Pioneers in opening Cua Lo tourism direction - Part 1: When officials and people are united and join hands

About Nghi Thuy - a famous place as a fishing village with outstanding cultural characteristics. Early in the morning, Nghi Thuy's fishing wharf and fish market were bustling with the sounds of people calling each other, people bustling on the wharf and under the boat. Today, the fishermen had a good catch, so the fish returned full, sparkling silver. Mr. Duong Van Hon - a resident of Nghi Thuy ward said: For more than 10 years now, every morning when the fish come back, I also go out to "eat" anchovies and shrimp to make fish sauce and salted shrimp.

More than 10 years ago, Mr. Hon was also a fisherman, but now his health is poor and he only stays at home to produce fish sauce and other products from shrimp and sea fish. Mr. Hon also said that he is a resident of Nghi Thuy and is raised by the sea, living by the sea. In 60 years of his life with 4 children, all of whom are boys, he was certain that his children would also become young men going out to sea like him. But life has changed a lot, Mr. Hon's 4 children are not following the sea like him but working in other professions. Mr. Hon is still happy because wherever the children of Nghi Thuy fishing village go, whatever they do, they still have the same spirit, generous and loyal.

Chợ Bến Cá, phường Nghi Thủy (TX. Cửa Lò). Ảnh: Hải Vương - Thanh Phúc - Đình Tuyên
Ben Ca Market, Nghi Thuy Ward (Cua Lo Town). Photo: Hai Vuong - Thanh Phuc - Dinh Tuyen

As Mr. Hon introduced, Nghi Thuy land in particular, Cua Lo town in general, was created by the phenomenon of sea retreat. Therefore, the people living in this area originated from near and far regions moving here to make a living and make a living. The origin of the people in Nghi Thuy land is associated with the legend of Yen Luong village and Mai Bang village.

Nghi Thuy land is also a gathering place for many different clans. The people are united, supportive, and help each other, are patriotic, have a spirit of patriotism, and are willing to sacrifice for a greater cause. Besides, Nghi Thuy people also have many valuable qualities, such as straightforwardness, honesty, diligence, and thrift. These noble qualities are honed from the working and production environment.

Đền Mai Bảng, phường Nghi Thủy (thị xã Cửa Lò). Ảnh tư liệu: Đức Anh
Mai Bang Temple, Nghi Thuy Ward (Cua Lo Town). Photo: Duc Anh

Promoting the strong cultural spirit of this coastal area, Nghi Thuy ward is now given special attention by the Party Committee and the government of Cua Lo town. The land has been issued by the Party Committee of Cua Lo town with a Project to build a tourist destination in Nghi Thuy ward. According to the spirit of the Project, the construction of a destination in Nghi Thuy ward is necessary for the development of the ward, will promote local economic development, and link with the tourism development of the town.

Nghi Thuy Ward Party Secretary, Mr. Hoang Van Hai said: One of the goals of the project is to gradually form and develop an urban area to meet the needs of diversifying types of tourism and services; creating an attractive tourist destination for Cua Lo tourism. Therefore, it requires the decisive and unanimous participation of the Party Committee, the government and the people. "People here respond to this spirit with excitement and joy, every household volunteers to beautify the neighborhood, decorate the roads and turns with flower beds and ornamental plants". Mr. Hai also said that when the ward issued a resolution to implement this project, he thought that there would be some difficulties, however, with the enthusiastic participation of the people, we have completed the target beyond expectations.

Người dân Cửa Lò tham gia làm đường bê tông. Ảnh tư liệu: Mai Hoa
Cua Lo residents participate in making concrete roads. Photo: Mai Hoa

“Even the agreement to expand the premises of two sacred places of worship in the ward, Yen Luong Temple and Mai Bang Temple, by the People, also made us receive many surprises. Specifically, many families with up to 7 people happily accepted to leave the place where they had settled down for decades; there was a family that had lived here for 30 years but still agreed, even though they did not know where their family would be on the land that had been arranged for resettlement,” said Nghi Thuy Ward Party Secretary Hoang Van Hai.

That is the family of Mr. Nguyen Van Hai and Mrs. Duong Thi Binh, who have settled on their ancestral land in Yen Dinh block, Nghi Thuy ward, right in front of the communal house for more than 30 years. They have 3 children and although their children are grown up, they still live in the house with their parents. When they received the resettlement policy, they happily agreed without question or demand. "Seeing the narrow road to the church, the area is not enough for ceremonies and processions, we were also very impatient. Therefore, when we received the policy to relocate to expand the temple area, we quickly discussed it with our children and agreed right away," said Mrs. Duong Thi Binh.

Nghi Thuy Ward Party Secretary Hoang Van Hai affirmed: I believe that with the spirit and will of the people, Nghi Thuy Ward will have many more changes in the future.

