Preserving village characteristics in the construction of new rural areas.

(Baonghean) - The ultimate goal of building new rural areas is to improve the material and spiritual lives of the people.

How to simultaneously ensure the goal of building modern new rural areas while preserving the valuable traditional culture of the countryside is a concern for many localities.

Preserving and promoting the arts and culture movement in Bong Khe commune, Cong Cuong district. Photo by PV.

Among the 19 criteria for building new rural areas, besides the criterion of developing production to increase income, many localities have given importance to the criterion of building culture, preserving and promoting the good values ​​that have existed and are still existing in rural villages.

Ky Son commune (Tan Ky district) is striving to achieve the New Rural Area (NRA) status by the end of 2017. Regarding the preservation and promotion of traditional village culture in conjunction with the New Rural Area development, Mr. Vo Van Quyet, Secretary of the Commune Party Committee, stated: The locality prioritizes building cultural facilities so that people have places to gather, play, and organize traditional sports. Therefore, to date, all 17 hamlets have suitable cultural facilities that meet standards, with basic equipment and tools for cultural activities invested in; all hamlets have concrete courtyards for sports activities and outdoor stages for mass art performances. From there, each hamlet has established art clubs and men's and women's volleyball teams that regularly practice, not only for festivals but also for health training and the preservation of local traditional culture. The commune also has recreational and sports facilities for children and the elderly.

Nam Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district) was one of the first localities in the province to achieve the New Rural Area (NRA) status (at the end of 2014). The rural landscape here has changed significantly, and along with that, the spiritual life of the people has been improved. Mr. Nguyen Sy Tuan – Head of the Culture Committee of Nam Thanh commune – said: After achieving NRA status, the local government has paid special attention to the development of mass culture and sports to preserve the unique cultural characteristics of the locality. Every hamlet has one or two volleyball courts. During holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), the arts clubs practice with folk songs from Nghe An province, and many traditional games such as tug-of-war, stick pushing, and human chess are regularly organized. The commune has also built a multi-purpose sports complex, attracting talented children in traditional sports such as badminton and table tennis to participate in training. In particular, the commune's elderly association has established clubs such as: soft volleyball, Thuc Vu Kinh, Nhat Nam... attracting elderly people to participate in activities.

The Gong Club in Yen village, Mon Son commune (Con Cuong district) regularly performs at local festivals. Photo: Xuan Hoang.

Mass cultural, artistic, and sporting activities have created a joyful and healthy atmosphere, strengthening community solidarity. The villages of Nam Thanh commune have also been restored and preserved, highlighting their traditional beauty.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Y, a member of the Elderly Association in Loc Thanh hamlet and a member of the Nam Thanh commune's recreational volleyball club, shared: "Nam Thanh is a land with a rich rural cultural tradition. After the New Rural Development program, local cultural and artistic movements have had more opportunities to develop, with many new sports such as recreational volleyball and badminton creating an environment for the elderly to participate in training. New Rural Development here not only focuses on material well-being but also on improving the spiritual lives of the people. I hope that along the New Rural Development roads, the local authorities will plant more trees on both sides."

Ky Son commune (Tan Ky district) is working hard to improve rural transportation, striving to achieve the New Rural Area status by the end of 2017. Photo: Xuan Hoang.

In many rural villages today, besides building roads and investing in infrastructure, the commune also maintains many good customs and traditions with cultural value, such as valuing kinship and neighborly relations, respecting hierarchy in the village, respecting the elderly, living together in hamlets, and being united and helping each other in labor, production, and life...

These are crucial cultural elements that contribute to fostering and inspiring the spirit, self-awareness, and unity of the people in building new rural areas. Some localities have even built cultural villages and new-style residential areas.

Looking at the reality, the distinctive rural landscape and architecture in many places are showing signs of disappearing as localities strive to build new rural areas. The green spaces of bamboo groves and trees are gradually giving way to concrete and brick structures in the villages. Even the main roads leading to the fields lack any shade...

I believe that building new rural areas should be based on existing cultural traditions and village cultural identity. Therefore, in addition to focusing on improving people's lives, it is also necessary to preserve the essence of the village. This issue must be in the initial thinking when we begin building new rural areas. Preserving the beauty of village culture not only retains what our ancestors painstakingly cultivated, but also educates the younger generation about the traditional culture of their homeland and preserves the "soul" of Vietnamese villages.

Mr. Hoang Nghia Hieu, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Chief of the Coordination Office for the National Target Program on New Rural Development in the province, stated that the first and ultimate goal of building new rural areas is for people to have a high level of awareness and proactively build their own lives; at its core, this is about building cultured individuals. Building new rural areas has been a persistent journey over many years, transforming from a requirement into a need, from a hope into an aspiration for the people, localities, levels, and sectors...

Xuan Hoang