The city and me

Many people in Hai Duong City cherish their childhood memories associated with its romantic flower-lined streets. Photo: Linh Linh

I was born in Hai Duong City. When I was about 4 or 5 years old, my mother sent me back to my hometown to live with my grandmother. In the third grade, my mother brought me back to the city to live and study. The first image of the city that struck me in 1994 was the interwoven, undulating antenna towers as I crossed the Phu Luong bridge – something very few houses had in my hometown, because back then, maybe only one in the whole neighborhood owned a television. The city was truly fascinating to me then.

Our house was at the end of the Porcelain Company's housing complex. My mother worked as a factory worker, but she also had to do various odd jobs. Yet, my family was often hungry. Our meals consisted mostly of roasted peanuts. The day I cut my hand, my mother comforted me with a meal of fried peanuts – the most luxurious dish our family had at that time.

And so we grew up in the city. Twice a day we went to school on our rickety bicycles. In elementary and middle school, because our house was more than a kilometer from school, sometimes we even walked. The housing complex where we lived was poor, but everyone got along well.

When I went to university, I was away from the city for five years. Hanoi gave me many memories, but five years wasn't enough for me to truly understand and love Hanoi as much as some people do. The frustrations of finding a job, the noise, the hustle and bustle of the city streets, and the damp, stuffy smell of my old rented room exhausted me. After five years, I left Hanoi as if escaping to return to my hometown of Hai Duong. And every time I stepped off the bus, I always felt a sense of peace wash over me.

In my eyes, the city is no longer poor. So much has truly changed. Many new, modern bridges have been built, such as the Phu Tao Bridge, the new Phu Luong Bridge, the Lo Cuong Bridge, the Hai Tan Bridge... And a series of new markets have sprung up, like the Hoi Do Market, the new Hai Tan Market, the new Con Market... always bustling with buyers and sellers.

Then, Reunification Square was built as an ideal recreational spot. Bach Dang Street was renovated with pedestrian walkways lined with trees, featuring stylish, nostalgic benches. Flower-lined streets were created, such as those with cassia, bauhinia, and crape myrtle flowers... And a series of green urban development projects were launched, including the Ecorivers urban area, considered the city's premier urban area today.

Vo Nguyen Giap Boulevard and a section of Truong Chinh Street are ablaze with the vibrant colors of the trumpet lily flowers.

I don't aspire for my city to have mountains, seas, forests, or luxury resorts . I just want to return to the city as if I were returning home, to enjoy warm meals with my family. Now, there's no more roasted peanuts, no more stiff pants made from my mother's work jacket sleeves, no more rickety bicycle with a broken chain to school, no more dangling pineapple bag and empty stomach from hunger... but I still always want to return.

Walking through the heart of the city, I find peace. I've never experienced traffic jams on my way to work. In my free time, I enjoy wandering through old neighborhoods like Dong Xuan, Bac Kinh, and Tam Giang. The ancient tiled roofs, the preserved French-style houses, the balconies ablaze with bougainvillea or orchids always leave a strong impression on me. There are long alleyways lined with truly unique old houses. Once, while stopped at a red light, I gazed intently at a towering kapok tree at the beginning of Quang Trung Street; it was strange how it was nestled within an old, domed house right in the middle of a bustling residential area. Or the house at number 47 Tam Giang Street, the house at number 17 Hoang Van Thu Street – both are quiet, ancient houses seemingly unaffected by the passage of time.

I love wandering around Bach Dang Park. I love the refreshing breeze from the lake in summer, the cool, misty chill of the lake's surface in winter, and the sight of the crape myrtle blossoms in March, and the lilac, cassia, and flamboyant trees in May, all along the same path. The park is a quiet, green oasis inextricably linked to the city, like an inseparable brand. The city becomes more beautiful and gentle because of everything this place offers.

Students have fun at Ecorivers Urban Area.

The streets are dyed red when the crape myrtle trees bloom. On Chuong Duong Street and Le Thanh Nghi Boulevard, the fallen red flowers along the lake create an endless carpet, soft as velvet. After a night, the flowers, still damp with dew, look unusually fresh. The cleaning ladies stand there, admiring the flowers, reluctant to sweep them up. The city is simply beautiful like that.

Ah, it would be a real oversight to talk about the city without mentioning its food. I often treat my friends to the city's signature yet surprisingly affordable dishes, some of which have been around for decades on familiar streets: Bac Son rice rolls, Ho Chi Minh Boulevard pomelo sweet soup, Tuy Hoa rice cakes, Tran Binh Trong minced pork rolls, Minh Khai fried cakes, grilled pork rolls, Pham Hong Thai pork rib rice, Le Loi tofu pudding, Chuong My tofu pudding, Trung Tam Thuong Mai pork rib noodle soup, Hao Thanh fried fermented pork rolls, Xuan Dai stuffed dumplings, Quang Trung yogurt...

Those are just the main dishes, and there are many more that would probably require another page to list them all. I'm not boasting, but people from other provinces who have visited and experienced them often pack some to take back home if possible.

My city is 220 years old. I've been here and loved it for 38 years. And I will continue to love it!

NGUYEN THI HONG NHUNG

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/thanh-pho-va-toi-385339.html