CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF LAM DONG LIBERATION (April 3, 1975 - April 3, 2025): Vitality of the flower city

The appearance of Da Lat city today. Photo: Tran Quang Anh

• MORE AND MORE TOURISTS COME

Wiping off a thin layer of dust from the stalls in a grocery store selling clothing and accessories on Bui Thi Xuan Street, Da Lat, which is under construction and expansion, Ms. Tran Tuyet Lan, 71 years old, from Ward 1, Da Lat, said: "The street is making dust, I am covering the stalls with plastic sheets, only when someone comes to buy can I open them to see." Born in 1954, Ms. Lan moved from Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) to Da Lat with her family at the age of 4, and has lived in this flower city for 68 years. Her house on the slope at the end of Truong Cong Dinh Street is quite famous, she is familiar with this city from every corner, every street in the central area of ​​Da Lat. When she was young, Ms. Lan studied at Doan Thi Diem Primary School, then studied at Bui Thi Xuan Girls' School (now Bui Thi Xuan High School), in 1975, when the country was unified, she was in her first year at Da Lat University.

At that time, Ms. Lan was 21 years old, enthusiastically participating in youth activities in the city, being a member of the Da Lat Shock Team to the new economic zones in the mountains of Duc Trong. 2 years later, she returned to Da Lat, participated in youth work in the ward, experienced many jobs such as accounting, then worked at the Da Lat City Youth Union, Lam Dong Provincial Youth Union, then returned to work in Ward 1 through many positions. Since 2015, when she was older, she has been the Head of Residential Group 4, Ward 1 until now.

In addition to community work, her family has long owned a small shop on Bui Thi Xuan Street, Da Lat. Every day, she and her husband go to this shop to buy and sell, and when there is community work, she goes, leaving her husband to look after the shop. They have two sons, the eldest son studies and works in Japan; the second son works in the Da Lat tourism industry. As someone who is attached to Da Lat, looking back, Ms. Lan told us that she has witnessed a Da Lat that went through a difficult period, then a period of development, especially in the last 20 years, developing very quickly. “The city seems to change every day, becoming more and more beautiful, people's lives are getting better and better. Not only are houses being renovated, built bigger and more beautiful, but offices, restaurants, hotels are springing up, schools are being built, and roads are getting wider and wider,” Ms. Lan said.

One thing that makes her happy is the increasing number of tourists coming to Da Lat. “I live in the central area, not only during Tet or summer, but for many years now, every weekend I see a lot of tourists. Da Lat is a peaceful tourist city, the streets are clean, the weather is cool, flowers bloom all year round, the people are gentle, elegant, hospitable, tourists come to create more jobs for the city's people, this is a very happy thing”, Ms. Lan expressed.

• DEVELOPING SUNRISE

Mr. Tran Van Phuc, 72 years old, a resident of Xuan Thanh flower village, Xuan Tho commune, a suburban commune of Da Lat, expressed his joy at seeing the lives of people in the suburbs improving and rising. Mr. Phuc said that his father came from Hoa Vang, Da Nang, followed the cog railway from Phan Rang to Da Lat and then chose to settle down in this land named Xuan Thanh, Xuan Tho since 1938. Mr. Phuc was born in Xuan Thanh village, lived here since childhood until now, so he is familiar with every family in this flower village. Interestingly, according to Mr. Phuc, Xuan Thanh village used to belong to Don Duong, then to Lac Duong district before Da Lat city expanded here. Now Xuan Thanh is one of the famous flower villages of Da Lat city.

After the country's reunification, Mr. Phuc actively participated in youth activities, was the Chairman of the production group, Chairman of the Xuan Loc Cooperative here, was the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Xuan Tho commune and now, at his old age, he is still one of the typical farmers of Xuan Thanh flower village. His family has about 1 hectare of land for growing flowers and vegetables, of which 4 sao have been turned into greenhouses, currently his 2 sons are working with him in production. “In the past, the suburban areas were very poor, with wooden houses, corrugated iron roofs, and vegetable growing. Everything was done by hand. The roads leading to the production areas were muddy in the rainy season. It was exhausting to carry the products all the way to the road. Around 1990, everything gradually changed, but from around 2000 until now, things have changed very quickly. Now the village roads have become asphalt roads, electricity, school roads, stations, everything is available. Even the roads leading to the production areas were built by the State and the People together, and are now all concrete. In the production areas, dome houses and high-tech greenhouses have sprung up, and there are enough production machines and tools. Villagers do not only grow a few crops a year like before, but now they can farm all year round, and traders come to the garden to buy and transport the products,” Mr. Phuc said.

