The paths that have helped the Dao people change their lives.

Thanks to new roads being built reaching even the most remote villages, the lives of ethnic minority people in the highlands of Ha Long City ( Quang Ninh province) are becoming increasingly prosperous and fulfilling.

Having money but not daring to buy a car.

This year, Tet (Lunar New Year) seems to have arrived earlier for the people of Tan Oc 1 village, Dong Son commune, Ha Long city. This is because their long-held dream of a road that is not muddy and not cut off during the rainy season, connecting Khe Lan hamlet to Lam Nghiep hamlet, has finally come true.

Mr. Ly Van Thong proudly showed off his newly purchased scooter, worth over 40 million VND.

Leading the reporter along the newly opened concrete road crossing the large stream into Lam Nghiep hamlet, Mr. Nguyen Huy Hai, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Son commune, informed that the road, 2km long and 3m wide, with a total investment of nearly 7 billion VND, was inaugurated on December 25, 2024.

"The best thing is that the project didn't require any compensation or land clearance. Wherever the road was built, the people donated land, so construction went smoothly," Mr. Hai said.

Sitting in his yard admiring his new scooter, 56-year-old Ly Van Thong, a Dao ethnic minority man from Lam Nghiep hamlet, boasted: "I just bought this scooter for over 40 million dong. I've wanted to buy one for a long time, but unfortunately, the road home is too bad; if I bought a scooter, it would fall apart in no time."

Mr. Thong explained that the "dream" of owning a scooter is so distant for him and the villagers because the road from the village center to the residential area is a dirt road, built decades ago, narrow and full of potholes. On sunny days, traffic is difficult, and on rainy days it's a real struggle. When it rains heavily, the residential area becomes inaccessible, and the children cannot get to school.

"Most of the households here are Dao people. Previously, this area had several dozen houses, but due to poor transportation, many families have migrated elsewhere, leaving their houses, fields, and gardens abandoned," Thông recounted.

Happy New Year in your new home!

While busily plastering the walls of his small house along the newly opened road, 29-year-old Ban Van Ngan couldn't hide his joy. He's been married for nearly five years and has been living in a small house given to him by his parents. Because the house is old, dilapidated, and cramped, his and his wife's life is very difficult. Although they own a lot of land, their agricultural products are hard to sell, and prices are low due to the poor road conditions. Many times he's wanted to move elsewhere with his wife and children.

Mr. and Mrs. Ban Van Ngan are working diligently to complete their house in time for the New Year.

"My wife just gave birth to our grandson five months ago. When the road was finished, I sold some timber from the forest for a few tens of millions of dong. The opportunity to build a new house has arrived, so I hired a bulldozer to demolish the old house to make way for this one. If things go quickly, the new house will be finished in about ten days. This Tet holiday will probably be the happiest Tet ever," Mr. Ngan said excitedly.

On the way back, pointing to the vast acacia and cinnamon forests of the people in Lam Nghiep hamlet, which were thriving, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Son commune said that in the past, transportation was difficult, life was mainly based on self-sufficiency, and many households had migrated to other places.

"With the new road opened, the prices of agricultural and forestry products here are now comparable to other areas in the commune. Therefore, many households of ethnic minorities who had migrated elsewhere have now registered to return and live here," Mr. Hai shared.

Life is changed by roads.

Speaking to reporters, Ms. Phan Thi Hai Huong, Head of the Propaganda Department of the Ha Long City Party Committee, said that since the merger of Hoanh Bo district and Ha Long city in 2019, the mountainous ethnic minority areas in the former Hoanh Bo region have received thousands of billions of dong in investment from the local government to open up transportation routes.

The road from the center of Tan Oc 1 village, Dong Son commune, has helped the people of Lam Nghiep hamlet escape the situation of being isolated and unable to enter or leave during the rainy season.

Typical examples include the road from Son Duong commune to the center of Dong Son and Dong Lam communes, and provincial road 342 from the Ha Long - Van Don expressway through Dong Lam commune to Ky Thuong commune…

Along with investing in key transportation infrastructure projects, the city has directed communes to upgrade and expand all roads leading to villages and hamlets… With improved transportation, the lives of ethnic minority people are changing day by day.

According to Ms. Huong, in just the last month of 2024, Ha Long City commenced a series of transportation projects in rural, mountainous, and ethnic minority areas.

According to Ms. Phan Thi Hai Huong, Head of the Propaganda Department of the Ha Long City Party Committee, among the projects that commenced at the end of 2024, there is a project to renovate the infrastructure in the central area of ​​Dong Son commune and Dan Chu commune, and a clean water supply system to Dong Son commune.

The project implemented in Dong Son commune has a total investment of 20.2 billion VND, constructing and renovating 6 traffic routes with a total length of over 1km. Meanwhile, the project in Dan Chu commune is invested with 21.3 billion VND to renovate 3 traffic routes with a total length of approximately over 1.1km…

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/quang-ninh-nhung-con-duong-giup-nguoi-dao-doi-doi-192250107194252731.htm