Promoting the historical and cultural values ​​of Kim Lien Relic Site

(Baonghean) - Kim Lien Historical and Cultural Relic Site is a special national relic site, which preserves priceless relics of the birthplace and childhood of President Ho Chi Minh. Over the years, the Kim Lien Relic Site has received attention from the State and has a policy of preservation and restoration, in order to show the respect of all Vietnamese people for beloved Uncle Ho; at the same time, contributing to preserving and promoting the sacred historical and cultural values ​​of the nation.

These days of May, there is a bustling stream of people from all over the country making a pilgrimage to Kim Lien, Uncle Ho's hometown. Joining the stream of people walking in nostalgia, the old veteran Nguyen Ba Thu, from Bac Ninh, moved his steps when he first visited President Ho Chi Minh's hometown. He seemed to relive the memories of his poor childhood, filled with sad and happy memories, simple happiness of the father of the nation, when he witnessed with his own eyes the artifacts associated with Uncle Ho's life. The house where Uncle Ho spent his childhood years appeared rustic, with a row of plum trees leading to a thatched house hidden under a cool green bamboo hedge...

He visited Uncle Ho's house one by one, looking at the sacred relics that were once associated with Uncle Ho's childhood. Each bed, the resting place of Uncle Ho's family members; to the small cabinets containing rice, teapots and cups... The relics of Uncle Ho are almost still preserved in their original state; still warm and sacred, as if reviving a part of his childhood... making Mr. Thu unable to hold back his emotions: "I have only learned about Uncle Ho's homeland through history books. This is the first time I have come to Uncle Ho's beloved homeland, but I really feel close and familiar. The artifacts are carefully preserved, the landscape here is preserved and embellished in a realistic and historical way; reminding children and grandchildren to remember Uncle Ho with respect".

In addition to visiting the relics associated with Uncle Ho's childhood, such as: the house of Mr. Pho Bang, Coc well, Co Dien blacksmith's furnace, Nguyen Sinh family temple... in these days coming to Sen village, for the first time, visitors can visit 3 thatched roof houses (households of Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac's neighbors) that have been restored almost intact, right in the relic complex. To restore these 3 houses, the participating units have worked hard to collect and research through architectural documents commonly found in rural Vietnamese society in the late 19th century and through the memories of the elderly.

Each house has an area of ​​50m2, a structure of 3 wooden pillars, bamboo walls, and thatched roof. In front of each house, there is bamboo to protect the house from rain and sunlight. These houses have basically completed the main items, and are about to be put into service for visitors. Coming from the far South to visit Uncle Ho's hometown, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thao (Can Tho) was moved when immersing herself in the cultural space of the old countryside: "Returning to Uncle Ho's hometown, I feel like I am reliving the countryside scenery of the previous century. The landscape, houses, and artifacts that have been restored and embellished have painted a picture of his poor and simple life; making today's children and friends around the world admire the greatness of President Ho Chi Minh, the national liberation hero and outstanding cultural celebrity, a simple but noble man".

Tourists visit Kim Lien Relic Site. Photo: Sy Minh.

Kim Lien Relic Site with relic sites: Uncle Ho's maternal home in Hoang Tru village, his paternal home in Sen village; Hoang Thi Loan's tomb; Chung mountain and a number of relic sites associated with President Ho Chi Minh's childhood. With the meaning of a special national relic, over the years, the State has had a policy of conservation and restoration to contribute to promoting and preserving these extremely sacred historical values. The project "Conservation and restoration of Kim Lien historical and cultural relic site" was implemented since 2003, up to now, a relic complex with deep historical and cultural values ​​is gradually being completed.

According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the project "Preservation and restoration of Kim Lien historical and cultural relic site" has been completed about 80%; the construction of the traffic system, the tourist control center; and the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan have been completed. As for the relics in Uncle Ho's paternal and maternal hometowns, the conservation and restoration work has basically been completed; only the human resource training package and the issuance of tour guide cards have not been implemented yet. The Department is coordinating with the People's Committee of Nam Dan district to vigorously implement the site clearance work, striving to complete it this year to ensure the restoration of Uncle Ho's neighboring households. If funding is allocated promptly, the project will be completed ahead of schedule (2015).

Not only preserving and embellishing the relic sites, Kim Lien Relic Site is increasingly promoting its inherent sacred historical and cultural values. Among the people visiting Uncle Ho's hometown today, there are many groups of visitors who are organizations and groups. Not only do they come to visit, but they also come to offer incense and hold a ceremony to report their achievements to Uncle Ho. At Uncle Ho's memorial house, I had the opportunity to attend a ceremony to report achievements and honor outstanding young people in the movement to study and follow the moral example of Ho Chi Minh organized by the Provincial Youth Union. With young soldier Lau Ba Nenh, Muong Tip Border Guard Station (Ky Son), for the first time visiting Uncle Ho's hometown, he could not help but be moved: "At Uncle Ho's memorial house, we young people were honored to receive the title "Youth following Uncle Ho's words". We seem to be more aware of the responsibility of youth and promise ourselves to strive to follow his example".

The Uncle Ho Memorial House in Kim Lien Relic Site has, over the years, become a place to organize meaningful political and cultural events not only for units and agencies in the province but also for provinces across the country. This is considered a meaningful traditional educational activity, contributing to promoting the historical and cultural values ​​of the relic. According to Mr. Nguyen Ba Hoe, Director of Kim Lien Relic Site, to promote the inherent value of the National Historical Relic, the Relic Management Board always focuses on on-site propaganda for visitors; ensuring to serve the needs of visitors all days of the year.

When visiting Uncle Ho's hometown, visitors not only get to see with their own eyes the artifacts associated with his life but also register to listen to free explanations. Currently, at the relic site, the staff doing the explaining work are all professionally trained to serve as guides and welcome visitors... The management board also strengthens propaganda activities on the media; in addition, coordinates with researchers, universities, and museums to organize seminars on Uncle Ho's hometown, family, life, and career; to educate the younger generation on ethics and ideology. We strengthen coordination with the provincial tourism promotion center and other provinces to organize tours and routes to visit Uncle Ho's hometown.

Thanks to that, the average number of visitors to the Kim Lien Historical and Cultural Relic Site each year reaches nearly 2 million. In recent years, the number of visitors to Uncle Ho's hometown has increased steadily each year from 10-15%. Particularly for the Mausoleum of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan, after being preserved and restored, the number of visitors coming here to visit has nearly doubled compared to before. These are positive signs in promoting the value of the cultural and historical tourist destination - Kim Lien Historical and Cultural Relic Site. Along with the project "Preservation and restoration of Kim Lien Historical and Cultural Relic Site", in recent times, Nghe An has also had many coordinated activities with other provinces to develop tourism. Hopefully, with those synchronous solutions, it will contribute to making Kim Lien Historical and Cultural Relic Site an important nucleus in the tourist route of visitors to Nghe An in the coming time.

Dinh Nguyet