Certainly, not long from now, Vinh city will include Cua Lo town and some southern communes bordering Lam river of Nghi Loc district. At that time, Vinh will have the sea as the city’s facade. Vinh will be a coastal city. But for a long time, Vinh has had the character of rivers and seas.
On May 2, 1802, Nguyen Anh ascended the throne, named himself Gia Long, and founded the Nguyen Dynasty. In 1803, Gia Long decided to move the Nghe An capital to Yen Truong, Chan Loc/Nghi Loc district. In May of the year Giap Ty (1804), Gia Long issued an edict to build Nghe An citadel to move the capital from Lam Thanh to Vinh Yen and Yen Truong. The history of Vinh as the center of Nghe An began from then.
In 1885, French colonialists occupied Nghe An. To match the development level and colonial exploitation needs of French colonialists, in 1898, the Southern Dynasty and the protectorate government established Vinh town; in 1914, Ben Thuy town was established; in 1917, Truong Thi town was established. On December 10, 1927, the 3 towns were merged into Vinh - Ben Thuy city.
Thus, in the beginning, Vinh was an urban area planned in the Northwest - Southeast direction. Along this axis ran Vinh River/Le Dynasty Canal/Con Moc River. Nghe An Citadel's Tien Gate faced Vinh River (so it was also called Cua Tien River). To the Southeast of Vinh City was Lam River, Ben Thuy Port.
Vinh River, originally Con Moc River, was shallow and narrow at first. During the Le Dynasty, it was deepened and widened, connecting with the canal system dug by successive feudal dynasties of Tien Le and Hau Le from Ninh Binh to Ha Tinh. Vinh River also flows into Lam River, ending at the west of Dung Quyet Mountain, about 500m from Ben Thuy Port. Since ancient times, this river has been the main waterway of Nghe An with the northern provinces. And crossing Lam River is Minh Luong River/Menh River, also a dug river, a canal of the Le Dynasty, flowing all the way to the south of Ha Tinh.
Let's talk about Lam River and Ben Thuy. Lam River flows from the West to Lam Thanh, then joins La River and flows into the sea at Cua Hoi. Ben Thuy is on the left bank of Lam River, the southern starting point of Vinh city. From Ben Thuy, go downstream about 10 km to the sea, to Cua Hoi.
Vinh is the urban area that takes on the role of the capital - the political and administrative center of Lam Thanh. Lam Thanh was built on Rum hill/Hung Son mountain/Thanh mountain, and was the capital of Nghe An through many dynasties. At the foot of Lam Thanh is the Phu intersection, where the Lam and La rivers converge. (Thus, no matter where, the capital of Nghe An is located near the river. Bach Ngoc - during the time of Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang (11th century), adjacent to Lam river; Dinh Cau town capital (17th century) was located next to Tri river (Ky Anh).
In the medieval history of Vietnam, from Cua Hoi to the Phu/Lam Thanh intersection, along the two banks of the lower Lam River, trading ports appeared one after another after the Vietnamese regained their independence (10th century) and then rose strongly to make Dai Viet a country with an important position in the region's trade and transportation network. These trading ports promoted the economic development of Nghe An and contributed to the development of the country for many centuries in the medieval period.
That is Hoi Thong trading port, located in the south of Cua Hoi, also known as Dan Nhai (meaning boat dock), formed in the 11th century and developed until the 19th century. For many centuries, Hoi Thong had bustling commercial activities, not only domestic trade but also foreign trade. The book "Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi" said that since the Ly dynasty, Chinese merchants came here to trade and then went north to Xa Dang (Hung Yen). Next came Japanese merchants and merchants from other countries from Europe, India, and Southeast Asia. Hoi Thong was once an international trading center, the central port in the North Central region for many centuries.
From Hoi Thong, boats go upstream on Lam River to Den Huyen, Xuan Pho, Phu Thach (Ha Tinh), Trieu Khau (Nghe An).
The Den Huyen trading port is about 7 km from Hoi Thong, with a history of development corresponding to and dependent on Hoi Thong (11th - 19th century). Nghe An Ky by Bui Duong Lich describes: “Red flags flutter all over Ta Ao market area/ Fishing boat flutes melodiously follow the rhythm of Dan Nhai life/ Passersby still remember this river wharf/ Going from the South to the North, boats stop and fill the river wharf”.About 3 km downstream, at the same time as Den Huyen, there was also Xuan Pho trading port, which was the headquarters of Nghi Xuan district in the 16th century. There were times when this trading port was even busier than Den Huyen trading port.
Trieu Khau commercial port is located on the northern bank of Lam River, in Hung Khanh Commune, Hung Nguyen District, Nghe An Province today. The history and birth space of Trieu Khau commercial port is closely linked to Nghe An's capital for nearly 400 years (1428 - 1803) located at Thanh Mountain right on the bank of Lam River - Nghe An (except for a few decades when the capital moved to Dinh Cau - Ky Anh). Talking about Trieu Khau is talking about Trang market. Trang market is an essential part of Trieu Khau port - market.
