Footsteps on the top of Puxailaileng
(Baonghean.vn) - Located at an altitude of 2,711 meters above sea level, Puxailaileng is the highest peak of the Northern Truong Son range running from Ca River to Quang Nam. Here, the vast forests and high mountains seem endless. Here, day and night, there are people silently carving mountains, piercing clouds, and crossing forests to shape the country with towering, immortal sovereignty markers. They are members of Marker Planting Teams 1 and 2 (Nghe An).
From BP 527 station, the boat goes up Nam Non to marker 397, passing 3 fierce waterfalls.
Each bag of sand and cement must go through many stages to reach the marker. The cement bag must be divided into two or three according to the shoulders of the person setting the marker at the assembly point.
During the days traveling with the Team, looking up at the mountains, stepping on rapids, sharing each rare piece of dry food, shedding tears when losing teammates, green leeches biting the shoulder until it bled, some people could not say a word for 3 days... only then could we understand somewhat the hardships of those who went upstream to plant the country's border markers. The 4-year journey through the forest was immeasurable in the number of steps. Each sacred border marker was erected with countless touching stories that could not be told.
From border post 527 (My Ly commune, Ky Son), the thin motorboat went upstream of Nam Non, towards Laos, where there was the thick 397 milestone. To reach the milestone, we had to cross 3 famous waterfalls: Canh Trap, Canh Mai and Canh Xo. It is said that after passing these 3 waterfalls, boat capsizing and loss of belongings happened frequently. Milestone 397 is located at the junction of the Nam Non source bordering Muong Duong (Muong Quan district, Hua Phan, Laos).
To erect the markers, countless efforts of the cadres of the Marker Planting Team 1 (DCM1) were poured down, as much as the water in Nam Non. Lieutenant Colonel Phan Van Hong - Team Leader of DCM1 said that each monolithic granite marker placed from Binh Dinh was not light at all. The large marker in Nam Can weighed 1 ton, the medium marker (for restoration) weighed 4.5 quintals, and the small marker weighed about 2.6 quintals. From the bottom of the boat, which was heavily filled with the sound of the engine, looking up at the deep green forest above, we could hardly imagine how that monolithic marker could travel thousands of kilometers, through so many stages, to reach this remote place, and then proudly stand forever as an immortal symbol of our ancestors' land. Perhaps, only the courage and the thousand-year-old pride ingrained in each marker planter could make it happen.
Tomorrow, next month, they will still follow their footsteps to the old forests and immense mountains. When the border markers between Vietnam and Laos are completed, the governments and people of the two countries will travel back and forth to do business and visit each other in friendship. Surely no one will forget the efforts of those who planted the markers today. Because, the border is for demarcation, not for separation!
Below are some photos captured by Nghe An Newspaper reporters during a trip into the forest with Boundary Planting Team No. 1:
Base of milestone 397 (2) on Vietnamese side
The team's field camp on the upper bank of Nam Non, bordering Laos.
The kitchen by the stream reminds us of the old kitchens in the military stations in the middle of the forest on the way to the front line.
The heavy milestone of national sovereignty was brought up along the steep riverbank.
Take the opportunity to cast the net and catch some Nam Non fish to improve dinner.
Make more racks and hammocks for new teammates.
Dinner was served right on the sleeping platform.
Milestone 397 (3) on the other side of the Nam Non bank is still waiting for the construction team.
Milestone 397 (1) on the Laos side has been erected by us to help you and is almost completed.
Nghe An newspaper reporter during the days of going with the border planting team.
Tran Hai
