Walking along the green beach in Quynh Lien (Hoang Mai town), I silently admire the people of Quynh who have persevered and determined to create a miracle in this coastal area.

Vegetable field applying automatic irrigation technology in Quynh Lien commune (Hoang Mai town). Photo: Manh Hung.

Mr. Ho Ngoc Tang - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Lien commune enthusiastically took me to visit typical economic models in his commune, then honestly confided that nearly ten years ago, even in their dreams, Quynh Lien people could not imagine that one day, their hometown's silver sand fields would "grow" into billion-dollar economic zones like today.

Due to harsh natural conditions, since 2004, Quynh Lien has been on the list of particularly difficult communes in coastal and island areas according to Decision No. 106/2004-QD-TTg of the Prime Minister. Just 5 years ago, the commune had 15% poor households, the rest were mostly near-poor households. But now, despite farming in unpredictable weather, depending on whether the "high priest" gives or takes, in general, compared to before, life is better off and stable" - Mr. Bach Van Thanh said, then he pointed to his home garden, introducing 2 sao of off-season bitter melon that are still yielding regular harvests, with an average of 1000kg of fruit per day, selling wholesale at 10,000 VND/kg, it is almost a million or less. Not to mention the 12 sao of land contracted on the beach that are covered with green gourds, sweet cabbage... all year round, net profits of several hundred million/year are common.

A spacious new rural area in Quynh Lien commune. Photo: Manh Hung.

The whole commune has 302 hectares of agricultural land but no irrigation system because it is located at the end of the natural water source of Vuc Mau Lake. Only casuarina trees can grow well on sandy soil, but casuarina trees block the waves, so they cannot make a fortune. After much thought and learning from the experiences of other districts and provinces with similar terrain and conditions, the Quynh Lien Party Committee and government were determined to carry out a rice field revolution: converting 100% of agricultural land to growing crops. Only 5 years later, the abundant and fertile Quynh Lien fields have proven that decision was correct. Now, the agricultural land fund is still 302 hectares, but the annual crop rotation area reaches 1,060 hectares, with a rotation coefficient of 3.5 times, the annual production value from crop cultivation reaches more than 48 billion VND for the whole commune.

In the new rural construction in Quynh Lien, the total budget for mobilizing resources is 54.77 billion VND, of which the combined capital budget of the Central, the province and the town is only over 26 billion VND, the rest is the commune budget and the people's contribution. Regarding the movement of donating land for road construction and community welfare works, it is also worth noting the people of the commune when they donated over 27,000m2 of land of all kinds, thousands of assets on land equivalent to a total amount of 11 billion VND.

Without competition, jealousy, or compensation demands, Quynh Lien people silently contribute to the common work, for the betterment of the countryside. I visited the house of old farmer Vu Xuan Tang (village 10), who is nearly 80 years old this year. The old man's house is simple with essential items, on the wall, two Third Class Resistance Medals in glass frames sparkle. Old age, weak health, but the solid appearance of a son of the sand village still lingers in the confident way of talking. He spoke simply, but deeply: "My family donated more than 100m2 of garden land to the commune to expand new rural roads. My children said, 100m2 of garden land now growing crops will bring in millions, billions. But millions, billions for ourselves are not enjoyed when there is a beautiful, convenient road, contributing to making millions, billions for the villagers to enjoy together".

Some people say that perhaps the people of Quynh Lien have been "prosperous" in recent years thanks in part to the spiritual energy of the deities at Xuan Uc Temple, which worships General Dang Te - a man who made great contributions in the cause of driving the Champa invaders out of the southern border of Vietnam during the Ly Dynasty. In the minds of the people of the coastal area of ​​Quynh, he is considered the one who opened the land and founded Van Uc village in the 11th century, now in Quynh Lien commune. For decades, people of this sandy land, whether poor or rich, have relied spiritually on the sacred temple. In 1996, the temple was ranked as a national historical and cultural relic. Every year, in the second lunar month, the Xuan Uc Temple Festival is held bustlingly, reflecting the cultural and religious activities of the coastal people.

This afternoon, I also visited Xuan Uc Temple again. In the sea breeze, in the middle of the sand dunes, against the sacred blue sky, is the majestic temple next to the river, close to the sea. I secretly think that General Dang Te had the merit of opening up this land, now his descendants continue the proud tradition by rising up in the economic and social upswing, creating miracles in the coastal areas...

Phuong Chi