Border patrol in A Mu Sung

A Mu Sung Border Guard Station is nearly 60km northwest of Lao Cai city, managing a 16.9km long border section, with 4 sovereignty markers, including a special marker marking the starting point of the Red River when it flows into Vietnamese territory.

Spring comes, early morning, the cold still lingers, making people's emotions surge with emotion and pride when walking on the border road, on this side is the Fatherland, on the other side is a neighboring country. The Red River flows slowly and proudly, witnessing the sacred memories of the border region.

Romantic beauty in majesty.

This season, the magnolia flowers have bloomed bright red, lighting up the border patrol route, making every glance and footprint of the soldiers carry even more gratitude in their responsibility to protect the territory.

Anyone who has the opportunity to visit A ​​Mu Sung Border Post is moved to tears by the memorial to the heroic martyrs. The stele is engraved with the full names, hometowns, birth and death years of the soldiers in green uniforms who heroically sacrificed their lives to protect the border.

Notably, of the 30 soldiers who fell in this border area, 24 died in 1979, 5 in 1984 and one in 1985.

Hello sacred milestone.

The most recent martyr was Lieutenant Tran Van Duan, from Nghia Hung District, Nam Dinh Province, who died on February 16, 2011. Soldiers at A Mu Sung Border Post still cannot forget their comrade with determined eyes and a radiant smile.

On the night of February 16th that year, upon hearing news of a suspicious ship on the river in the border area, Lieutenant Tran Van Duan and a group of militiamen set out to intercept it. While approaching to inspect the ship, the river water was strong and he was swept away. It was not until the next morning that his comrades found his body.

Milestone 92 - "where the Red River flows into Vietnam".

Lieutenant Tran Van Duan was the Captain of the Armed Forces of the Station. His wife was a teacher, and she decided to stay in the land where her husband sacrificed his life and continue her career of spreading knowledge in the highlands, bringing the light of culture to the young generation and the local people. His son's name is Bao Nam - a meaningful name that he shared with his comrades before he died: Bao Nam means protecting the Fatherland of Vietnam.

Serious in the task of protecting national sovereignty.

A Mu Sung Border Post stands majestically among the mountains. This is one of the important checkpoints on the Vietnam-China border.

The station has the task of protecting territorial sovereignty, maintaining security and order, and helping ethnic minorities develop their economy and stabilize their lives.

A Mu Sung still retains its wild beauty.

Border patrol is a regular task and also a sacred mission of A Mu Sung border guards.

Regardless of day or night, they crossed mountains, forests, climbed passes, waded streams... to check every milestone, every opening, to ensure that the sovereignty of the Fatherland remains steadfast.

Everywhere there are footprints of border guards.

In winter, the fog is thick, the cold is so cold that it cuts through the skin and flesh, the feet are frozen, the hands are cracked and cling to the cliffs... In summer, the sun is scorching, sweat is pouring... not to mention the unpredictable dangers. But the will and spirit of each soldier is still burning fiercely, because they understand that behind them is the sacred motherland.

The national flag flying is a source of intense pride.

Along with the task of patrolling and protecting the border, the soldiers in green uniforms are also on duty to propagate to the people about sovereignty, to encourage them not to encroach on land, not to assist in smuggling, and to create a strong bond between the army and the people, together maintaining the border.

The old forests, the winding streams like silk ribbons, the weathered milestones… all bear the footprints and souls of the patrolling soldiers.

Every border soldier is deeply aware of the duty of protecting the Fatherland.

Border guards are children of the mountains and forests, growing rice and corn with the people on the fields; rebuilding houses after flash floods; teaching children to read and write; taking sick people to the infirmary... For the people in the border areas, they are a solid support in many ways.

View Lung Po Flagpole from afar.

Many hasty meals eaten in the middle of the forest, many winter nights lighting fires under the stars, many moments facing danger... have forged the resilient character of border guards.

They are just like their name A Mu Sung - big, old trees clinging to the ground, clinging to the forest, standing firm in the midst of storms, so that "the place where the Red River flows into Vietnam" is always peaceful and beautiful.

Border guards are a pillar of trust for the villagers.

