New day in the land of fog

Surely that new cloud color, he wanted to talk about the changes in his homeland Van Ho - the land born 10 years ago from Resolution No. 72/NQ-CP dated June 10, 2013 of the Government. At that time, located 170km away from Hanoi Capital, between 2 national tourist destinations: Hoa Binh Hydroelectric Reservoir and the center of Moc Chau National Tourist Area, the brand new owners of the new land could not help but wonder how to make the name Van Ho not be overshadowed next to its brother Moc Chau, which had firmly established itself on the map of Son La and the Northwest region.

But in those worries, Van Ho people also contain hope because the ancient land of Moc Ha (now Van Ho) is a land rich in culture and favored by nature, a resilient land in the history of building and defending the country, a treasure trove of mysterious ancient stories, enchanting epic works, and captivating folk songs.

And mountains, hills, grasslands, rivers, streams, waterfalls, valleys... are undulating in the clouds. Clouds are a specialty of Van Ho. 98,289 hectares of area, 14 communes, 115 villages, and sub-regions are covered in a blanket of clouds. The sounds of khất and khen calling friends, the ecstatic singing and dancing, and the warm and affectionate wine of the 6 ethnic groups of Mong, Thai, Kinh, Muong, Dao, and Tay are also entwined and blended in the clouds. According to the driver, in the past, when things were difficult, every time we looked at the clouds, we felt sad, but now, Van Ho people understand that clouds are a gift from nature to Van Ho as a unique charm and Van Ho will become rich from those special gifts.

It has been 10 years. In June 2023, the Party Committee, government, and people of all ethnic groups in Van Ho district joyfully welcomed the 10th anniversary of its establishment. 10 years - a number that may be small in the journey of a locality, but it is a long journey marked by the dedication, determination, and tireless efforts of the cadres and people of all ethnic groups in Van Ho district with the dream of a strong Van Ho.

Only those who have lived through the past 10 years can truly appreciate the strong efforts of Van Ho to transform and rise. A new appearance, although not massive, is still neat enough, straight concrete roads with two wide lanes, gently curving to embrace the green of the mountains and forests, spacious villages and towns, modern red-tiled houses with painted walls interspersed with sturdy traditional houses, evoking the color of prosperity and loyalty...

Resolution No. 01-NQ/DH dated July 17, 2020 at the 2nd District Party Congress, term 2020 - 2025, set out 3 main targets for development with 19 criteria. Of which, 3 breakthroughs were selected to focus on implementation in the term 2020 - 2025, including: Developing agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, especially high-tech agriculture , organic agriculture associated with processing and export; Developing tourism on the basis of maximizing potential and advantages; Synchronously implementing solutions to reduce poverty quickly and sustainably.

Halfway through the Resolution's implementation period, the economy has maintained a fairly good growth rate, the economic structure has shifted in a positive direction, in the right direction and in line with the province's economic development goals, especially the development of high-tech agriculture, fruit tree development on sloping land, large-scale livestock farming, aquaculture, associated with the processing industry. The total social development investment capital for the 2020-2022 period reached over VND 5,468 billion; the local budget revenue reached VND 192.54 billion.

Straight concrete roads with two wide lanes

The district has restructured the agricultural sector towards concentrated commodity production, specialized cultivation, and value chain linkage to increase added value and sustainable development. It has built and formed a number of raw material areas for vegetable and fruit processing factories such as IC FOOD SonLa Co., Ltd., High-tech Food Processing Joint Stock Company (TH Group), Nafood Tay Bac Joint Stock Company, Dong Giao Food Processing Joint Stock Company, etc.

Social security is guaranteed; people's lives are constantly improving, the poverty rate has decreased from 57.3% in 2013 to 26.3% in 2023. Reviewing and eliminating nearly 1,300 temporary and dilapidated houses for poor households and households with housing difficulties, helping Van Ho complete the poverty reduction goal 2.5 years ahead of the Resolution of the District Party Congress.

In particular, from an area with almost no industrial and service facilities, Van Ho has become a destination attracting many large investors in many different fields and industries. The Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway (section through Van Ho) and Van Ho Industrial Park are being implemented, expected to continue to create a new wind to attract many projects in infrastructure, industry, tourism and agriculture.

Welcoming the new journey with expectations, Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the District People's Council Nguyen Duc Toan shared: The Party Committee and people of all ethnic groups in Van Ho district will continue to innovate, promote the intelligence and strength of great solidarity of all ethnic groups, seize opportunities, overcome difficulties and challenges, create new positions and strengths to achieve the goal of rapid and sustainable development, determined to make Van Ho become a district with fairly good socio-economic development in the province by 2030.