Ups and downs of Vinh street trees

High-rise buildings spring up, canals turn green again, old and new people come and go, trees fall and new shoots sprout, creating the shape and soul of the street, with many memories clinging to the memories of the citizens.

Banyan tree in the old apartment building. Photo: Le Thang

Anyone who is a resident of Vinh city, or has a predestined relationship with this land, must have some personal nostalgia, whether vague or deep, for the trees here. I am sure, because unlike many large cities in Vietnam, Vinh city has a fairly high density of urban green space, for many years being in the top 5 nationwide according to the Vietnam Tree Association.

In 2017, this figure was about 11.5 m2/person. It is said that on average, each year, the city government allocates 12 billion VND from the budget (17 billion VND in 2017 alone) to plant, renovate and protect the system of trees, grass, and flowers on the streets and public areas. Therefore, in Vinh Street, it is not an exaggeration to say that when you open the door, go out, or touch the road, you will "encounter" trees, of all shapes and sizes.

Kapok trees in bloom on Truong Van Linh Street. Photo: Trung Ha

Few people know that in Vinh city there are unique and rare trees. Every day, how many people pass by Phong Dinh Cang - Nguyen Van Troi street, have they noticed at the intersection of the two streets there is a tall tree - known as the "national tree" of Madagascar, a remote island nation in the Indian Ocean? The tree is called baobab - its ancestors are from far away Africa and some botanists believe that the tree's lifespan can be up to thousands of years (?).

I have tried to linger on this road many times, curiously asking the locals about the “past” of this unique tree, but there was not much useful information. No one in the city seemed to know the age of the tree, only speculating that this baobab tree was one of the six baobab trees currently growing in Vietnam. That would be very rare, but the hustle and bustle of life pushed everything away very quickly, the impression of that unique tree was fortunately still left somewhat on the nameplate of “Baobab Coffee Shop” - a familiar hangout for students of Vinh University. The shop staff, one after another, seemed to have heard at least once a customer ask: “Why is the shop named Baobab?” The random question unexpectedly became a thread reminding and holding on to the image of a tree from faraway Africa, so that the tree could once again be visible in the memory of contemporary urbanites.

The park is covered in green. Photo: Hai Vuong

Vinh City has many trees, but no tree species is considered a “brand” of the street. If Hanoi is full of milk flowers, Hai Phong is bright with red phoenix flowers, Hue is dreamy with purple Lagerstroemia flowers... then it is difficult to name a tree or flower species to identify Vinh City. The green space of the city is true to the saying: “Each season has its own fruit!”

Who has passed through and returned along Le Mao Street without knowing that for a long time, the street has been famous for its rows of ancient soapberry trees? Decades of “tree age”, decades of “street age”, the soapberry trees have been attached to and witnessed many changes, ups and downs, becoming a part of this inner-city route. When the soapberry trees had not yet closed their canopy on the sidewalk of the old street, Le Mao Street was proud to be the street with the “first generation” modern construction, the Provincial Labor Culture House, with many cultural and artistic events, large and small celebrations taking place here.

Then when the road was extended into the new urban area of ​​Vinh Tan, with many apartment buildings, high-rise buildings, and shops springing up like mushrooms, the row of casuarinas witnessed the ups and downs of the new street. The sun rose, the rain fell, the leaves shimmered with the dreamy yellow of doves or soaked in the misty sky, the row of casuarinas still stood there, silent and recorded everything in its green memories.

The red color of royal poinciana flowers in early summer at Quang Trung apartment building. Photo by Thanh Cuong

How can I name all the trees in Vinh city: banyan, royal poinciana, lagerstroemia, Indian laurel, Indian laurel, Indian laurel, areca, and even mango, mulberry, palm, black star, orange, and parasol... From mid-March until now, walking along many streets, my heart is moved when I see the image of Indian laurel trees in the season of changing leaves. The transition between the layers of green leaves, turning orange-yellow and then dark red, creates a romantic, poetic scene that is hard to describe. Indian laurels are not planted in rows, paths, or appear densely on a certain street, but are only scattered on a couple of streets such as Le Loi, Lenin Avenue, Ho Goong...

That scarcity becomes a surprising and memorable highlight for the familiar city dwellers, one day when the seasons change, they suddenly stop and are surprised to realize that the treetops they pass by every day are so beautiful! The season of changing the clothes of the Barringtonia acutangula does not last long, about a week, but the impression of the "forest" of red leaves brings a stirring feeling of a very different Vinh city.

Purple Lagerstroemia flowers on a street corner. Photo: Trung Ha

There are also many happy and sad stories surrounding the green color of Vinh city. A few years ago, in a side conversation with the leader of the unit in charge of planting and caring for the city's trees, this person lamented: trees provide shade, trees create landscapes, but not all people like trees, love trees, and respect the efforts of those who take care of them! Not many, but there are still some households that automatically cut down the canopy, trim branches and leaves... because they think that large trees will cover and "darken" their house, or the homeowner thinks that the tree is not suitable for that type of tree so they find a way to "destroy" it.

It is a joke that there are people who every night bring oil, dirty waste to dump, or hammer nails into the roots of trees so that the trees “have no way” to grow. How can we behave like that with trees - the city's close companions, without which this urban area would be just soulless concrete blocks, without immense memories!

It is no exaggeration to say that rows of trees have become a part of the soul of this city. Imagine streets like Ngu Hai, Dinh Cong Trang, Le Mao, Le Hoan, Duy Tan, Le Hong Phong, Nguyen Van Cu, Phan Dinh Phung, Phan Boi Chau... without a single shade of tree, where would be the beauty of the inner city streets, what would make people who go far away remember the streets? The streets are still silently growing day by day. Now, many buildings are taller than all the trees in the world. But even more so, what can replace the beauty of those magical green layers?