Spring arrives, the lion dance is in full swing.

- Just two months after Comrade Nguyen Canh Toan, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, surveyed the Lan Nong residential area in Loi village, Cai Kinh commune, the people of Lan Nong now have mobile phone coverage and electricity for daily life. This year's spring arrived earlier, filling the people of this small and pristine valley with joy.

Lan Nong is a residential area in Loi village, Cai Kinh commune. However, this residential area is a two-hour walk from the village center and another 15km to the commune center. Therefore, going via Van Linh commune (formerly Chi Lang district) would be more convenient and closer. At the beginning of 2025, Lan Nong had no road; access required walking through the forest. By April 2025, with community support, the people of Lan Nong contributed to opening and paving a more than 4km road to the center of Van Linh commune. This road is like a thread winding across the mountainside, only serving motorbike traffic…

Uphill to Lan Nong

The four-wheel-drive Toyota Fortuner carrying the delegation of officials and employees from the Lang Son Power Company stopped on the road leading to Lan Nong. The driver, with nearly 30 years of experience navigating the challenging roads of Lang Son, paused, calculating. The road was only wide enough for two wheels, with a concrete track in the middle, barely wide enough for motorbikes. Today's heavy rain had made the red soil slippery. Walking in this rain would surely take two hours, and electricity would arrive later than expected. The villagers had been eagerly awaiting the solar power system for days. As Mr. Pham Van Tinh, the representative of the residential area, had called this morning, the people of Lan Nong had been restless, anxiously awaiting electricity.

A difficult section of road on the way to Lan Nong.

It should be added that Lan Nong previously had no mobile phone signal. Following a survey by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Viettel Lang Son quickly deployed equipment to Lan Nong. Two days before our arrival, on February 7th, Lan Nong already had Viettel mobile signal. Therefore, residents were able to contact the working group from Lang Son Power Company and vice versa.

A few more phone calls were made to Lan Nong to get a firm grasp of the situation along the route, to check the vehicle's technical condition, and to gather more information, as a film crew had previously used cars to transport equipment to this residential area… With that data, the team decided to go to Lan Nong by car. It would be more arduous and dangerous, but electricity would arrive sooner, and the residents wouldn't have to wait.

Anyone who has ever ridden a motorbike with a local on this route will understand the heart-stopping feeling of navigating the steep, winding slopes of the limestone mountains, with a sheer drop in the abyss on the other side. The car, with its differential locked to increase traction, rumbles and sways as it crawls up the steep incline; the driver is highly focused, the car is eerily silent, not a single breath can be heard. Meanwhile, I am lost in thought, wondering how the Viettel Lang Son and power company employees manage to transport all that equipment to bring signal and electricity to the people along this route.

I recall my conversation this morning with Mr. Vu Thanh Danh, Director of Dung Linh Construction Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company (Tam Thanh Ward) – the unit responsible for constructing the four solar power generation units in Lan Nong: “Our company's workers, in coordination with the electricity sector and the local people, used specialized equipment for heavy and bulky items; for lighter items, they carried them up the slopes; and for even lighter items, they transported them by motorbike… They worked tirelessly like that until today (February 19th), when the entire installation was completed and ready for power connection, one week ahead of schedule…”

The project to provide electricity to the Lan Nong residential area has a total investment of over 2 billion VND. Construction items include the installation of 4 solar power systems to supply electricity to 13 households in Lan Nong with the following scales: Cluster 1 (18.6 kWp), Cluster 2 (22.32 kWp), Cluster 3 (22.32 kWp), Cluster 4 (12.4 kWp); 13 battery storage units (51.2V-200Ah, 10 kWh/unit); support frame structure; grounding; electrical cabinets; connecting wires; wires to households; light bulbs; and accompanying accessories.

Fulfilling wishes

A team of electricity officials inspects the parameters at a solar power system cluster.

“We’ve arrived!” – The shouts of the people in the car interrupted my thoughts. Before me was the simple, rustic wooden gate of the residential area, with a sign that read “Lân Nóng Net Zero Tourist Village.” Under the gentle spring rain, Lân Nóng welcomed us with hedges of blooming roses. Through the mist, glimpses of ancient stilt houses with yin-yang tiled roofs emerged.

Mrs. Trieu Thi So sat on the windowsill, smiling kindly at us. This year she turned eighty-eight, the oldest resident in this neighborhood. She seemed to have been sitting there for a very long time, because when her daughter-in-law, Hoang Thi Thoa, helped her up, she had to massage her knees and legs for a long time to relieve the numbness. Looking at the electricity company officials, she beamed: "I've been waiting for this for so long!"

