Streetscapes in Nghe An countryside villages
In recent years, some rural areas of Nghe An have seen clear changes, with high-rise buildings close together, and developed transportation and services. Some communes have invested more than half a billion VND in making signs and traffic signals, while others have assigned house numbers to all households, looking as neat as neighborhoods.
Houses with numbers
In early September, we met Nguyen Van Tuan (23 years old) in Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district. Tuan works as a “shipper”, transporting goods in Quynh Luu district. This job has become very popular in recent years due to the increasing demand for online shopping. However, one of the most difficult things in Tuan’s job is finding the address of the place to receive the goods.
“But unlike other communes, every time I receive an order sent to Quynh Doi commune, I feel excited. Because it is very easy to find a house here. You don’t have to ask anyone. It’s just like in the city,” Tuan said excitedly.
As Tuan said, we walked around Quynh Doi commune and saw that more than 1,500 houses were assigned specific house numbers. The blue sign was attached to the front gate, with the serial number above and the village name, street name and commune name below. At first glance, it looked just like a neighborhood. This was also the first commune in Nghe An to assign house numbers to households.
According to Mr. Ho Sy Hung - Vice Chairman of Quynh Doi Commune People's Committee, the house numbering was implemented simultaneously in the area 4 years ago. "This came from the opinions of people far from home and tourists. Every time they visit Quynh Doi, they have difficulty finding the houses of acquaintances to visit, having to ask for directions many times. At that time, Quynh Doi Commune had just completed the first model rural area of the province, so we implemented it right away", Mr. Hung said and said that during the implementation process, there was no objection from the people, everyone welcomed it. Because the cost for this is not large, but it brings many conveniences.
“Our commune is a “village of scholars”, with many famous people, so we also want to use the names of these famous people to name the roads in the commune, but that requires permission from the Provincial People's Committee, so it has not been implemented yet. Therefore, now, only the main road is named after the provincial road that runs through it, and the secondary roads in the commune are named after Road No. 1, Road No. 2... to number the houses. Since having specific house numbers, no one has to ask for directions to people's houses anymore. Especially the shippers, they are very excited,” Mr. Hung said.
According to the reporter's investigation, in addition to Quynh Doi commune, Thanh Yen commune (Thanh Chuong) in the province also has house numbers but only spontaneously. According to Mr. Bui Huu Chuong - Chairman of Thanh Yen Commune People's Committee, the house numbering has only been implemented in Hong Binh hamlet (old), now merged with another hamlet. The signs are installed in front of the house gate, with only the house number and hamlet name. "This was initiated by the people themselves and then implemented. However, in the past, we have seen that having house numbers like this is also very convenient for many things. It helps the government manage the area better. In the coming time, we are striving to become a model new rural area, and will also consider implementing house numbering for the entire commune," said Mr. Chuong.
The story of the commune spending more than half a billion dong to "solve the maze"
Dien Van commune is located in the middle of a low-lying area, bordered by many communes in Dien Chau district. The area is divided by three rivers: Bung river, Vach Bac canal and Nha Le canal. For a long time, this commune has been called "the maze" because it is very difficult for strangers to find their way here.
The roads in Dien Van commune are narrow and very winding. The houses are built close together. There seems to be no main road here, because most of them are cramped and winding. “Our commune borders 6 other communes, so there are 6 main roads leading into the commune. But even though we are from the neighboring communes and have been to Dien Van commune many times, it is easy to get lost every time we go back and forth, unable to find the right exit. Sometimes we have to go around to another commune, a commune more than ten kilometers away. Even when the leaders of the higher levels come to visit the commune, the traffic police car leads the group but they still get lost... Dien Van is like a maze,” said Mr. Hai.
To “solve the maze”, more than 2 years ago, Dien Van commune agreed to invest more than half a billion VND to install signs. Currently, along the roads in Dien Van commune, every few dozen meters there is a signpost. These signs mostly point to other neighboring communes, or places in the commune. Especially places that many people are interested in such as the headquarters of Dien Van commune People's Committee, commune health station, pharmacy, hamlets in the area... Not only that, Dien Van commune also invested in speed bumps on busy roads, dozens of warning traffic lights...
“Before, there were dozens of people stopping by every day to ask for directions. Some people asked over and over again but still couldn’t find their way. But since there were specific signs, no one has to ask anymore,” said Ms. Hoang Thi Mai (64 years old), who sells groceries on the side of the road.
