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LANG SON
Lang Son is a northeastern province which
is located on the Sino-Vietnamese border over a stretch of 253km.
The capital of Lang Son, 500m above sea level, is situated on the
left bank of Ky Cung River. Opposite the town and on the far side
of the river is Ky Lua Market. The market is accessible by means
of the Ky Cung bridge. Standing on the bridge, visitors can see
a high mountain peak resembling a woman with a baby in her hands.
From time immemorial, the peak has been given the name of Vong Phu(Awaiting one's husband).
Legend has it that Lady To Thi with a baby in her hands stood there
day and day waiting for the return of the husband who had gone to war.
She waited so long that both her and her child were turned into stone.
Dong Dang, a town on the Sino-Vietnamese border, is 14km from Lang Son
town. Just three kilometres to the east of Song Dang is the Huu Nghi(Friendship)
border gate. As long as living memory can testify, the border gate has
been a major point for the exchange of goods between Vietnamese and
Chinese living on either side of the border areas.
After a period of
border conflicts, the border gate has once again opened to traders
and visitors of the two countries. L¹ng S¬n has favourable climatic
conditions and is home to some valuable fruits such as pears, plums
and Japanese persimmons. Lang Son is also home to some picturesque
grottoes, especially Tam Thanh Grottoes (Nhat Thanh, Nhi Thanh, Tam Thanh).
The most famous is Tam Thanh on the western end of Ky Lua street, because
it resembles a crouching elephant on a vast grassy field. The entrance
to the grotto is almost obscured from sunlight, because it is covered
with a dense foliage of trees. High on the wall to the right side of
the entrance , there remains a poem carved deep into the stone. The
poem was written by Ngo Thi Si (1726- 1780) when he was stationed in
Lang Son as the commander of the Lang Son military post.
Ngo Thi Si
praised the beauty of the magnificent mountain and landscapes possessed
by Lang Son. Inside the grotto is a statue of Buddha. Many stalactites
and stalagmites make the grotto look more picturesque and mystical.
Ngo Thi Si was the person who discovered Nhi Thanh Grotto. The name
Nhi Thanh was chosen by Ngo Thi Si to commemorate his birth place in
Ta Thanh Oai village in Thanh Oai district in Ha Tay province. To
commemorate his great contributions to the grotto, Ngo Thi Si had
his portrait carved on an interior wall.
Song Ky Cung - Lang Son - Hon To Thi
REVOLUTIONARY BAC SON"Whoever comes back to visit the mountain district
of BAC SON Will remember the time when forest leaves were stained with
blood(...) The gold-starred red flags of guerrillas of the August Revolution
Fluttered over combat zones Oh ! Bac Son, where enemy troops were destroyed
BAC SON, the area of forests and hills sheltering our military base!...
""That winter evening" - the revolutionary song written by Van Cao
(author of our national anthem) - was sung around a fire burning in a
house on stilts in Bac Son, a district of the border province of Lang Son
The emotion felt in the voices of the singers, two former militants of
the Viet Minh(VC) - Dr. Hoai and his colleague Hien, both in their seventies
now - deeply moved their audience of Vietnamese pilgrims, who had participated
in the August 1945 revolution and the First Resistance War, and their
French and American companions.Our group had started from Ha Noi and
travelled 79 kilometres by car before arriving in Thai Nguyen, capital
of the province of the same name (Thai Nguyen and Bac Can have merged
and formed the present province of Bac Thai).
Thai Nguyen
Thai Nguyen was the
first town liberated by the Viet Minh following its foundation in 1941.
In the first war of resistance (1945 - 1954), the northern highlands
of Viet Bac were its stronghold with Thai Nguyen and Bac Can sheltering
its headquarters. In the second war of resistance, Thai Nguyen was razed
to the ground by American air bombings. It has been rebuilt and is now a
municipality which boasts a richly documented Museum of Nationalities,
a metallurgical industry, and a School of Culture and Art of Ethnic
Minorities. From Thai Nguyen, we turned right to enter the province
of Lang Son. After driving 77 kilometres along a rough road, we came
to BAC SON at sunset. Near the main street of the district centre, a
TAY village was bathed in the mist together with the limestone hills
in the background. Most of its houses were built of bamboo and wood,
a rarity now in the highlands where wood-and-bamboo houses-on-stilts
have been replaced by brick ones built at ground level. The landscape
before our eyes evoked a wash-drawing in the traditional Chinese style.
For a better understanding of the role played by Bac Son and its population
of ethnic minorities at the time of the Revolution, we must come back
to the year 1940 when the Japanese fascist army issued an ultimatum
to the French colonial forces then occupying Viet Nam (and Indochina).
By way of intimidation, the Japanese attacked the French garrison in
L¹ng S¬n, which withdrew to Ha Noi via Bac Son. The embryonic revolutionary
forces of Bac Son, made up of members of ethnic minorities, with the
support of the local population, availed themselves of the occasion to
disarm the fleeing troops and seize the military post of Vo Nhai.
