Village wells are an indispensable part of the picture of Vietnamese villages in general and Truong Yen commune (Hoa Lu district) in particular. Currently, the Party Committee, government and people of Truong Yen commune have been making efforts to preserve the architectural beauty and the rustic soul of village wells to preserve beautiful memories for the people in the commune today and tomorrow.
Since ancient times, there has been a saying "where there is a well, there is a village". For many people, the village well is a deep source of memories of a time not long ago, a place where the soul of the countryside settles, a memory of a period not long ago.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhan, 85 years old, in Thong Bai village, Truong Son hamlet, Truong Yen commune shared: Having been attached to Thong Bai village since birth, memories of the village well are always beautiful memories for seniors like us.
Since I was born, I have seen the village well. Thong Bai village well used to be the main source of water serving the daily life of the villagers, providing cool water for family use from cooking to washing, bathing... Everyone in the village had bottles, jars, and buckets to carry and carry home. Anyone who worked in the fields, herded buffaloes, or cut grass and came home tired would get water to drink and wash their faces. This place was bustling with people all day long, a place to stop and chat after working in the fields...
Nowadays, when modern life uses tap water in daily life, although we do not use water from the village well, we still go to the village well area every day to relax, recall beautiful memories, tell our children and grandchildren about the historical evidence of the poor life in the past, a place that preserves many beautiful memories of village love and neighborliness.
Thong Bai village well is considered a precious treasure of Truong Yen commune. According to legend, Thong Bai village well was built and created about 400 years ago. Therefore, the people of Truong Son village always preserve it as a heritage of the village.
Mr. Nguyen Minh De, Head of Truong Son village, Truong Yen commune said: From the cultural beauty of the village well, in contemporary life, Truong Son village propagates to descendants to preserve, protect, regularly carry out environmental sanitation work, improve the landscape around the well area to ensure green, clean and beautiful.
What is quite special about Thong Bai village well and more meaningful is that this place is considered by the people as a precious "dragon vein" because the children of Truong Son village who drink water from this well have all grown up, studied well, and worked successfully. One is a Lieutenant General of the People's Public Security, one is a former Deputy Minister of Transport, one is the General Director of Vietnam Shipping, one is a professor, over 50 people have PhDs, Masters... Currently, Truong Son village is a typical village in the local emulation movements.
For generations, banyan trees, wells, and communal houses have created a picture of the Vietnamese countryside in general. These images have entered the subconscious of the people, becoming symbols carrying the spiritual value of many villages and communes.
Therefore, in the process of building new rural areas, advanced new rural areas, and model new rural areas, many village wells have been focused on by the people of Truong Yen commune to restore, repair, and preserve.
Ms. Le Thi Van, Secretary of the Yen Trach Village Party Cell, Truong Yen Commune, said: Yen Trach Village has a beautiful natural landscape left by our ancestors. The village has a village wharf and an ancient well built nearly 100 years ago. By 2020, along with the movement to build a model residential area, the village Party Committee and government had promoted and mobilized people to contribute funds to construct and restore the well to ensure beautiful aesthetics in the cultural space of the village, preserving the cultural beauty left by our ancestors for future generations. With their love for the village well, the whole village enthusiastically responded, contributing labor, and some people donated cash to restore the village well.
The village well is like an invisible glue that binds people together in harmony and closeness. Preserving the symbol of the village in modern times is necessary, like a mirror left by the past, like the flesh and blood in the body, like the soul of the Vietnamese people that needs to be preserved for future generations.
Comrade Bui Thi Thanh Nhan, a cultural and social officer of Truong Yen commune, said: Truong Yen commune always considers the village well as a treasure of the countryside, along with the banyan tree, the well, and the communal house yard, which have been associated with the ups and downs of history. Therefore, Truong Yen commune pays great attention to and focuses on the conservation of ancient wells.
The commune's cultural and social officials have actively advised the Party Committee and the Commune People's Committee to develop a project and include it in the annual resolution to have a plan to preserve, maintain and promote village wells.
In particular, implementing Resolution No. 105/2023/NQ-HDND dated July 12, 2023 of the Provincial People's Council on a number of policies to support tourism development in the province in the period of 2023-2030, the province has a mechanism to pay special attention to tourism, we actively advise the leaders of Truong Yen commune to develop plans and propagate, mobilize villages, hamlets, associations, unions and people to join in restoring and preserving village wells associated with local tourism development.
Currently, Truong Yen commune has over 20 village wells. In addition to the village wells that are regularly repaired and used as places for community activities, Truong Yen commune is promoting the restoration of long-abandoned village wells to serve the cultural activities of the people, as a place for people far from home to return to, connecting the lives of the people and the children of the homeland to their roots.
Hong Van
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