Bac Son – From the flame of revolution to the aspiration for development in the new era

On September 27, 1940, the sound of the Bac Son uprising echoed in the border region, opening a new page in the history of the Vietnamese revolution. 85 years have passed, but that indomitable flame is still burning brightly, adding strength to the Party Committee, government and people of all ethnic groups in Bac Son today to move towards building a land rich in identity and sustainable development.

A glorious historical milestone

In June 1940, when the German fascists attacked and forced the French government to surrender, the Japanese fascists took advantage of the situation to attack Lang Son . The colonial government apparatus collapsed. In that context, on September 26, 1940, the Bac Son District Committee held an urgent meeting at Nong Luc communal house, Hung Vu commune, and decided to launch an armed uprising. The Command Committee was established, with comrade Hoang Van Han as Commander, and agreed on the uprising time on the evening of September 27, 1940.

At around 8:00 p.m. on September 27, more than 600 soldiers and civilians of the Tay, Nung, Dao, and Kinh ethnic groups simultaneously attacked Mo Nhai post - the center of colonial feudal rule in Bac Son district. After only a short time, the insurgents took control of the district, forcing the district governor and soldiers to flee. The news of victory spread quickly, and people in neighboring areas enthusiastically responded. In the next two days, the insurgents won consecutive victories at Canh Tiem and Dap Di passes.

Despite being severely suppressed, the spirit of uprising did not waver. From here, the Bac Son Guerrilla Team - the first revolutionary armed force of the Party - was born, becoming the foundation for the formation of the First National Salvation Army, providing absolute security for the 8th Central Conference in Pac Bo (1941). The Bac Son uprising left an important historical milestone, starting the revolutionary movement, leading to the August 1945 General Uprising.

Deep historical significance

Associate Professor, Doctor Tran Ngoc Long, former Deputy Director of the Vietnam Military History Institute, affirmed: “The Bac Son uprising showed the emergence and development of a new form of moving towards seizing power, which is to combine political struggle with armed struggle. Moving towards seizing power by means of revolutionary violence. That is the greatest significance that the Bac Son uprising, together with the Nam Ky uprising and the Do Luong uprising, created.

The uprising broke out on September 27 and in a short time overthrew the feudal colonial government in Bac Son district and achieved two resounding victories, the victory at Mo Nhai garrison and the victory at Vu Lang.

These were the first two military victories since the 7th Central Conference. The Bac Son uprising was like a cannon signalling a new period of the Vietnamese revolution, likened to a war trumpet that encouraged the revolutionary spirit of not only the people in Bac Son district, the people in Lang Son, the people in the Viet Bac base area, but it was also an example to awaken, to encourage and promote the revolutionary fighting spirit of the people of the whole country entering the decisive period to seize power in the August Revolution of 1945.

Colonel, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Ngoc Long - Former Deputy Director of the Vietnam Military History Institute.

With many great contributions, Bac Son has been awarded by the Party and the State with noble awards: First-class Military Exploit Medal (1948), the title "Hero of the People's Armed Forces" (1998), First-class Labor Medal (2005), Third-class Independence Medal (2010). In 2016, 10 safe-zone communes of the district were recognized, and the Bac Son Uprising Relic Site was ranked as a special national relic.

Bac Son on the path of innovation

Entering the renovation period, Bac Son has developed comprehensively in many fields. Party building work has become increasingly stronger; from the first Party cell with 4 members (1936), to date the entire Party Committee has more than 7,200 members.

The economy develops in the direction of commodity agriculture, with fruit tree areas, medicinal plants, and concentrated livestock farming models; 16 OCOP products are recognized; more than 332 hectares of production meet VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards. Socio-economic infrastructure is invested synchronously; 100% of communes have asphalt roads to the center. By mid-2025, 13/17 communes will meet new rural standards, of which 6 are advanced new rural communes and 4 are model communes.

In particular, tourism has emerged as a bright spot. Bac Son has built many historical-cultural tourism products, community tourism, ecology, agriculture, and adventure sports. As Bac Son is located in the UNESCO Global Geopark area, development opportunities are even more open; in 2025, it is expected to welcome about 300,000 visitors, with revenue of 168.8 billion VND, more than 7 times higher than in 2020.

Along with the economy, culture and society have developed comprehensively. The education, health and social security systems have been guaranteed. People's lives have been constantly improved, the poverty rate has decreased to below 1.75%. Traditional cultural values ​​have been preserved, many folk festivals have been restored, becoming an endogenous driving force to promote tourism development and build grassroots cultural life.

Administrative turning point, new development aspirations

According to Resolution No. 1672 of the National Assembly Standing Committee, from July 1, 2025, the administrative unit of Bac Son district officially ended its historical role, forming 6 new commune-level administrative units: Bac Son, Tan Tri, Vu Le, Nhat Hoa, Vu Lang, Hung Vu. This is a major event, opening a new path for sustainable development.

Immediately after its establishment, the Party Committees of the communes quickly consolidated their organizations and successfully organized the Congress for the 2025-2030 term, with high unity in will and action.

Comrade Phung Thi Thanh Nga - Secretary of the Party Committee of Bac Son commune, Lang Son province emphasized: Faced with the need for innovation and development, the communes in the old Bac Son district identified key tasks focusing on the following groups:

Firstly, strengthen the work of building the Party and the political system. Build a team of cadres and Party members who are pioneers, exemplary and capable of meeting requirements and tasks.

Second, focus on developing agricultural economy towards commodities and expanding and diversifying fruit growing areas, medicinal plants, ornamental plants associated with experiential tourism, eco-tourism. And develop hill and forest economy associated with processing production, while also focusing on developing livestock models in the form of concentrated farms ensuring bio-safety.

Third, focus on exploiting the advantages of developing indigenous cultural tourism and source tourism associated with revolutionary relic sites and sites on the Global Geopark route of Lang Son province.

Fourth, focus on building new rural areas with modern civilized models. Including completing inter-village and inter-commune transportation systems, intra-field roads and digital infrastructure. Apply digital transformation to social management, public services, e-commerce of agricultural products and digital tourism.

Comrade Phung Thi Thanh Nga - Secretary of the Party Committee of Bac Son commune, Lang Son province.

"We determined that in the work of leading, directing and orienting the economic development of communes in the Bac Son area, we must create connections between localities, considering regional connections as a key task and supporting the common development of the communes.", Comrade Phung Thi Thanh Nga emphasized.

With its unique advantages and steadfast revolutionary tradition, Bac Son will continue to promote its endogenous strength, create a new dynamic and unique appearance, and accompany Lang Son province and the whole country to move forward in the era of strong national development.

Thieu Ha Quang Nghia

Source: https://nhandan.vn/bac-son-tu-ngon-lua-cach-mang-den-khat-vong-phat-trien-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-post910671.html