The story of opening the road up the mountain

The concrete road winds around the foot of Dai mountain

The road to the top

Leaving the “iron horse” at the foot of Cam Mountain (Tinh Bien Town), we walked along the concrete road to the Dau area, then passed Ba Cuu. A few decades ago, travelers who wanted to explore or bathe in the stream in this area mainly followed the steep steps. For the mountain people, transporting crops down the mountain every day had to carry them on the trail, which was very difficult. Going to the market to buy meat and fish to cook rice twice a day for the family was also a difficult problem for the people in the highlands. Every time they went downhill to go to the market, then buy necessities to bring up, it took half a day. Many times when they were too tired, the mountain people went to the garden to pick bamboo shoots, pick young su buds, boil them at home, and then dip them in fermented bean curd to eat. Understanding the needs of the people in the mountains, the profession of carrying poles and carrying porters was born to serve the people.

Mr. Thao (in Ba Cuu) said that in the past, people on the mountain "craved" ice and had to hire people to carry it up, the price increased 3 times. In recent years, people on Cam mountain have increased the planting of fruit trees for a good income. Since then, they have encouraged each other to donate land to build concrete roads up the mountain. Now, on the mountain there is electricity, water, roads leading to their homes, life is full of amenities. Mr. Nguyen Van Be is 81 years old this year, but still looks very healthy. He has lived on the mountain for more than 50 years. Recalling the past, Mr. Be said that in the past, this place was deserted, each time going up the mountain, they had to walk along the stairs for more than 2 hours to get home. Now, going up and down the mountain every day is done by motorbike, just like people in the plains.

Mr. Be added that the concrete road was built by the locals, some donated land, some pooled money, and contributed labor for months. “The road to each house was voluntarily donated by the locals, running all the way to the top. In the area of ​​the Small Buddha Pagoda running up to the Chu Than cliff, there are hundreds of households living. For many years, the locals have grown gardens to earn a good profit, so they agreed to build a road that is convenient for traveling and transporting fruits, bamboo shoots, and su trees down the mountain,” said Mr. Be. Thanks to this road, during the peak tourist season, Mr. Be has extra income from taking tourists to visit the cliffs and temples on Cam Mountain.

Up and down the mountain easily

At To Mountain (Tri Ton District), people unanimously donated land to make it easier to go up the mountain. From the foot of the mountain, we took a motorbike taxi along the winding concrete road to conquer the peak. Now, the concrete road is about 2m wide and runs along the cliffs and temples on the mountain. There are landowners who live far from the trail, but they still volunteered to build roads so that people can easily go up and down the mountain. Mr. Chau, the motorbike taxi driver, took us through the winding and steep passes very skillfully. There were some steep slopes that only the locals here dared to drive because they were familiar with the road. Occasionally, we turned our heads to look behind the car, feeling dizzy because the road was deep in the abyss.

Mr. Chau said that before, the roads on To Mountain had not been opened, making it very difficult to travel. Tourists who wanted to conquer the peak had to walk along small trails, taking half a day. Tourists who were not used to To Mountain felt very tired when they first set foot on To Mountain. Many people walked up to a height of more than 100m, panting and pale. Now, the roads have been widened, and vehicles can easily carry tourists up the mountain. The daily life and orchards of the local people here are very convenient. "During the rainy season, people on To Mountain harvest strawberries and bamboo shoots and bring them down the mountain to sell," said Mr. Chau.

Sitting in the house on the mountain, Mrs. Chin Luan (89 years old) recalls that in the past, when she and her husband wanted to go up the mountain to clear the land and make a garden, they had to walk along a small trail. It took 3 hours to walk from the foot of the mountain to the top. Therefore, Mrs. Chin Luan and her husband built a small thatched house on the mountain to temporarily grow crops and make a garden. Later, when the garden yielded good yields, Mrs. Chin Luan invested in building a new house, then invited people to donate land and pool their capital to open a road for cars to go all the way to the top. “Wherever the road was opened, people with land volunteered to donate. Everyone agreed, because there was a road for cars to carry people and goods up the mountain very quickly. In the past, we had to carry essential goods and laboriously carry them up to use. Now, with the road, cars can get there in just a few minutes,” Mrs. Chin Luan explained.

The day we stopped at Ba Chi wharf at the foot of Dai mountain (Tri Ton district), we met Mr. Tran Van Toan who was supervising the concrete pouring process to pave the way up the mountain for gardeners. Mr. Toan said that currently, the road at the foot of Dai mountain has been expanded by the people with the consent of donating land to be paved with solid concrete, which is both convenient for traders to buy agricultural products and fruits, and also supports the work of preventing and fighting forest fires effectively. We drove all the way to the foot of Dai mountain, the brand new concrete road lies under the shade of mango trees crossing fertile gardens. Meeting Mr. Quy, the owner of the mango garden, excitedly said that in addition to the road around the mountain at Ba Chi wharf (in Le Tri commune), the gardeners also opened a road to the top of the mountain to transport fruit. There are more than 40 households here specializing in growing Hoa Loc sand mango and Taiwanese mango trees, with an area of ​​over 100 hectares. In recent years, thanks to mango trees, gardeners have had a stable income, and people have boldly pooled capital to open a road for vehicles to go all the way there.

Although the concrete roads up the mountains are not large in width, for the mountain people, it is a process of mobilizing land donations and pooling capital to open roads, creating a new look in the remote highlands. The opening of roads means that the value of the mountainous land also increases, the people work enthusiastically, diligently stick to their gardens and mountains to grow crops, create profits, and earn a decent income.

LUU MY

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/chuyen-mo-duong-len-nui-a418213.html