Lao Cai builds and strengthens the border cultural belt

In the early years of re-establishment, the Party Committee and the people of Lao Cai town faced numerous difficulties and challenges. The town was full of deserted neighborhoods, fields full of grass, reeds and bombs, and the socio-economic infrastructure was seriously degraded. The town was divided by the effects of the border war, the once famous bridges Coc Leu, Lang Giang, Ho Kieu were severely damaged, crumbling under the riverbed...

At that time, the entire town did not have a national grid. The communes and sub-regions bordering the border were all devastated, unable to build or produce. The economy mainly relied on backward agricultural and forestry production, the poverty rate was high, and people's lives were difficult... However, with a spirit of determination, after only 10 years, both Lao Cai and Cam Duong towns revived at a miraculous speed. The political system was consolidated and built firmly. Technical infrastructure for traffic, national grid, headquarters of agencies, units, schools, health systems, markets... were quickly restored. The border gate economic zone was increasingly expanding. With reasonable attraction policies, people from all over the country gradually converged on Lao Cai with faith and hope in the development opportunities of a vibrant city.

If the national border is a tangible entity, protected by national sovereignty and international law, so it will be difficult to violate and encroach, then the "cultural and ideological border" is an invisible, fragile boundary, very difficult to manage and prevent "invasion" from the outside. That is what is affecting the silent but very dangerous and unpredictable movements of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" on the cultural and ideological front. Therefore, building and consolidating the border cultural belt is one of the important tasks that Lao Cai prioritizes to carry out.

Lao Cai city is growing more and more. Photo: Ngoc Bang

In the coming time, the province determines to improve the people's knowledge, take care of building Lao Cai people with good personality and lifestyle with the basic characteristics of Vietnamese people, typical of the borderland of the Fatherland: "Solidarity - Patriotism - Discipline - Civilization - Hospitality"; building corporate culture, entrepreneurs; culture in politics and economy. To achieve that goal, the province continues to urge local agencies and units to effectively implement the contents, tasks, and solutions to build and develop Lao Cai culture and people to meet the requirements of sustainable development in the spirit of Resolution 33-NQ/TW; thereby, truly imbuing the viewpoint "Culture is the spiritual foundation of society, both the goal and the driving force for socio-economic development", developing the "soft power" of culture; implementing well the motto "Turning heritage into assets". According to Standing Deputy Secretary of Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee Vu Xuan Cuong, in the coming time, The province focuses on protecting, preserving and sustainably promoting traditional cultural values, strengthening the great solidarity of ethnic groups; organizing research and identifying cultural values ​​and standard values ​​of Lao Cai people to ensure diversity in the unity of the cultures of ethnic groups; being proactive in preserving and promoting traditional values, while being flexible in absorbing cultural quintessence from outside in the process of development and integration.

The “Van Phu Dance” simulates the beliefs of Dao ethnic brides (Lao Cai) before entering their husband’s house to perform the worship ceremony and get married. Photo: Quoc Khanh - VNA

In addition, with the characteristics of being a mountainous area with a large population of ethnic minorities, Lao Cai continues to pay attention to family building, focusing on solving problems of consanguineous marriage, early marriage, gender inequality, women leaving the locality, child care and education. In particular, the locality determines to synchronize the goals and tasks of cultural development and human development with the goals and tasks of socio-economic development, firmly ensuring national defense and security of the province; mobilizing appropriate investment resources, focusing on key points for cultural development, especially unlocking social resources. Functional agencies and local authorities pay special attention to promoting propaganda on social networking platforms, grassroots information systems and new media, in many languages; increasing the introduction of culture to the grassroots, focusing on mountainous, disadvantaged and border areas; Further improve the quality of traditional cultural education and revolutionary culture in schools and among the young generation./.

Thanh Tung