Stepping out of the vehicle, the officials and staff of Lang Son Power Company and the power management teams of Huu Lung and Chi Lang areas greeted the locals and quickly got to work. They didn't want the people to wait any longer. Mr. Ngo Quang Duc, Deputy Head of the Chi Lang Area Power Management Team, carefully opened the technical box at the first solar energy cluster located within the grounds of the "Lay Lum" homestay and measured and monitored each parameter. I didn't understand what these parameters meant, but seeing the relieved expression on the deputy head's face, I understood that everything was fine. At this time, other power company officials and staff were also checking the remaining energy clusters.

Having completed the final steps, Mr. Duc gently opened the circuit breaker box, lightly pushed the switch, and called out: "Mr. Dung (Pham Van Dung's household, owner of the 'Lay Lum' homestay) turn on the light!" From above, joyful shouts echoed: "It's light! We have electricity!" From other energy clusters, similar voices rang out: "It's all good now! Lan Nong has electricity!"

Mr. Duc smiled broadly, as if his house had electricity. Turning to me, he explained: "Today it's raining and gloomy, but the electricity storage capacity has already reached over 70%, and all other parameters are fine. Even on gloomy days like this, there's still enough electricity for people to light their houses, watch TV, and use other electrical appliances safely and continuously. The system will automatically send the parameters to the unit; we will monitor and adjust if any problems are detected. All you have to do is use it."

Electricity officials instruct residents on safe electricity usage.

As soon as we entered Mr. Pham Van Dung's house, we saw Mr. Hoang Van Thuan, Deputy Head of the Huu Lung Area Electricity Management Team, instructing the couple on safe electricity usage. Mr. Dung listened attentively and nodded, saying, "It's not too complicated, is it?" Then he gently pulled back the cloth covering his brand-new television, showing it off: "It's a gift from the province. All 13 of our households received one, but this is the tricky part; we need the officer's help."

Thanks to electricity, the people of Lan Nong can now watch television.

It was difficult to say, but after just a few minutes of instruction, Mr. Dung was able to use it. At that moment, the people of Lan Nong and the electricity company's staff filled the house. The moment the homeowner turned on the TV, and the news program appeared, the whole house erupted in applause. "Wow, they're applauding the news like they're cheering at a football match!" someone exclaimed loudly, filling the room with laughter. That's the happiness of having electricity!

Representatives from the construction company and the power company presented gifts to residents of the Lan Nong residential area.

Hot Lion Dance Aspiration

While everyone was enjoying themselves, I took the opportunity to stroll around and explore the residential area. Lan Nong isn't very large, surrounded by majestic limestone mountains within the UNESCO Lang Son Global Geopark. There are 13 households living here, all of them poor or near-poor.

The landscape here is both majestic and strangely peaceful. Here, the crowing of roosters and the singing of birds create a unique, slow-paced, tranquil symphony of life. Although seemingly lacking in resources, this very pristine beauty is an invaluable asset of Lan Nong, forming the foundation for tourism development. This has been further supported by the Provincial Center for Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion, which has assisted local residents in renovating their homes, establishing homestays, and connecting them with tourist groups.

Since April of last year, the people of Lan Nong have been earning their first income from tourism. Mr. Pham Van Tinh, the village representative, showed me the QR codes attached near the entrance to the residential area: "They even helped us create 'electronic tour guide' QR codes. Visitors just need to scan them to learn about the 'Net Zero Treasure' of Lan Nong's story and can also leave their impressions of the place." "Lan Nong already has five homestays, and now we have internet, phone signal, and electricity – these are incredibly valuable things for our development. But in the process of development, we must preserve this pristine landscape and unique culture to ensure sustainability," Mr. Tinh asserted with hopeful eyes.

After a long and reluctant farewell, the time finally came to say goodbye. The car rumbled its way up the steep slope towards the city. At the most treacherous section, the highest point, I looked out the window and could only faintly see the ancient yin-yang tiled roofs. That peaceful village would probably not be asleep tonight; with phone signal and electricity, everything would change very quickly.

Before leaving, I spoke on the phone with Comrade Dinh Thi Anh Thu, Secretary of the Party Committee of Cai Kinh commune. The commune leader shared some very good news with me: “The provincial government has decided that the road to Lan Nong will be completed in June of this year. Currently, Cai Kinh commune and Van Linh commune are coordinating efforts to inform the people and prepare the necessary conditions for the project to begin construction as soon as possible.”

So soon, this bumpy, treacherous road will become smooth, connecting Lan Nong with the outside world and strongly promoting the development of the people here. It is the province's attention, the joint efforts of various units, and the hard work of the people here that have brought spring to Lan Nong, a spring that the people of Lan Nong will never forget…