Where the land is good, birds choose to... make nests!

The latest statistics show that, as of early 2023, Da Nang's population has surpassed 1.2 million people. On average, each year in this livable city, the population increases by nearly 25,000 people - equivalent to a ward with one of the largest or second largest populations in the city.

Of these, the mechanical population increase - that is, people migrating from other localities - accounts for more than half with about 10,000 to 15,000 people per year. Except for Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, the two largest cities in the country, compared to other localities, especially compared to the provinces and cities of the Central Coast - where the natural, economic , cultural and social conditions are quite similar - the fact that Da Nang attracts such a large population from many places to live can be considered a phenomenon worth pondering.

Da Nang attracts many people from many places to live not only because of its attractive natural landscape but also because of the hospitality and friendliness of its people. Photo: NGUYEN XUAN TU

Explaining this phenomenon, many people believe that the connotation of the title “livable city” says it all! This is completely reasonable when from the mountains and rivers, geographical location to the vision, construction plans, and policies of the city, all aim to not only build Da Nang into a civilized, modern, and environmentally friendly city, but also focus on improving the lives of all classes of people. The city aims for a community that is dynamic, active in labor, innovative in research and innovation, and always concerned with social security policies.

This story has not only happened in recent years, when the city has become more and more civilized and modern as it is today, but since the war years, the first years after liberation, despite the hardships, Da Nang has been a land that attracts and retains people. Remember the first years after liberation, like many places across the country, Da Nang also had a new economic zone in Hoa Son, Hoa Vang with many people from localities across the country choosing to come here to make a living.

In the context of many new economic zones not developing as expected, people chose to return to their homeland, but in Hoa Son it was almost the opposite. Life at that time was still full of difficulties, but people from everywhere, when coming to this land, wanted to stay for a long time. All because of one simple thing: the sincerity of the village and neighborly love, the affection between migrants and locals is always close and warm. And until today, many generations have been born, grown up, and attached to the city as their homeland.

For those who meet Da Nang people for the first time, hearing them talk “eating lumps, talking rocks” may be a bit displeasing. However, after a long enough time of contact and especially when becoming neighbors, you will see that behind that “eating lumps, talking rocks” lies many interesting and honest things. They are frank, upright people but extremely emotional, especially in times of trouble and difficulty, they always reach out to share with all their heart.

The interesting thing is that regardless of the region, when people live in Da Nang long enough, they are "assimilated", and then have a way of life and behavior that is always warm-hearted like the original Da Nang people. Then a community of people with the same way of life and behavior is formed, sincere and affectionate. This is why many tourists when visiting, traveling and studying in Da Nang have exclaimed: "Da Nang is a place where merchants "don't know" how to rip off people"; tourists need to ask for directions, if their accent "eats like a piece of cake, speaks like a stone" that makes people from other places not understand, the locals are willing to take them all the way. Even when letting strangers use their toilets, in Da Nang, people will laugh comfortably "just make yourself at home"...

That empathetic and sharing personality has nurtured Da Nang's "unique" ways of doing things, such as covering wifi in the center, crowded places, and workers' dormitories; building a hospital to treat cancer for free for the poor; or humane models such as a club to care for pregnant mothers, building a center to care for the homeless...

Besides those simple, sincere and open qualities, Da Nang is also a land of deep affection for people from all over the country who lived, fought and died in their homeland... Perhaps that is why there are touching stories about relatives of martyrs from other localities, when they came to the graves of heroes and martyrs buried in martyr cemeteries in the city, they decided not to move the remains of their loved ones back to their hometown. Because they saw the deep affection of the city's government and people for their loved ones. In this livable city, their loved ones are resting in solemn martyr cemeteries, carefully and thoughtfully cared for by the city's government and people.

Foreign investors working in Da Nang also revealed the reasons why they chose Da Nang. That is, besides the convenient traffic infrastructure, the city has many preferential policies, abundant human resources... investors are also especially impressed by the people here. They are eager to learn, intelligent, hard-working and especially loyal. These are things that investors cannot easily find in many other places.

According to the master plan of Da Nang city to 2030 and vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 2357/QD-TTg dated December 4, 2013, it will "... Build and develop Da Nang city to become a special national city, towards an international urban area and sustainable development...", it is clear that in the coming time, the city needs to make more efforts to turn the planning goals into reality. At the same time, Da Nang also needs to have policies to nurture the good qualities of the city's people, to make Da Nang not only a good land for birds to nest, but also more so that many people with high qualifications and a desire to contribute choose this land to "make a nest" and not just a place to stop and fly away.

BUI THANH