There is a Truong Sa in the heart of Gia Vien, Ninh Binh

With the scale of a resort and treatment, the rooms there are named after islands in the Truong Sa archipelago. Each souvenir: a Navy soldier's hat, sea snails, corals... all contain feelings.

Most special is the square-leafed banyan tree that Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Nhan devotedly nurtured like green buds of love, silently but intensely. Truong Sa is not far away, but has truly become a vivid memory, a coordinate of love in the hearts of people right on the mainland.

The space named Truong Sa is associated with peace and relaxation.

Sharing a memorable story from the past, Ms. Thanh Nhan recounted that in the memories of the student generation in the 1980s, many people sat quietly writing letters to the islands - where many young soldiers were guarding the sovereignty of the Fatherland day and night. The letters often did not receive immediate responses, sometimes disappearing into the middle of the ocean, sometimes returning with stories that made people silent as if they had just touched a deep wound.

Poetic space in a land rich in tradition.

Ms. Thanh Nhan was born and raised in Nho Quan and was one of the students who sent letters to Truong Sa in 1987. A pure and sincere love grew day by day through the letters sent and received with a soldier named Thang, until one day... the last letter that reached her was a crumpled piece of paper, folded in four, brought back by his comrades. He had sacrificed himself. The last lines were hastily written, not even a complete sentence: "To you - the girl I have never met...".

The landscape is cared for by hard working hands.

That memory became a deep, silent imprint in her heart, and then nearly four decades later, the most beautiful and emotional things arose and turned into action.

On the peaceful land of Gia Vien, in Kenh Ga, famous for its hot mineral springs, she created a space called "Truong Sa" - a resort with the soul and beauty of the sea and islands, with the breath and strong love for the soldiers of the past.

Not only serving tourists but this is also a familiar space for local people.

Here, each room is named after an island: Sinh Ton, Son Ca, Nam Yet, Truong Sa, Tien Nu, Song Tu Tay, An Bang... The souvenirs of the Navy soldiers during their later visits to the islands are kept in small corners as a reminder of a time gone by with many silent aspirations.

In the corner of the lush green garden, she built a nursery of the square-leaved banyan tree - a tree symbolizing the strong vitality of the arid rocky island. It is both a gift she brought back after two trips to Truong Sa and a message to the next generation about her wordless but enduring and profound love for the Fatherland over the years.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Nhan is devoted to the Truong Sa square banyan tree nursery.

Along with Truong Sa, Ms. Nhan also visited and wished a happy new year to the outpost islands of the Fatherland such as: Ly Son, Con Co... During those trips, she brought small gifts and touching stories. It was a journey of gratitude as well as a journey back to memories with a part of her youth left behind at the forefront.

"I will definitely do something for Truong Sa in my own way", that promise is forever in my memory, and it also exists in form, in the living space between the mainland that she created. Anyone can come, touch the memories of the sea and islands and relive the stories that have moved many generations.

Square almond fruit on Gia Vien land, Ninh Binh .

Perhaps, it is the things that Ms. Nhan has silently cultivated over the years that have made Truong Sa no longer far away, no longer existing only at the geographical coordinates offshore, but has become a "coordinate of love" in people's hearts, in the middle of the peaceful Gia Vien land.

In the sacred journey "The mountains and rivers are united" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025), besides the solemn activities of the Vietnam Sea and Islands Association, there are still silent but meaningful contributions from Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Nhan.

The rooms are named after islands.

She quietly contributed by preparing tea, incense and offerings in advance to send to the stops at martyrs’ cemeteries across the country. Each small gift was sent by her in advance, so that when the group stopped, they were ready to offer and give.

Although not present at the emotional ceremonies, her feelings were deep in each respectful incense stick and each respectful offering.

Tourists love to check-in at corners with a strong Truong Sa character.

Sharing her feelings, she expressed: "I have not done anything great, I just hope to contribute a little sincerity. There are so many soldiers who have not returned, their rear areas are always waiting, sometimes for their whole lives. I understand that feeling, because I have also waited... Every little thing I do, whether it is preparing incense sticks or tea packages, is a way to express gratitude on behalf of those who remain. I just hope that those who have sacrificed will never be forgotten and those memories will be kept as a part of the flesh and blood of the country."

The map of Vietnam is placed in the most solemn space.

The "Truong Sa" space in Gia Vien land is not only a destination for those who love the sea and islands, but also an emotional stop for many domestic and international tourists. Many Vietnamese visitors, after visiting, stood silently in front of the soldier's relics, moved to write in the souvenir book the trembling lines: "Thank you for preserving the memories for the next generation", "I see Truong Sa closer than ever...".

Romantic sea hibiscus flowers in the yard.

For international visitors, this space is a special way to understand more about the depth of culture, history and affection of Vietnamese people for their country.

A Japanese visitor shared: "I have read about the Vietnam War, but I have never felt it so clearly until I saw an unanswered letter and a yellowed photo."

A tourist from France choked up and said: "The love and sacrifice here do not need language to understand. It is very real, very human."

International tourists take souvenir photos at the space called "DK1 Platform".

It is the silence and sincerity of the people and the space here that touches the hearts of everyone, so that no matter where they come from, they can feel that Truong Sa is a sacred place in the middle of the ocean, an inseparable part of the Vietnamese soul.

There was a time when the rainy season came with great intensity, water flooded everywhere. The garden and yard that she had worked so hard to build were also submerged in water. She felt heartbroken as if her old memories were being pushed aside. The experience area called "DK1 Rig" is a floating ship, anchored in a river full of purple water hyacinths, in the context of natural disasters, it became the place where Ms. Nhan collected food and necessities to create a temporary relief point for people in the surrounding area.

Many floods caused trees, especially the banyan tree, to be submerged.

She stayed up many nights without sleep, worrying about people and worrying about each small tree in the garden. After the flood, she started to replant and nurture each sprout of hope. The square-shaped banyan trees - symbols of Truong Sa's vitality - still stood firm in the flooded land, shaking off the storm, continuing to grow green leaves. "The trees are as resilient as the island soldiers," she said, her eyes shining with a persistent belief in the good things that still flourish, despite the storms.

Ms. Nhan continues to grow many new crops.

Engineer and photographer Tran Vu Thanh, Chairman of the Vietnam Sea and Islands Association, was moved to share about Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Nhan: "She is a sincere, enthusiastic and very sincere woman. Although her life is still full of hardships, no one has ever seen her complain or rest in the work she does for Truong Sa and for the soldiers. What makes everyone respect her is that she does not do those things to be known, but because of a promise to the past, to the soldiers who sacrificed and to her own heart. In her silence, there is also the virtue of resilience and patience."

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Nhan during her visit and gift giving to the islands.

The afternoon falls on a quiet river, a floating ship with the shape of DK1 Platform anchors peacefully in the middle of the vast water, water hyacinths blooming purple flowers drift like fragments of memories drifting back to the far away land.

On the ship's side, Ms. Nhan stood quietly looking into the distance, where the sun was gradually setting behind the bamboo grove and the small waves were rippling with light.

Ms. Nhan has many activities associated with soldiers today.

Her eyes are filled with a desire to connect lands, letters, and small islands with so much nostalgia and longing that has never subsided...

Here, in the middle of the mainland, Truong Sa still shines brightly in every vein of life, every resilient banyan tree, every room named after the island and in the heart of a woman who has never forgotten her promise to the sea.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/co-mot-truong-sa-trong-long-gia-vien-ninh-binh-post881450.html