About Tan Trao in the flag flying season

Joining the vibrant atmosphere to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the successful August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - August 19, 2025) and the 80th anniversary of National Day (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2025), we visited the "cradle" of the historical events of that year: Tan Trao historical relic site ( Tuyen Quang ).

1. Actually, this is not the first time we have come to the historical site associated with the founding of the nation, but coming in the atmosphere of these days, the feeling in each person still arouses many indescribable emotions.

The bases hidden under the forests and deep, dark caves of the mountains have long since donned new “coats”. Instead of the trails, there are large paved roads, with cars and motorbikes bustling back and forth. Historical sites are written on traffic signs with white letters on a blue background along the road. However, despite the breath of the city, the feeling we, the travelers, have when coming here is still a space filled with the color of mountains.

Modern asphalt roads wind around valleys and hills like upside-down bowls. Huge concrete bridges span streams with gurgling water, and here and there waterwheels still slowly spin. Standing on the asphalt roads, watching the waterwheels spin against the misty backdrop of the rolling hills, one feels like standing in the present looking back into the distant past. A friend who acts as a tour guide said that there was a period when people abandoned these waterwheels, but then a few accidentally left behind attracted tourists to stop and take souvenir photos. So the localities maintained the remaining ones, restored some broken ones, creating unforgettable scenes for those who first visited one of the “cradles” of the Vietnamese revolution.

2. 80 years ago, right here, Vietnam took its first steps to prepare for its official “birth”. Here, the Party’s National Conference met for three consecutive days, followed by the National Congress, laying the foundation for the August General Uprising. In his memoirs, writer Nguyen Dinh Thi, then one of the youngest delegates (21 years old), recalled: “The beginning of the shock took place not in a big city but in a small, nameless place, in the mountains and forests of Northern Vietnam. That place was Kim Long village - which the revolution named Tan Trao”.

According to the memories of Senior Lieutenant General Song Hao in the article Tan Trao - Summer and Autumn of that year (printed in the work Tan Trao Panorama, published by the Culture and Information Publishing House in 2000), Tan Trao was the first locality in Tuyen Quang province to successfully seize power. Tan Trao commune (formerly Kim Long) is located in the north of Son Duong district (now Hong Son commune, Tuyen Quang province), a mountainous area surrounded by green forests, with many ethnic minorities living there. In 1939, the first revolutionary bases appeared in the villages of Khuoi Kich, Khuoi Phat, and Ngoi Nho. In February 1945, the Viet Minh commune organization was established. And on the night of March 10, 1945, an important event occurred in Tuyen Quang, the Thanh La uprising, one of the first uprisings to seize revolutionary power in the whole country, led by the revolutionary armed forces. The victory of this uprising contributed significantly to the establishment of Tu Do district (now Minh Thanh commune) and created the premise for the establishment of the revolutionary base in Tan Trao, the "Capital of Resistance".

3. Coming to Tan Trao historical relic site these days, not only tourists are moved by the joy of the whole country. The staff here are also busy and eager to complete preparations to welcome delegations to visit the "Capital of Resistance".

Mr. Vien Ngoc Tan, Deputy Director of Tuyen Quang Provincial Museum, said that on this occasion, the memorial area for revolutionary predecessors has been completed. The main house has a red tiled roof, ironwood columns, located on a spacious campus, with a drum house, a bell house and a lake in front. In the memorial area, the altars have monolithic bronze statues, in the middle of the room is a statue of President Ho Chi Minh , surrounded by statues of 14 revolutionaries who lived and worked in Tan Trao in 1945 and throughout the resistance war against the French.

Along the main road on the wide lawn next to Tan Trao communal house is the monument "Uncle Ho in Tan Trao", which was just inaugurated on the morning of August 14, 2025. Continuing past the dam blocking the stream is the Na Nua hut relic complex, which was once known as the "Bamboo Presidential Palace". On the old ground that year, 2 simple small houses have been restored. Here, Uncle Ho had to go through life-threatening fevers right before the revolution. And also here, Uncle said the immortal words: "Now the favorable opportunity has come, no matter how much sacrifice, even if we have to burn the entire Truong Son range, we must resolutely gain independence".

In the memoirs of revolutionary leaders at that time such as Vo Nguyen Giap, Tran Huy Lieu, Huy Can, Hoang Dao Thuy, Nguyen Luong Bang, Nguyen Dinh Thi…, the image of Tan Trao land is always engraved in the mind. There, the names Tin Keo, Khuoi Tat, Deo De, Hong mountain, Thia stream, Day river… are mentioned with unforgettable memories and stories.

These days, all the way to Tan Trao, Viet Bac, the eyes are happy because of the flags fluttering in the wind. August is Autumn. August is the month of the flags, the season of revolution. The flags fly together with the sacrifices, glory and victory of the nation. “Vietnam! Vietnam! The red flag with the yellow star!/ The chests hold their breath on Independence Day!/ New resources from all directions are pouring in!/ The flags flutter, mixing with the waves of song…” (Epic poem The National Flag, composed by poet Xuan Dieu on November 30, 1945).

TRAN DINH VIET

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ve-tan-trao-trong-mua-co-bay-post811034.html