In this Xuan Thanh flower village, according to Mr. Phuc, the whole village has 360 households, of which about 40 are temporary residents, with about 1,700 people, and there is no shortage of daily jobs. Xuan Thanh village and the whole Xuan Tho commune now have no poor households, and have been a new rural commune for many years. "In the past, raising a child in the family to go to university was very difficult, but now many gardeners' children go to university, many of them have graduated with knowledge and now come back with their families to invest in growing high-tech flowers, doing very well in business. About 40% of the households in the flower village have now bought cars," Mr. Phuc smiled.

• PROMOTING STRENGTHS

Many figures demonstrate the strong vitality of a dynamic flower city 50 years after the country's reunification. According to information from the People's Committee of Da Lat City, in 2024, the average production value calculated at comparable prices of the whole city is estimated to reach 6.6%/year, of which the Agriculture - Forestry - Fishery sector increases by 4.6%/year; the Industry - Construction sector increases by 5.3%/year, the Trade - Service sector increases by 7.2%/year. In the current economic structure, trade - service continues to account for the highest share at 68.7%; followed by industry - construction at about 19%; agriculture - forestry - fishery at 12.1%. The total state budget revenue managed by Da Lat in 2024 is 1,762.3 billion VND (reaching 92.27% of the plan). In 2024 alone, the total social investment capital is about 27,007 billion VND, equal to 108.3% of the plan and an increase of 21% over the same period; Da Lat's total export turnover in 2024 is 136.5 million USD, equal to 101.1% of the plan, an increase of 8.6% over the same period.

Data in social fields are also very positive. In 2024, the city will have no new poor or near-poor households; the rate of participation in universal health insurance will reach 95.1%; the rate of schools meeting national standards will reach 75% (the plan is 73%), of which the rate of public schools meeting national standards will reach 91%; in 2024, the city will have 5,061 new workers with 80% of them having been trained; the rate of residential groups and villages with meeting halls will be 90%; 98% of agencies will meet cultural standards; 96% of households will meet cultural standards; all wards and communes will have cultural activity points (with meeting halls combined with cultural houses); the rate of residential groups and villages meeting cultural standards will be 91%; all 4/4 communes in the suburbs will meet advanced new rural standards.

Up to now, all wards and communes in Da Lat have met national health standards; all residents use clean, hygienic water; the forest coverage rate in the whole area is 50.9%; the rate of collection and treatment of domestic waste is 99.5%; all medical waste is treated; 90% of post-harvest agricultural waste is treated; 95% of used pesticide packaging is collected and treated.

In agriculture, the city currently has about 7,300 hectares of high-tech agriculture, an increase of 180 hectares compared to the previous year, accounting for 68.8% of the total agricultural land area. The average harvest value of 1 hectare is about 530 million VND/year, an increase of 30 million VND compared to the previous year. Some high-value crops, such as high-tech coffee, reach 250 million VND/ha/year; high-quality tea branches reach about 370 million VND/ha/year; high-quality vegetables reach 860 million VND/ha/year and cut flowers reach about 1.1 billion VND/ha/year.

Up to now, Da Lat has always paid special attention to the development of high-tech agriculture. Many high-tech agricultural models in the area are showing very good results, not only applying technology to production but also managing the quality of agricultural products, contributing to increasing the value of agricultural products in Da Lat City.

Regarding tourism, in 2024, there will be about 7.9 million visitors to Da Lat, an increase of 16% compared to 2023. In the first months of 2025, the number of tourists to Da Lat continued to increase, up about 6% over the same period last year, of which international visitors increased by 39%. “It can be seen that the number of tourists coming to Da Lat has increased steadily every year. In recent years, the city's tourism infrastructure has been increasingly improved, developing more typical tourism products as well as improving the quality of services to attract tourists. In the coming time, the locality will continue to promote the image of Da Lat tourism, mobilize businesses to actively participate in developing and diversifying tourism products, while the city will effectively implement the Code of Conduct for civilized tourism and regulations on tourism culture, promoting the cultural identity of Da Lat people "Gentle - Elegant - Hospitable" to continuously enhance the reputation and brand of Da Lat tourism", said Ms. Tran Thi Vu Loan - Vice Chairman of Da Lat City People's Committee.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/xa-hoi/202504/chao-mung-50-nam-ngay-giai-phong-lam-dong-341975-342025-suc-song-thanh-pho-hoa-3fd7af0/