Famous land of beauty and wealth!

(Baonghean)- From Vac Village with many ancient legends to Thai Hoa Mountain Town today, visitors are captivated by the beautiful historical source, which is still everywhere, even though it reaches a bustling urban area.

About the reunion

Going back in time about 2000 years ago, Thai Hoa land was once a gathering place for Vietnamese people at the dawn of history.

Visiting Lang Vac Temple, Mr. Dang Cong Chat, the head priest, led us to visit the temple and the antique exhibition area. The most impressive thing was the large bronze cauldron, along with many antiques, including display cabinets that people found scattered in the area and donated recently. So, not only have the archaeologists conducted 5 official excavations (in 1972, 1973, 1980, 1990, 1991), and not only have they discovered 347 tombs and collected 1,228 artifacts; but every time people dig the ground to build houses, make wells, etc., they can touch ancient cultural sediments stored underground, and many times the sacred object has chosen the time and the person to entrust it to (?).

Tourists visit the antique gallery at Lang Vac Temple

The sophisticated patterns, materials and types of antiques, from tools, to weapons, weapons, household items, jewelry... have reflected the sparkling halo of a brilliant development period of material and spiritual culture whose main owners were the ancient Vietnamese. We can see more clearly the stature, richness, diversity and wealth of Lang Vac treasures are much larger than we know.

Hieu Bridge connects the two banks of Thai Hoa town. Photo: Trong Sach

Walking along the Dai Van dam slope, admiring the splendid land, Mr. Tran Anh Tuan - a cultural officer of the town introduced us to the legend of the bronze cauldron used to cook rice to feed the army and celebrate the victory of chasing away the enemy to protect the village and the country. Understanding more about this place name, the name of an ancient artifact has a symbolic meaning for the spirit of solidarity, unity and nurturing the patriotism of our people throughout history. And, not only when building Dai Van dam in 1972 was the first ancient artifact discovered and the archaeological site of Lang Vac officially recognized, but the treasure of ancient artifacts in this area has long been in the folk consciousness.

In the late spring afternoon, we still met many tourists going to Lang Vac temple, some of whom performed the purification ceremony and attached precious stones to the statue of King Hung. Among them was Mr. Le Tien Kham, the former Chairman of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Thai Hoa town, one of the participants in the casting ceremony of King Hung statue and the procession of the spirit of the National Ancestor from Phu Tho land to Lang Vac temple in 2010. Mr. Kham tearfully talked about the feeling of pride and joy when he learned that the Provincial People's Committee agreed to allow the Lang Vac temple festival to be held on the 9th, 10th, and 11th of the third lunar month every year since 2017. This is a convergence of spirituality and culture, in line with the wishes of the people, and has a profound meaning in terms of connection to historical origins.

Another reason is that the good land of Thai Hoa - where the Lang Vac relic site is located, a milestone in the journey of nation formation, has become a meeting place for visitors from near and far.

All roads lead to… green

Naturally, Thai Hoa has long been considered the capital of the fertile Phu Quy region, with lush fruit trees. Since the French colonial period, plantations have been established on the red basalt soil here. According to published documents, coffee trees have been planted in this land since 1913 to export to France, before coffee in the Central Highlands (from 1920 to 1925), with a delicious taste not inferior to American coffee. In addition to the lush red soil area, every year the Hieu River also deposits alluvium on a large area of ​​flatland, creating favorable conditions for maintaining green color and enriching from green trees.

Taking care of Quang Tien pink grapefruit garden (Thai Hoa town). Photo: Cao Dong

If we measure the vibrant development rhythm of the town, it is interesting that it is not only reflected in the criteria of urban economic growth, but also the development speed can be recognized through the transformation of business practices and increased development value in the green, clean agricultural sector, associated with high technology.

Visit the family of Mr. Tran Van Huu and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thoa - one of many households raising dairy cows at home in Tan Ap hamlet (Nghia Hoa commune). From an area of ​​1 hectare of land growing elephant grass, the family raises 9 dairy cows. After only 2 years of raising them, 4 cows have given milk. They raise them themselves but sometimes the milk yield is 34 kg/cow. It is known that in 2016, the town's dairy herd reached 2,801 cows, an increase of 3.4% compared to 2015; fresh milk yield was 11,299 tons.

Rubber trees in the season of changing leaves. Photo: Archive

Regarding the products of Thai Hoa town, now we not only talk about coffee and rubber, but also about orange trees, guava, sugarcane, and especially Quang Tien pink grapefruit. This is a grapefruit variety with pink segments, the deliciousness is not inferior to Nam Roi grapefruit, Phuc Trach grapefruit... At the 2-hectare grapefruit garden on Du Di hill of Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan's family (Trung Nghia block, Quang Tien ward), Ms. Loan said that after 8 years, the 2 hectares of grapefruit have produced fruit for 5 seasons. In 2016, Ms. Loan's family earned about 700 million VND from grapefruit, in addition to selling 2,500 grapefruit branches, priced from 30,000 - 40,000 VND/branch. According to Mr. Le Nho Hong, an agricultural extension officer of the town, if in the early years of this decade, Quang Tien pink grapefruit only brought small income because households did not grow it in a concentrated manner, then up to now, the newly planted area has reached over 80 hectares and all bring high income.

Bau Sen Dam, Thai Hoa Town. Photo courtesy

From Hieu Bridge, on both sides of National Highway 48, next to shops and service business areas, there are many adjacent stalls introducing honey and bee pollen products. On March 30, during the meeting of the Tay Hieu Commune Beekeeping Club, hundreds of beekeeping households here proposed to establish a beekeeping cooperative. From the Central Bee Joint Stock Company Branch - Zone 4 Bee Enterprise, which has been established for many years in Quang Tien Ward, the town's potential for beekeeping development is growing. This partly shows that despite the rapid urbanization, the construction, mineral processing, small-scale industry, service - trade - financial complexes are developing quite vigorously, with 243 enterprises operating in the area and many private households, and an industrial park that has been formed, green is still the main color that creates the beauty of an ecological town with the appearance of a mountainous urban area. In addition to the natural green landscape, the total annual tree planting area reaches 5,655 hectares, the newly planted forest area in 2016 is estimated at 77.5 hectares, contributing to multiplying the green rhythm every day, to create the highlight of an eco-tourism city - the choice often prioritized by tourists today.

Identified as the growth pole of the Northwest Nghe An region, and one of the components creating an important dynamic development area, Thai Hoa Town is an increasingly attractive destination for tourists, because the traffic arteries have been conveniently cleared. In addition to the main arteries such as National Highway 48 running along, the North-South highway - Ho Chi Minh road running across, there is also a road connecting Dong Hoi - Hoang Mai, and many routes that we can reach Thai Hoa Town from all directions, all regions. In which, the common point is that all roads are green, all are roads that meet everywhere with an ecological urban area covered in green, very old but very young!

Ngo Kien