After many ups and downs, hardships, today A Mu Sung has green and prosperous villages, the people wholeheartedly trust the army. In A Mu Sung commune, there are many examples of overcoming difficulties.

Mr. Ma Seo Pao in Lung Po village, A Mu Sung commune told about the memorable journey in the spring days of 2007, when his family and 17 households in Din Chin village, Pha Long commune, Muong Khuong district, Lao Cai province traveled hundreds of kilometers of trails to come here to build a new life.

The national flag flies proudly.

"The early days were very difficult, the forests and mountains were wild and dense. Thanks to the local government and especially the border guards' care and support, people were able to feel secure in their land and villages, and their economy developed better and better," Mr. Pao said emotionally.

The old people in the old villages recalled old memories. After the border protection war in 1979, A Mu Sung was poor and struggling. The most difficult places, apart from the border guards, hardly anyone visited.

From the 2000s onwards, after waves of migration from difficult areas to settle down, new cultivation gradually formed the vibrant strip of land as it is today. The area is mainly inhabited by ethnic minorities: Mong, Dao, Ha Nhi living together in solidarity, friendship, and developing a stable economy.

The national flag on Lung Po flagpole has an area of ​​25 square meters, symbolizing the 25 ethnic groups living in Lao Cai province.

With the spirit of "The station is home, the border is homeland, and ethnic people are blood brothers", officers and soldiers of A Mu Sung Border Guard Station devote a lot of effort and material resources to sharing the joys and sorrows, helping the people with practical work, contributing to changing the border villages and hamlets with great influence in the community.

In early 2025, A Mu Sung Border Guard Station coordinated and presented Ms. Chao Lo May's family in Tung Sang village with 50 million VND to build a new house of nearly 100 square meters. Officers and soldiers of the unit also helped the family with nearly 100 working days to level the house, paint the house, etc. to save on construction costs.

Due to the harsh weather, when the flags are old, the border guards will perform a flag replacement ceremony in a solemn atmosphere.

Standing on the top of a high mountain, looking down at the Red River filled with alluvium, the border guards are even more proud to continue their journey with their eyes wide open and their feet tirelessly.

Each solid footprint is imprinted on the frontier land, amidst the rolling clouds and mountains, amidst wind, frost and challenges, when each steadfast person is a living milestone at the headland of the Fatherland.

The national flags that have completed their mission are preserved and displayed at the Memorial House.

The patrol route of A Mu Sung Border Post is both majestic and wild, romantic. Occasionally, you will come across valleys shrouded in mist, deep green mountains, and blue mountains connecting each other like a magical painting.

Along the patrol route, the soldiers' eyes looked up at Lung Po Flagpole - a symbol of strength, will and volunteer spirit of Lao Cai's young generation in the journey to protect the country's borders.

The footsteps went back to the sun.

From the Border Guard Station, where the sky and earth seem to blend into the endless green, the border guards raise their heads high, their eyes solemn, filled with vitality as they look up at the proud red flag with yellow star flying.

Lung Po Flagpole started construction on March 26, 2016 and was completed on December 16, 2017, covering an area of ​​2,100m2, with a height of 31.43m - symbolizing the 3,143m high Fansipan peak. The project is both important in affirming national territorial sovereignty; expressing gratitude to the heroic martyrs who died for the independence and sovereignty of the Fatherland's borders; and is a solid spiritual support for soldiers at the border.

Every mission demonstrates faith and will.

Lung Po is the name of a stream in Bat Xat district, dividing the watershed between Vietnam and China. Lung Po stream flows and meets the Red River at milestone 92.

Lung Po flagpole has become a symbol of the will, volunteer spirit and determination of Lao Cai youth to participate in building their homeland, continuing the fine tradition of the nation in building and defending the Fatherland.

The beauty of Lung Po Flagpole.

In 2019, Lao Cai province planned to develop and build the Lung Po area of ​​A Mu Sung commune into an eco-tourism, commercial service, and socio-cultural area with the unique identity of the land "where the Red River flows into Vietnam".

Every time they look up at the national flag, especially on patrol routes or from afar, the hearts of border guards are filled with mixed and surging emotions. They deeply feel the strength of the resilient and indomitable tradition of our army and people, and are more deeply aware of their mission as well as the faith and hope that sparkle like stars on their green uniforms.