Strategic waterway
According to Thanh Hoa Irrigation Department, the Le Dynasty canal system flows through the area for nearly 17km, connecting from Thieu Hoa district, through Dong Son district, Thanh Hoa city, Nong Cong, to Quang Xuong and Nghi Son districts.
The Le River branch, also known as the Le Canal, flows through Dong Son district and Thanh Hoa city.
“The urbanization process is taking place rapidly, but there is still a quiet river under the rows of casuarina trees, embracing the heroic memories of a time,” said Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung, Deputy Director of Thanh Hoa Department of Transport.
Nowadays, the Le Dynasty canal system no longer has any transportation value because the canal bed is narrow and not clear, so it only has the task of irrigation.
However, the vestiges and intact state of the canal need to be preserved so that future generations can know the value of a structure that has existed for centuries, marking the heroic history of the nation.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung, Deputy Director of Thanh Hoa Department of Transport
Mr. Trung said that research shows that, starting from the pre-Le period in the late 10th century, later, the Ly, Tran, Le, Nguyen dynasties (especially under the Le dynasty) continued to dig and re-dig the canal, creating a complete waterway from Thanh Hoa to Quang Binh.
According to Dr. Le Ngoc Tao, Chairman of the Thanh Hoa Province Historical Science Association, the Le Dynasty canal system is considered the first inland waterway of our country, connecting inland administrative and economic centers with commercial ports.
“In terms of national defense, the Le Dynasty canal system played an important role in the resistance wars. Most notably in the resistance war against the US to save the country,” said Dr. Le Ngoc Tao.
The restored Le Dynasty canal starts from Yen Mo district, Ninh Binh, passes through Thanh Hoa, Nghe An to Cam Xuyen district, Ha Tinh.
The large-scale dredging of the Le Dynasty canal system from Ninh Binh to Ha Tinh was directed by the Ministry of Transport. The project started on September 25, 1965, mobilizing thousands of laborers from localities where the canal flows through.
On January 14, 1966, the Government Council established the Le Dynasty Canal Exploitation Board, abbreviated as KT66 Board, under the Department of River Transport. KT66 Board not only commanded the canal dredging forces, organized transportation, but also directly shot down enemy aircraft and cleared mines.
After being dredged, 15-ton ships could easily pass through this canal. Three youth volunteer companies with a total of nearly 1,000 members were assembled at important sections of the canal, ready to clear the channel when attacked by the US Air Force.
The feat of the "army" of bamboo boats
Dr. Tao said that in 1965, the US imperialists began a campaign to attack the North to destroy vital traffic routes and cut off the supply route from the North to the South.
The Le River still has many wild sections, hidden under rows of casuarinas.
In Thanh Hoa, Do Len, Ham Rong, Pha Ghep bridges… became the focus of fierce attacks, the entire railway and road route to the South was almost paralyzed. Therefore, the Le Dynasty canal became a vital route. In that situation, a very unique but very effective transport unit was born: the “army” of bamboo boats.
Thanh Hoa was assigned by the Central Government to transport a huge amount of goods to the South in a situation where there was a shortage of means of transport. In addition to other means of transport, Thanh Hoa opened 3 construction sites, mobilizing 1,600 skilled workers to weave bamboo boats. In a short time, a "corps" of bamboo boats was born with 5,000 boats.
Because they were improved and larger than traditional bamboo boats, each bamboo boat serving the battlefield usually had to be controlled by 2 youth volunteers and was capable of carrying up to 3.5 tons of cargo.
From Thanh Hoa, tens of thousands of tons of goods for the southern battlefield were transported by young volunteers on bamboo boats on the Le Dynasty Canal, hundreds of kilometers from Thanh Hoa to the Củi Temple area (Ha Tinh). From here, tons of goods were transported by transport units up the Truong Son Road or to Laos to serve the resistance.
At that time, on the Le Dynasty canal, in addition to the bamboo boat force, there was also the K66 wooden boat fleet and the transport boats of the Thanh Hoa River and Sea Transport Company operating busily day and night. On that canal, thousands of people fell, of which the Thanh Hoa Transport Industry alone had over 1,000 people.
Along with Thanh Hoa, Thai Binh province also established Company 206, one of three youth volunteer companies with a total strength of thousands of people, blocking important sections along the Le canal. Since 1965, Company 206 has been responsible for transporting food and necessities from Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh, sometimes all the way to Quang Binh and Quang Tri. There was a time when tens of thousands of boats were traveling on this canal.
“This waterway is considered a “Ho Chi Minh trail” on the river,” said Dr. Tao.
Need to preserve historical river
Currently, the Le canal through Thanh Hoa province is an irrigation project managed by Song Chu Company Limited, responsible for irrigating more than 4,500 hectares of agricultural land and draining water for Thieu Hoa, Dong Son districts and Thanh Hoa city.
A corner of the Le River in the Hang Bridge area, across National Highway 1 in Nghi Son town, Thanh Hoa.
Thanh Hoa Irrigation Department said that in 2016, the canal was repaired and dredged, the riverbed was basically clear, ensuring the drainage task of the project.
However, there are still some old traffic bridges built a long time ago, with small cross-sections, which narrow the flow and erode the riverbed and banks downstream. Downstream of the railway bridge, there is still a stone processing enterprise that discharges water containing stone powder directly into the river, causing sedimentation of the riverbed and environmental pollution.
Dr. Le Ngoc Tao assessed that recently, due to the process of changing the course and the process of breaking, the Le Dynasty river system is no longer intact and valuable as before. In many places, river sections have been buried. However, there are still some places that are still useful, such as the North of Nghi Son, which is still connected to Tram Canal and Hao Canal to Nghe An.
“Although it mainly serves irrigation and not water transport as before, it is still necessary to preserve this historic river. The river has been broken, but we can choose intact sections to preserve and pass on historical values to future generations,” Dr. Tao added.
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