Connected with Lam Thanh and Lam River - the trade route connecting the vast Nghe An region, and from there connecting with the sea trade routes, Trieu Khau had an open trade relationship. In the late 16th and 17th centuries, Japanese, Chinese, and Western merchant ships passed through Cua Hoi to enter Trieu Khau. Alexandre de Rhodes said that he once followed a Portuguese merchant ship from Bo Chinh (Quang Binh) to Trieu Khau and was warmly welcomed by the provincial authorities. Or in 1637, the Dutch ship Grol arrived at Hoi Thong and then entered Trieu Khau. The presence of foreign merchants promoted the development of Trang market:“Trang market in the twenty-seventh month/Those who want to walk can keep walking, those who want to go by boat can keep going”.By the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, the Trieu Khau trading port gradually declined and died out, because the Lam River changed its course and the Nghe An capital moved to Yen Truong.
Phu Thach trading port is located on the southern bank of Lam River, opposite Trieu Khau. Since the end of the 14th century, this has been a famous trading place of Nghe An. From the middle of the 17th century, Phu Thach had a remarkable development when the wave of Chinese people fleeing the Qing Dynasty came here to trade and settle down. Phu Thach became a Chinese town with wealthy merchants. When Nghe An town was moved to Yen Truong/Vinh, Phu Thach was still a metropolis. During the reign of Minh Mang (1820-1841), the Chinese were ordered to move to Vinh, Phu Thach gradually declined from then on.
When the medieval trading ports along Lam River gradually lost their position and the provincial capital moved to Yen Truong/Vinh, Ben Thuy appeared as the central trading port of Nghe An.
Ben Thuy is a river port, named after Don Thuy - a naval base during the Le Dynasty to defend against enemy attacks from the sea or to depart from here to the sea. Don Thuy - Ben Thuy is the gateway to the sea of Vinh, past and present.
However, under the Nguyen Dynasty, due to the closed-door policy, Ben Thuy port did not develop, mainly domestic trade. It was not until the French arrived that Ben Thuy was once again properly evaluated for its position. "Ben Thuy port in the near future will become one of the most active ports on the coast near Saigon and Hai Phong" [Indochina Economic Yearbook]. "Ben Thuy is a trading port along the Ca River (48,453 tons of goods, of which 32,508 tons are exported), will have a bright future when the Thakhet road is opened and Ben Thuy will become a place to consume Lao goods (tin, wood, livestock)".
Ben Thuy is the main port opening the way to the sea for Vinh in particular and Central Vietnam, specifically North Central Vietnam in general. Ben Thuy is the largest river port near the seaport of North Central Vietnam, the center connecting the exploitation of railway, waterway and road services in Central Vietnam during the French colonial period. The scale of colonial exploitation was increasingly expanded, the position of Ben Thuy port became more prominent on the economic map of Indochina in the early 20th century, becoming the economic throat of North Central Vietnam and Laos. J.Bouault and E De Razario wrote in "Geography of Indochina" as follows: "Ben Thuy is a natural port of mediocre rank, but it is a port with a bright future in industry and trade"; "...Ben Thuy will become one of the most important ports in Indochina".
Indeed, by the 1920s, with the investment of the French Government and French and local capitalists, Vinh - Ben Thuy had become an urban area with the largest economic scale and stature, especially the busiest industrial and commercial area in the Central region and the whole country. Accordingly, Vinh gradually developed culturally and socially. This proves that rivers and seas have become important factors promoting the urbanization process and socio-economic development of Vinh in modern times.
According to the planning approved by the Government, Vinh will expand to include Cua Lo town and some communes downstream of Lam river. At that time, Vinh's frontage will be more than 10 km of coastline, including Song Ngu island, Mat island and about 15 km bordering Lam river, 20 km bordering Vinh river/Le canal. Vinh will be surrounded by river and sea. It is undeniable that in the near future, Vinh will be a coastal city.
As a coastal city, Vinh will benefit greatly from the sea in many aspects, from geopolitics to geo-economics and geo-culture. The sea is "the last field of humanity". The two seaports of Cua Lo and Cua Hoi will open up a new development future for Vinh. Cua Hoi and Cua Lo will be the starting point for Vinh to access the immense resources of the sea. Not only material resources, the sea will bring geopolitical, geo-cultural and geo-economic values in the context of globalization. The vastness of the sea will certainly bring freedom and openness in thinking and opportunities for exchange and development. The sea will make Vinh become the intersection for the mainland not only of Nghe An but also the North Central region and Laos with the world.
Historical experience and new knowledge will certainly guide and suggest Vinh new visions about the sea to have new, scientific and accurate decisions about the sea in the development journey in the future, near and far, as a coastal city. The very old and very new lesson is to know how to protect the sea, exploit the sea in the most scientific, reasonable and humane way.
It is not by chance that Resolution No. 09-NQ/TW, dated February 9, 2007 "On Vietnam's marine strategy to 2020" sets the goal of turning our country into a strong maritime nation, rich from the sea in the direction of sustainable development, striving to contribute about 53 - 55% of the total GDP; 55 - 60% of the total export turnover of the whole country; well solving social issues, significantly improving the lives of people in coastal and sea areas; having an average income per capita twice as high as the average income of the whole country.
Copy this goal to see more clearly Vinh's maritime advantages in the future.
The remaining problem is how Vinh will respond to and use the sea element in its upcoming development journey.
