On Pha Din Pass, the white clouds, the winding roads beside the towering mountains, beside the deep abyss, 70 years ago, the whole country was filled with the spirit of going to war, determined to destroy the Dien Bien Phu stronghold. Standing on the top of the pass, suddenly in my ears I heard a poem from a time of war and war: "Pha Din Slope, she carried the load on her shoulders, he carried it/ Lung Lo Pass, he called and she sang/ Though bombs and bullets shattered bones, crushed flesh/ I did not lose heart, I did not regret my youth"...
Mr. Doan Dinh Quang introduces souvenirs to tourists on top of Pha Din Pass. Photo: PV
Pha Din is known as one of the “Four Great Passes” of the Northwest region of the country, along with O Quy Ho (connecting Lai Chau and Lao Cai provinces), Ma Pi Leng (Ha Giang province) and Khau Pha Pass (Yen Bai province). It is a high pass, located on the border between Son La and Dien Bien provinces. We followed the A-Z curves on Highway 6, passing Pha Din, sometimes hidden in the floating clouds, sometimes falling down under the vast green of the Northwest mountains and forests. The road is dangerous, but truly majestic, magnificent, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Mr. Doan Dinh Quang (born in 1966), a native of Nua town (Trieu Son) has been selling souvenirs on the top of Pha Din pass for more than 6 years, explaining the name of Pha Din pass. According to Mr. Quang, the name comes from the Black Thai ethnic language, the root is "Pha Din". "Pha" means sky, "Din" means earth, implying that the pass covered with white clouds is the place where heaven and earth meet and interact. Thai people living around the foot of the pass often call "Pha oi" (oh my god). Also in Thai, "Pha Din" means a steep and difficult-to-climb earthen wall.
From Thuan Chau district (Son La province), National Highway 6 over Pha Din is full of winding, precarious curves on high mountains, on cliffs, and many sharp turns. But it is these winding, dangerous roads that become the unique, attractive features of the pass, attracting many visitors every year. Most of them are young people who love to explore and conquer. And the time chosen by many tourists to conquer Pha Din is often on windy autumn days, or freezing winter days.
These days, on the top of Pha Din Pass, we meet old men with white hair, former Dien Bien soldiers, youth volunteers, and frontline workers who directly fought and served in the Dien Bien Phu campaign. Although we know that the current road has been upgraded in many sections, it is not the same as the old road, but there is still a stele erected at the intersection of the old and new roads, with a blood-red color. They stop there to chat, recall memories of the past war, and then take photos on the way back to the heroic memories.
On the monument stele is engraved the following inscription: “Pha Din Pass is 32km long, the highest point is 1,648m above sea level. This is the place that suffered many bombings by French colonialists to block our supply routes for weapons, ammunition, food and provisions to serve the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Under the enemy's bombs and bullets, with determination and bravery, soldiers, laborers and youth volunteers still held their ground, both breaking rocks to open roads and removing bombs and mines, maintaining strong traffic, ensuring timely support for the campaign until the day of total victory”. Below are 4 verses of the late poet To Huu: “Pha Din Slope, she carries the load, he carries it/ Lung Lo Pass, he calls, she sings/ Though bombs and bullets shatter bones, pulverize flesh/ Do not lose heart, do not regret your youth”.
70 years ago, the most dangerous pass in the Northwest region became a vital position on the lifeline supporting our troops at the Dien Bien Phu battlefield. And in order to cut off all our troops' advances, the French colonialists had their planes patrol the Pha Din Pass area dozens of times a day, frantically dropping hundreds of bombs of all kinds. The pass was a bomb bag, along with the Co Noi intersection.
In this historic clash, Co Noi junction - the intersection between National Highway 13A (now National Highway 37) and Road 41 (now National Highway 6), located in Co Noi commune, Mai Son district (Son La province) had an extremely important position when connecting the Northern Delta, Viet Bac Inter-zone, Inter-zone 3, Inter-zone 4 with the Dien Bien Phu battlefield thanks to the transportation network: From Viet Bac down, through Ba Khe - Co Noi - Son La - Dien Bien; From Inter-zone 4 - Nghe An - Thanh Hoa - Moc Chau - Co Noi - Son La - Dien Bien; From Inter-zone 3 - Nho Quan - Hoa Binh - Moc Chau - Co Noi - Son La - Dien Bien. However, from Co Noi, weapons, ammunition, food and provisions to Dien Bien Phu had no other way than to cross the dangerous Pha Din pass. And to ensure traffic and route clearance, and timely support of human and material resources for the Dien Bien Phu campaign, thousands of youth volunteers and frontline laborers fell on the pass.
A frontline porter that we were lucky to meet recreated the fiery spirit of the entire nation at that time. He was Nguyen Duc Ngoc, the leader of the porter team of Hoang Dong commune (Hoang Hoa) during the months of supporting the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Mr. Ngoc said that at that time, his porter team was tasked with transporting goods from Quang Xuong to Dien Bien. On the entire hundreds of kilometers long route, the most difficult part was still the road through Pha Din Pass. Because to go uphill, in addition to the driver, there must be another person pushing the cart. When going downhill, there must be two more people, one pushing in front, one pulling behind, otherwise the cart would fall into the abyss. Each transport trip took a whole month to reach the goods gathering place in Tuan Giao district (Dien Bien province).
When the alarm sounded that French planes were coming, Mr. Ngoc and his brothers dispersed and found a place to hide. When the planes passed, the brothers took the wheel again, firmly holding the cart and quickly pushing the goods forward. Not to mention, the mountain pass was winding and twisting, so the enemy only needed to bomb one spot, and the rocks and soil would slide down and damage many more sections of the road below. But then, with the spirit of "All for the front line, all for victory", Mr. Nguyen Duc Ngoc and the frontline laborers at that time, together with the youth volunteers, stayed on the mountain pass, filled in bomb craters, broke rocks to clear the way, and contributed their efforts to the victory that "resounded throughout the five continents and shook the earth".
70 years have passed, Pha Din Pass today has been touched by the colors of life, but the vestiges of the fiery spirit, the spirit of "Determination to die for the Fatherland, determination to live" of the soldiers, frontline laborers, and youth volunteers are still intact. And National Highway 6 has become an economic trade route for Dien Bien province with the lowlands, for the Northwestern provinces with the Northern Lao provinces through Tay Trang International Border Gate.
On the majestic Pha Din Pass, covered with white flowers, we met Thai and Mong girls carrying baskets of plums and oranges to sell to tourists. And on the top of the pass, the souvenir shop of Doan Dinh Quang, a native of Thanh Hoa, was also bustling with laughter.
Do Duc
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