Many indigenous soldiers of the post joined the revolutionary forces.
Soon, however, the Japanese with French complicity set about repressing
the revolution. The Bac Son insurrection was crushed. Following a directive
of the Communist Party, the Bac Son guerrillas under the command of
Chu Van Tan (a member of the Nung minority who later became an army
general) formed themselves into the first squads of the National Salvation
Troops (CUU' QUO^C QUA^N), who took refuge at the Chinese border from
where they returned in 1943 to engage under Viet Minh command in
operations of "armed propaganda" which contributed to the building of
the first bases of the Viet Bac liberated zone. In late 1944, on order
from Ho Chi Minh, Vo Nguyen Giap set up the first unit of the Armed
Propaganda Brigade for the Liberation of Vietnam. In April 1945, it
merged with the forces of the National Salvation troops to become the
Liberation Army of Vietnam. The Bac Son insurrection illustrated a historical truth:
Traditional solidarity between the Viet majority ethnic group and the
minorities. Economic solidarity between people living in the lowlands
who needed forest products and highland people who needed salt and metal
tools. Political solidarity when it came to fighting against foreign invaders:
The Mongols in the 13th century, the Ming in the 15th, the French and
Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Lang Son - Tourism Potential for DevelopmentThe scenery
in Lang Son, a northern border province, grabs the attention of visitors as they
travel through these "magical" landscapes endowed by nature. Historical relics and
the cultural traditions of ethnic minorities in the north-eastern region of the
country also complement the province's unique natural surroundings. Caves, grottoes,
pagodas, ancient temples and many old stele are some of the fascinating sights awaiting
the visitor to Lang Son. Travelling around the provincial town, visitors will have a
chance to see wonderful places such as the Nhat-Nhi-Tam Thanh (first-second and third)
grottoes, the Tien pagoda, the Ky Cung rock bank, the Ngo Thi Si stele, the Tran temple,
and the Thanh pagoda, all found in a tourist area named after the grottoes. In addition
to the beautiful landscapes and an excellent climate, L¹ng S¬n is a cradle of the unique
cultural traditions of many ethnic minorities, including their customs and habits, codes
of conduct, stilt houses, traditional costumes and folk songs and dances. The Si, Then
and Luon songs performed by the Tay and Nung ethnic groupings can be enjoyed and their
special food and drink sampled in Lang Son. In 1994, the province received more than 4,000
visitors from foreign countries and every year, thousands of Vietnamese travel to Lang Son
from various parts of the country, including many pilgrims to the various shrines and
ancient holy places. In order to make full use of the province's potential for tourist
development, a large sum of money has been invested in restoring many historical structures
and in building various tourist destinations of both historical and cultural interest. Joint
efforts were made between the Tourism Department and the Cultural Department of Lang Son
to this effect in 1994 and about VND900 million was invested in the repair of stone footsteps,
bridges and lighting systems in Nhi Thanh and Tam Thanh grottoes. Over VND3.2 billion
was invested in rebuilding Hoang Van Thu park and a number of historical sites. The
local people have also donated money to restore or repair many temples and pagodas. The
provincial authorities have outlined a master plan to boost tourist development to the
year 2000. In addition to projects to restore different sites, there are plans to build
the Mau Son tourist village where various ethnic minorities reside and further develop
the Tam Thanh tourist complex. Efforts will be accelerated to make full use of the cultural
traditions of the ethnic people living in the province as a tourist attraction. On the
other hand, numerous recreation places will be built, including sites for mountain climbing,
hunting, rowing, horse riding or sightseeing. This will be done together with further
encouragement of the performance traditional folk songs and dances by every ethnic minority.
LANG SON is calling for more investments from domestic sources for these plans and is
seeking foreign partners to carry out these projects to help build tourism into an important
economic sector for the future of the province.
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The northern province of Tuyen Quang is characterized
by many peaks of more than 2,000m above sea level. It is covered by a
large area of forests, mostly primeval, and is abundant in rare,
precious timber trees and as many as 1,000 species of medicinal
herbs and plants. Its provincial capital is also Tuyen Quang.
Some 50km from this town is Tan Trao, formerly called Kim Long in
Son Duong district. This is a hamlet of Tay ethnic minority lying
in a small valley at the foot of the RE Pass, and is surrounded
by rolling high mountains and thick forests. The hamlet was
liberated in March 1945, and the valley was renamed as Tan Trao.
A large banyan tree stands in Tan Trao.
President Ho
Chi Minh made a statue of Karl Marx out of one of the stalagmites,
and named the spring running in front of the grotto entrance after
Lenin and the highest mountain peak after Karl Marx again. In this
grotto, President H?presided over many important meetings to discuss
ways to bring the Vietnamese revolution to final victory. From Thai Nguyen
City, provincial capital of Bac Thai province, you drive along Highway
3 to the towns of Bac Can and Phu Thong.