A road is paved with concrete, making travel and trade more convenient and easier for the villagers in Bản Giáng Hamlet. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hải

TUYÊN QUANG — In the days leading up to Tết (Lunar New Year), the smooth concrete road into Bản Giáng Hamlet in Trung Sơn Commune, in the mountainous northern province of Tuyên Quang, hums with the footsteps of villagers coming and going.

Once regarded as a remote and isolated backwater, beset by hardship and poor access, the hamlet has undergone a quiet but profound transformation.

Roads are now open, electricity reliably lights homes at night, sturdy houses have replaced dilapidated wooden dwellings and living standards continue to rise.

In the past few years, investment channelled through policies, national target programmes and local government support for ethnic communities has steadily reshaped Bản Giáng.

The national grid has reached the hamlet, mobile phone coverage is available and infrastructure once thought unattainable has become part of daily life.

A major milestone came at the end of 2024, when the road linking the centre of the commune to Bản Giáng was lowered and fully paved.

Cars can now reach the school and individual households, significantly easing travel, agricultural transport and trade.

Although around one kilometre of unpaved road within the hamlet remains unfinished, residents say the improvement is immeasurable.

Party Secretary of the commune Thèn Văn Hiển said the impact has gone beyond convenience.

“With proper roads and electricity, people can travel more easily and sell their produce without being forced to accept unfair prices,” he said.

“More importantly, people’s mindsets and working lives have changed.”

Infrastructure is not the only area of progress, as cultural life has also seen encouraging shifts.

Villagers now take greater responsibility for environmental hygiene, regularly cleaning rural lanes and building livestock pens away from homes to prevent disease and protect water sources.

Outdated traditional practices, such as child marriage and consanguineous marriage, have gradually been eliminated.

Today, every child in the hamlet attends school, all local residents are covered by health insurance and more than 90 per cent of households have been recognised as 'cultural families'.

A determination to rise

The changes in the commune are not solely the result of outside assistance.

They also reflect a growing spirit of self-reliance among its residents.

Gradually, the Nùng and Dao ethnic communities in the area have moved away from dependency on State support, instead striving to build prosperity on their own land.

Resident Thèn Văn Lương's family is often cited as a model of determination.

In the past, his household relied mainly on shifting cultivation, with unstable earnings.

As transport links improved and access to information and technical guidance increased, he invested in forestry and bamboo shoots.

Today, the family manages more than eight hectares of acacia and bamboo, with steadily improving incomes.

In 2024, they officially rose out of poverty, built a new house and purchased a car for ease of travel.

Meanwhile, for area resident Xiên Thị Tới, this spring carries particular joy.

Her family has just completed and moved into a spacious new brick home.

“Before, we lived in a dilapidated wooden house, and every rainy season we were anxious,” she said.

With support from a Government scheme to eliminate temporary and dilapidated housing, combined with years of savings, the family was able to construct a solid new home.

“With a new house, this Tết feels happier. I can focus on work and production without worry.”

Residents are busy embroidering and preparing new dresses and clothes to welcome Tết in Bản Giáng Hamlet. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hải

Preparing for Tết

During days leading to Tết, one indispensable tradition is preparing the finest clothes for the festivities.

Setting aside farm work, mothers and daughters gather to embroider new skirts, tunics and headscarves.

At 67, Lù Thị Nhọn’s hands still move swiftly with needle and thread.

“For us Nùng people, Tết means new clothes,” she said.

Wearing their finest is not just about celebrating Tết. It is about leaving behind the hardships of the old year and wishing for prosperity and good health in the next, she said.

“When traditional garments are embroidered and sewn by our own hands, they carry even greater meaning and show respect to our ancestors,” she explained.

In the weeks before Tết, women in the hamlet devoted spare moments to stitching intricate brocade patterns, a practice that also ensures younger generations learn and preserve their ethnic heritage.

Nguyễn Mạnh Hà, chairman of the commune's People’s Committee, said the local administration views infrastructure development and raising public awareness, particularly in transforming production practices, as central tasks.

The results seen in the commune demonstrate both the effectiveness of policies and national target programmes for ethnic communities, and the determination of residents to improve their own lives, he noted.

Bản Giáng is home to 44 households, nearly 90 per cent of whom are Nùng.

Few would guess that it was once among the most isolated and disadvantaged hamlets in the commune. — VNS