Located deep in the vast Vu Quang forest (Ha Tinh), the base of the Can Vuong movement currently preserves vestiges demonstrating the profound patriotism of our ancestors.
Video: Exploring Vu Quang base
On a sunny day in early October 2023, we followed a delegation of officials from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Tinh and Vu Quang district to revisit the resistance base against French colonialism led by Doctor Phan Dinh Phung (1847-1896).
Instead of traveling by road, we chose to travel by boat on Ngan Truoi Lake. After about 40 minutes on the motorboat, we landed at sub-area 180A in the core zone of Vu Quang National Park. About 1.5 km further, we arrived at the memorial stele of Doctor Phan Dinh Phung and the Huong Khe insurgents.
The working delegation including leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Tinh and Vu Quang district traveled by motorboat to Phan Dinh Phung base area.
Lieutenant Colonel Le Kiem Son - Deputy Chief of Huong Quang Border Guard Station expressed: "Although we are isolated from the "outside world", we still always come to burn incense and remember our ancestors at the temple of Mr. Phan and the insurgents. Those moments remind us of our responsibility to protect the Fatherland".
The delegation took souvenir photos at the Memorial House of Doctor Phan Dinh Phung and the Huong Khe militia.
Leaving the memorial stele house, we were given a "bonus" by the border guards to return to the station, then walked through the forest to explore Phan's citadel, about 2km from the station.
After the heavy rains in mid-October, Rao Rong stream (a branch flowing into Ngan Truoi river) became calm again, we could walk along the stream to explore the solid stone ramparts surrounded by trees. A border guard accompanying the group said that during this season, sometimes the water from upstream flows down in a strong current, making it difficult for even boats to move.
Wading through Rao Rong stream to explore Vu Quang citadel.
The stream is where Phan Dinh Phung advocated using the power of water to create the famous "Sa nang ung thuy" battle (blocking water upstream, waiting for the enemy to reach the target then releasing water) to destroy hundreds of French troops in the winter of 1895.
Phan Thanh Citadel is created by towering natural cliffs.
Phan Citadel is the center of the Vu Quang Base relic site (a nationally recognized relic), created by natural stone with a total length of 8,010m, width of 150m, the facade of the vertical citadel has an average height of 30m.
There are still traces of two gates: the main gate and the northeast gate. At the main gate there are two large stones, according to legend this is where Phan Dinh Phung's army stood guard, below is the abyss which is the final point of the rampart. Opposite the front is Tay Thanh mountain range which acts as a natural wall to protect the headquarters. The rear citadel leans against Giang Man mountain, creating a solid and safe position for the base.
Above Phan's citadel are flat lands, which were once chosen as training grounds for the insurgents, weapon forges... However, due to the long time and humid tropical climate, the land has now become a dense forest of trees, we had to weave through bushes and tangled vines to get inside.
The working group moved from the stream bed to the top of the wall made of vines in the forest.
Over time, there are no longer any traces of the weapon forge, the military training ground... as well as the days when the insurgents "slept on thorns, tasted gall" and raised the flag of uprising against foreign invaders, but the ramparts still stand tall as evidence of the passionate patriotism and steadfast resistance to foreign invaders of Dinh Nguyen Tien Si Phan Dinh Phung, Cao Thang and the Huong Khe insurgents.
The training grounds hundreds of years ago are now covered with trees.
Saying goodbye to Phan Dinh Phung base at dusk, the boat cut through the waves of Ngan Truoi river, taking us back to Vu Quang town. In the misty afternoon mist, the lake surface reflected the old forest as if containing many stories of ups and downs in the nation's history.
Mr. Tran Xuan Luong - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, worried: "The historical, cultural and tourism value of the Vu Quang Base relic site is very large, but due to many objective reasons such as: difficult terrain, lack of investment from business organizations while the State budget is limited..., it has not been fully exploited. If there are clear directions, combined with attention and investment promotion, not only will the value of the relic be promoted, but this will also be an attractive tourist destination for visitors from all over the world...".
Vu Quang base area is associated with the Huong Khe uprising that lasted more than 10 years under the leadership of Doctor Phan Dinh Phung (from Tung Anh commune, Duc Tho). At the end of the 19th century, in the face of the French colonial invasion, our people stood up steadfastly with patriotic scholars to fight the enemy. When King Ham Nghi issued the Can Vuong Proclamation calling for resistance against the French, a wave of struggle broke out strongly throughout the country. The most prominent was the Phan Dinh Phung uprising, with the area of operation of the insurgents covering 4 provinces: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh, the headquarters of the insurgents was located in Vu Quang. This base was built from 1887 to 1889 under the command of Cao Thang - deputy general of Phan Dinh Phung, including digging trenches, building ramparts, digging tunnels, drying earth to hide food, setting up weapon forges and a dense system of camps to protect the headquarters and staff of the insurgent army. |
Quang - Vy
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