Tan Thuong - fertile riverside land

From Lao Cai, go down the Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway, get off at IC16 intersection, go a section of National Highway 297 and turn into Tan Thuong commune. The road to the commune center follows the banks of the Red River, through green rice fields in their maiden stage and through hamlets hidden under lush ancient persimmon orchards. That scenery makes Tan Thuong have the rich beauty of a riverside land.

We stopped at Tan Truc village, according to the introduction of the Secretary of the Tan Thuong Commune Party Committee, this is an ancient land with a revolutionary tradition. And when we arrived at Tan Truc, we met a special person, Mr. Hoang Tien Xiem (85 years old) - a former cadre of Tan Thuong Commune, who had been to the Capital to meet Uncle Ho in 1963, when he was just 21 years old.

While making tea for his guests, Mr. Xiem leisurely told a story: Through many historical events, the land of Tan Thuong has had many changes in its name. During the period under the feudal dynasties of Vietnam, Tan Thuong was called Chan Dang area, Van Ban district, Quy Hoa prefecture. After the August Revolution in 1945, Tan Thuong area belonged to Tan An commune, Tran Yen district, Yen Bai province; in 1976, Hoang Lien Son Provincial Party Committee issued a resolution to establish Tan Thuong commune, Van Ban district and that name has been kept until now. Tan Thuong used to have 14 villages, after implementing the policy of arranging administrative units, there are 8 villages left.

Pointing to the villages along the Red River alluvial plain, Mr. Hoang Tien Xiem said: Tan Thuong land has many special features because it is located on the banks of the Red River along with Cam Con (Bao Yen), Son Ha (Bao Thang) which was the settlement of ancient Vietnamese people. Later, Dao and Nung people also came to live here, most of whom were Dao people. Dao people in Tan Thuong not only have the awareness to preserve the culture and lifestyle of their people but also wholeheartedly follow the Party and Uncle Ho. Remember when preparing for the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, following the call of the Party and Uncle Ho, generations of young people enthusiastically participated in transporting food and weapons from Bao Ha - Tan An river wharf to Van Ban to move to the Northwest to fight the French, contributing to the glorious Dien Bien victory.

In particular, in early 1963, when the US imperialists sent planes carrying paratroopers to sabotage the Yen Bai and Lao Cai areas, the people of Tan Thuong and Tan An, along with the army, ambushed the enemy from Tan An to Khanh Yen Thuong commune (Van Ban), captured many enemy soldiers and brought them to Yen Bai so that the main force could exploit information to respond to their campaign to sabotage the North.

“Although the commune has many advantages, before 2015, the traffic infrastructure was not developed, 7/8 villages of the commune were still in a particularly difficult situation. The whole commune has nearly 900 households with more than 4,300 people belonging to 8 ethnic groups, mainly Dao, Thai, Mong, Nung, Cao Lan... (ethnic minorities account for 78%), so people's lives are still difficult, the rate of poor and near-poor households accounts for over 25%. Now, the appearance of Tan Thuong has been changing every day, especially since the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway came into operation, the IC16 intersection was built in the area down to Bao Ha - Tan An spiritual tourism area and to Van Ban, Bao Yen, contributing to "awakening" the land of Tan Thuong. In 2020, Tan Thuong "reached the finish line" of the new rural area and is currently completing the criteria of the advanced new rural area. This will be a solid foundation for the locality to make a breakthrough" - Comrade Vu Xuan Thuy emphasized.

Talking about the development orientation of the commune in the coming time, comrade Chu Hong Ha, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee said: Tan Thuong has been preparing conditions to enter a new development stage. In just a short time, when Lao Cai province implements the Master Plan for building the Red River axis connecting Pho Lu urban area with Tan An - Bao Ha urban area, especially when the waterway, railway, road and air transport systems are completed, Tan Thuong will be an important link - a bridge between Bao Thang with Bao Yen and Van Ban, more broadly, the lowland provinces with Lao Cai and the Northwest region, between Vietnam and Yunnan province (China).

“For Tan Thuong, the main goal now is still to reach the advanced new rural finish line and the most important thing is how to increase people's income. With this problem, the commune government has a trump card, which is to develop the area of seedless persimmon trees - a local specialty. Currently, the whole commune has more than 110 hectares of persimmon trees (nearly 50 hectares are being harvested), it is expected that by 2030 the area will increase to 250 hectares, this will be a source of increased income for households, because on average each hectare of persimmons brings in 250 million VND a year" - Comrade Chu Hong Ha, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, affirmed.

Going along National Highway 279 from IC16 intersection, Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway (section through Ngam Thin village), on both sides of the road are restaurants and motels bustling with customers coming and going, showing that a "small urban area" is forming here and in the near future, when the planned provincial bus station is built in this area, Tan Thuong will attract investors and develop strongly.