Các tuyến đường trên địa bàn thị xã Cửa Lò ngập tràn sắc màu với nhiều loại hoa, cây cảnh rực rỡ. Ảnh tư liệu: Q.A
The streets in Cua Lo town are filled with colors of many kinds of flowers and ornamental plants. Photo: QA

To gain the consensus and solidarity of the people, contributing to changing the face of the town in general and Nghi Thuy ward in particular, the Party committee officials here are united, promoting the highest spirit for the development of Cua Lo tourism. Mr. Hoang Van Hai - Secretary of Nghi Thuy ward Party Committee said: We have many projects and programs cherished for the development of Nghi Thuy ward, but the problem is that the land is narrow and the population is large, so we have to decide what to do that is truly suitable and must be unique for this land. After many meetings on urban planning and creating highlights, we decided to create a check-in point by building a reinforced concrete ship with sails in the wind and 4 village gates with typical cultural features of Nghi Thuy fishing area.

Mr. Hai also affirmed that the Party Committee and the government here always excellently complete the assigned tasks because of the spirit of being close to the people, always being fair, objective, open and transparent. For example, the socialization or emulation work in each part of the work, each movement are all set by the Party Committee headed by the Secretary and Chairman of the Ward People's Committee.

Lãnh đạo phường Nghi Thủy tặng Cờ thi đua cho đội tàu có sản lượng đánh bắt tốt. Ảnh tư liệu: CSCC
Nghi Thuy ward leaders awarded the Emulation Flag to the fleet with good fishing output. Photo: CSCC

The Secretary of the Nghi Thuy Ward Party Committee confided: The closer we are to the people and the more benefits we bring to the people, the easier it is to call for their support in implementing policies and movements. On the social network Facebook, the Secretary of the Ward Party Committee also uses the nickname "Nghi Thuy Fishing Village" to easily carry out the work of promoting, propagating and mobilizing the people. He also improvised poems to mobilize people to plant bougainvillea to beautify the landscape and environment, along with always promptly praising the movements in Nghi Thuy Ward on his personal page. For him, as a cadre in this coastal town, it is necessary to always find new directions, constantly update and enhance tourism knowledge for himself and the Party Committee cadres.

Fanpage của ông Hoàng Văn Hải - Bí thư Đảng ủy phường Nghi Thủy. Ảnh chụp màn hình
Fanpage of Mr. Hoang Van Hai - Secretary of Nghi Thuy Ward Party Committee. Screenshot

Talking about good practices and determination of officials in Cua Lo town, we cannot fail to mention the duo of Secretary and Chairman of Nghi Thu Ward People's Committee.

Nghi Thu is considered to have the cleanest, most beautiful and most poetic coastline. Walking along the roads of this beautiful coastal city, people can clearly feel the green, clean, beautiful, modern and civilized atmosphere. Nghi Thu Ward Party Secretary Nguyen Van Hung said: After the Covid-19 pandemic, Nghi Thu Ward in particular and Cua Lo Town in general have identified the importance of how to attract tourists to the coastal city. In addition to embellishment, it is necessary to build order and self-awareness among the people in taking care of village roads, alleys and roads leading to the sea. "Setting foot in Nghi Thu Ward must be different, must see the clean coastline, smooth sand and extremely convenient coastal services". To do so, the Ward Party Committee and government, headed by the Ward Secretary and Chairman of the Ward People's Committee, have used every means to promote all resources among the people and increase socialized resources. From this fund, the ward has contracted with 2 sanitation workers to regularly pick up all shells and trash on the beach, ensuring the beach is always clean; equipped 100 chairs on the beach for visitors to rest, relax, and enjoy the sea view; spread 2,000m of artificial grass to create green on the beach and built 3 check-in points.

Du khách trải nghiệm kéo lưới ở Cửa Lò. Ảnh: Hồ Đình Chiến
Tourists experience net pulling in Cua Lo. Photo: Ho Dinh Chien

Nghi Thu Ward is also known as a place for developing tourism services, so the Ward Party Committee, headed by the Secretary, always focuses on directing the People to well implement the Party's policies and the State's laws in tourism management. "Determining tourism culture is a decisive factor in attracting tourists, so for a locality with an agricultural origin like Nghi Thu Ward, the beauty of cultural communication and behavior towards tourists is even more important to the unit" - Nghi Thu Ward Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Hung shared. Recognizing that importance, in recent years, the ward has always focused on training in cultural communication and behavior for households participating in tourism service business, especially promoting the policy of "5 no's", including: No price gouging; No soliciting, clinging to customers; No massage, street vending; No harming the environment; No disturbing security and order. Thanks to that, the number of tourists visiting and relaxing in the area has increased every year.

Một góc thị xã Cửa Lò. Ảnh: Thành Cường
A corner of Cua Lo town. Photo: Thanh Cuong

It is not difficult to understand that when coming to Cua Lo, tourists from all over the world are always satisfied by the hospitable attitude, the spirit of professional tourism, and also by the cadres of the Party Committee and the government of Cua Lo town. Cua Lo is always open to learning, aiming for new and good ways of doing things. As Mr. Hoang Van Hai - Secretary of the Nghi Thuy Ward Party Committee confided: If the Party Committee and the government do not innovate in thinking and doing, are not persistent and enthusiastic in opening up tourism directions, then there will not be a beautiful coastal town of Cua Lo like today. That is the policy of eliminating checkpoints, observing the coast, building a sea daisy road throughout the town, the spirit of each citizen being a tour guide, each citizen also being a professional tourism worker.