Party Committee Secretary and People’s Council Chairman Nguyễn Duy Tư uses a smartphone to film the landscape of his homeland. Photos courtesy of Nguyễn Duy Tư

PHÚ THỌ — In Vân Sơn Commune, Phú Thọ Province, Party Committee Secretary and People’s Council Chairman Nguyễn Duy Tư personally uses his smartphone to film himself or steps in front of the camera to tell stories about the people and landscapes of his homeland.

After being edited into videos, the footage is posted on social media platforms such as Facebook and TikTok, becoming a bridge connecting Vân Sơn with potential visitors.

Tư is trying a new approach to putting Vân Sơn on the digital map: telling stories about the commune in the most authentic way possible, so that from the virtual world, visitors are inspired to discover Vân Sơn, a land of mountains and forests, rich cultural traditions and people who are gradually building better lives in their own homeland.

The 'plough and hoe of the new era'

‘Concern’ and ‘responsibility’ are the two words Tư uses to explain his decision to personally take on communications work, he told the online Government News.

Located at an elevation of more than 1,000 metres above sea level, Vân Sơn Commune enjoys a mild climate and is home to Thung Waterfall, Nam Sơn and Núi Kiến caves, pristine forests and a rich Mường cultural heritage.

Despite its natural advantages and abundant local produce, for generations the area’s scenic beauty has largely been something to admire, while its agricultural production has remained mostly subsistence-based. The proportion of poor households also remains high.

The biggest bottleneck is Vân Sơn's limitted connectivity with the outside world, Tư said.

He asked himself: “If we don’t promote our homeland ourselves, who will do it for us?”

Instead of merely issuing resolutions, talking about digital transformation or encouraging residents to develop tourism, he has chosen to lead by example. He wades through muddy rice fields, climbs mountains, sits beside the fire in traditional stilt houses and talks with local residents, personally recording the most ordinary moments of daily life.

For him, this is also a way of setting an example. People in remote mountainous areas need to see officials actually doing things and achieving real results before they will trust the approach and follow suit.

According to Tư, a smartphone can become the "plough and hoe of the new era". It enables local people to tell their own stories, promote their own products and create livelihoods in their homeland.

Turning heritage into assets

What Tư wants to put on social media first is not an embellished image of Vân Sơn, but an authentic portrait of a peaceful and pristine community rich in human warmth.

Party Committee Secretary and People’s Council Chairman Nguyễn Duy Tư takes a photo with a local farmer while filming the pumpkin farm in Vân Sơn Commune, Phú Thọ Province.

One story is ‘Escape the Heat and Heal’, highlighting the area’s year-round average temperature of just 21 degrees Celsius. Visitors can escape the intense heat of the cities, slow down amid ancient forests, cool off in the waters of Thung Waterfall, explore caves and wake up to a sea of clouds.

Another is ‘A Peaceful Place Where Doors Need No Locks’. It tells of a community so peaceful that motorbikes can be left by the roadside fence all day with their keys in the ignition without being stolen. At night, the doors of old stilt houses can remain unbolted and wide open, welcoming the mountain breeze.

Vân Sơn is also being introduced through the flavours of its mountains and forests.

“These are unique local products nurtured entirely by the mountain air and mist,” Tư said. “They include chayote vines and upland cucumbers growing in the mountain mist, tiny wild ‘wind chillies’ growing on rocky cliffs and having an intense spicy heat, Shan Tuyết white tea covered in mountain dew and jars of rice wine fermented with more than 20 medicinal herbs.”

But at the heart of every story are the people.

They are villagers who wade through the mud together to help one another plant rice. They are artisans who patiently weave and craft by the fire. They are Mường women who work in the fields during the day before changing into traditional skirts to play football in the afternoon. They are families opening homestays with natural hospitality and a determination not to pursue short-term, quick-profit tourism.

According to Tư, for a mountain commune with limited resources, social media offers a special opportunity to promote the locality at virtually no cost, while helping overcome geographical barriers.

Through engaging content that attracts millions of views on Facebook and TikTok, Vân Sơn can draw around 11,000 - 12,000 visitors. When tourists arrive, their spending benefits local homestays, eateries, and providers of products and services.

Asked about the biggest challenge of doing communications work in Vân Sơn, Tư said the hardest part of the work is keeping everything real.

“You can stand in front of a camera, but you cannot put on an act. You can tell an engaging story, but you cannot distort people’s lives. As visitor numbers grow, we have to preserve our simple way of life and hospitality, as well as our unspoiled landscapes.”

If the locality instead chases views, overcharges visitors, aggressively touts for business or speculates in land, the very values that make Vân Sơn attractive will gradually be eroded.

That is why, for Tư, every video must be tied to his public responsibilities. Likes and hearts only have meaning when behind them are real visitors, real livelihoods, safe infrastructure and a community that genuinely benefits. — VNS