Former revolutionary base
Following National Highway 19, after descending the An Khe pass, turn left and travel about 20 kilometers to reach Vinh Thanh town. From there, there are two routes you can take by car to Vinh Son commune. The paved road has many winding mountain passes through the old-growth forest; the asphalt road is less steep but slightly longer, offering more experiences along the tranquil, clear Con River and the local specialty, the "ca nien" fish.
Ta Ma Stream Tourist Area (Vinh Thanh District, Binh Dinh Province). Photo: D.MP
Vinh Son is a remote commune in Vinh Thanh district, bordering Kbang district ( Gia Lai province). The commune has a natural area of over 16,600 hectares but only 3,800 inhabitants living in 6 villages, mainly of the Bahnar ethnic group. The commune has very little arable land, resulting in a high number of poor households (170 households).
According to the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh Son commune, Dinh Van Ngai: Vinh Son will soon merge with Vinh Kim commune. Meanwhile, Vinh Kim commune has a high poverty rate, lacks electricity grid access, and some residential areas use solar power. However, it has a good transportation network, making travel, trade, and goods transportation quite convenient. Schools and health stations in these communes have also received adequate investment.
On International Children's Day (June 1st), the 50K Pleiku volunteer group visited Vinh Son commune to distribute gifts to the poor and children. During the more than 40-kilometer journey from Vinh Thanh town to Vinh Son, many people occasionally praised the road, noting that despite the steep slopes and mountain passes, it was quite smooth and the scenery was picturesque. This demonstrates the local government's strong commitment to investing in transportation infrastructure in this mountainous region.
It's especially impressive when people learn that the place they're visiting is a base from the time of the Tay Son dynasty and also a revolutionary base of Vinh Thanh district during the resistance against French colonialism and American imperialism.
The road to Vinh Son. Photo: D.MP
According to Mr. Nguyen Hung, a Justice official in Vinh Son commune: Scattered throughout the area are ancient orange trees that locals and historians consider to be remnants of Mr. Hue's (Nguyen Hue's) orange orchard. Along with that, there are also many intriguing and mysterious legends about Ta Kon Fortress in this area, with its massive stone blocks (perhaps columnar basalt) forming a wall surrounding a vast primeval forest.
The process of building and defending Ta Kon fortress is passed down through the Bahnar epic, steeped in legend. Legend says that Ta Kon was once the home of three siblings: two kings, Trum and Tram, and a beautiful and intelligent princess named Bia Toni.
Another legend about the origin of Ta Kon citadel is associated with the beautiful Ho Bia. The mountain god wanted to marry Ho Bia. However, the god had a face made of stone, with a cowhide-like bib under his chin, making him very ugly. Ho Bia was not pleased and demanded that if the god could pass three tests, she would accept his proposal. The mountain god passed all three tests, so the two became husband and wife, and together they built Ta Kon citadel to protect the villagers from robbery and invasion by enemies.
Besides the Bahnar legend, there is an opinion that Ta Kon Fortress was built by the Tay Son brothers. When the three Tay Son brothers recruited soldiers, the Bahnar people responded strongly and together they built Ta Kon Fortress as a secret base… In the past, Ta Kon Fortress was a place of residence and witnessed heroic battles against external forces by the villagers. During the 30 years of resistance against French colonialism and American imperialism, the Ta Kon Fortress area in Vinh Son served as a rear base for guerrillas and the main army of Binh Dinh district and province until 1975.
When I heard about the Vinh Son area, I recalled a time when this region was also a corridor during the resistance war against the US, from Kbang down to the Vinh Thanh "border gate". In mid-1973, when I was assigned the task of leading a group of K8 cadres and soldiers down to Vinh Thanh to carry supplies, I led the group along this corridor, from the south of Highway 19, through the north and to Ka Nak, down to Vinh Son. But on the return trip, we took the mountain road, over the La Pass to An Xuan (now An Khe) to return to our unit. This route was shorter, taking only 1.5 days and 1 night, instead of going via Vinh Son which took 3 days and 1 night.
Experiential travel route
The leader of Vinh Son commune said that from the commune center, you can go to Kon Tum by car or motorbike via National Highway 24, and you can also turn off National Highway 24 into Kbang via the Truong Son East road. Hearing that, I immediately thought of the route... I experienced when Binh Dinh merged with Gia Lai to form the (new) Gia Lai province.
According to the History of the Gia Lai Provincial Party Committee (1945-2005), during the difficult and fierce period of the resistance war against French colonialism (after 1945), the Gia Lai Provincial Party Committee retreated to Tay Son and Vinh Thanh to organize and consolidate its forces before returning to Gia Lai to continue its activities. At one point (in 1949), the Zone 5 Party Committee merged the two provinces of Gia Lai and Kon Tum into Gia-Kon province, with Vinh Thanh district (Binh Dinh province) then belonging to Gia-Kon province.
Vinh Thanh is one of the localities with many tourist attractions, especially trekking. One of them is Ta Ma Stream, a tourist destination that attracts a large number of visitors every year when they come to Vinh Thanh district. The stream is cool and clear, with a gentle current, ensuring safety. In spring, when the weather is cool, the bougainvillea flowers here begin to bloom in shades of yellow and orange, creating a dreamy atmosphere, perfect for taking photos and camping.
Vinh Thanh is one of the localities that boasts many tourist attractions. Photo: D.MP
In addition, not far from Vinh Thanh, there is a natural hot spring. We had a very enjoyable meal hosted by the owner of this recreational area, with delicious local dishes such as wild vegetables and stream fish... Unfortunately, the area is still quite undeveloped. I wish that some investor would invest in building a resort system for those who need to rest and bathe after days of hard work... to fully exploit the potential that nature has bestowed upon this area.
Furthermore, along this route there are many attractive destinations such as: Dinh Binh irrigation lake, Vinh Son hydroelectric power plant, Mr. Hue's orange orchard, Ta Kon citadel (Binh Dinh province)... to K50 waterfall (Gia Lai province), wooden church, Mang Den (Kon Tum province)... This list shows that this is an extremely ideal travel route for those who enjoy exploring nature, culture, and history.
Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/mot-cung-duong-nhieu-dau-an-post328686.html
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