Bac Son Uprising special national relic: A place to save heroic history

The Bac Son Uprising special national relic is one of the relic with typical historical value, important in the system of monuments marking Vietnam’s revolutionary military history. This is the place where the Bac Son Uprising took place, the first armed uprising led by our Party, contributing to the victory of the August 1945 Revolution General Uprising. Today, the relic has become a “living miniature museum” – a place to keep the imprints of space, time and artifacts associated with a heroic historical period of the nation.

Bac Son Uprising relic was ranked as a special national relic in 2016. The Relic has 12 relic sites including: Mo Tat, Na Kheo hill, Nong Luc communal house, Mo Jasmine fort, Tham Thong – Dap Di, Truong Vu Lang, Sa Khao, Khuoi Noi, Lan Pan, Lan Tay – Mo Pia, Mo Re , Tam Canh Pass. The relics distributed in 6 communes of Bac Son district include Tan Huong, Hung Vu, Vu Lang, Vu Le, Tan Lap, and Long Dong.

Students of Bac Son District Ethnic Minority Boarding Secondary & High School visit at Bac Son Uprising Museum. Photo: DUONG KIM

Bac Son Uprising Relic has typical and important values in the system of historical and military-revolutionary relics of Vietnam, marking a series of events of special significance such as the process of absorbing the revolutionary line and the birth of the first Party cell in Bac Son (1930 – 1936); the movement to fight for people’s rights to life and democracy and the establishment of the Party Committee of Bac Son district (1936-1939); Bac Son Uprising (September 27, 1940) – the beginning of the climax of revolutionary struggle throughout the country; establishing the Bac Son guerrilla base area (October 16, 1940); established the Viet Minh front to build up the forces to prepare for the uprising (1941-1945); the birth of the Bac Son National Salvation Team at the base of Bac Son – Vo Nhai (February 1941)…

Over the years, aware of the role, value and importance of the Bac Son Uprising Relic, all levels and sectors of the province in general and the Bac Son district government in particular have paid attention to the conservation and promotion of the relic values. It is known that over the past time, Bac Son District People’s Committee has actively assigned specialized departments to coordinate with related units to implement many important solutions.

Mrs. Do Thanh Loan, Head of the Culture and Information Division of the district, said: In order to promote the value of the national economic zone, especially the Bac Son Uprising, over the past time, the division has coordinated with agencies and units to strengthen propaganda about the contents, values and meanings of the relic to the people in various forms; at the same time, advise on the organization of zoning and setting up landmarks to protect relics; invest in embellishing and renovating relics…

Accordingly, the propaganda work has been promoted by relevant levels and sectors in the district through various forms such as organizing pilgrimage activities to visit the relic sites, exchange talks, organize community-based cultural and sports activities on major holidays. At the same time, the District People’s Committee also directed the local authorities to strengthen propaganda work.

The delegation of Lang Son Geopark students visited and took souvenir photos at the relic of Nong Luc communal house, Hung Vu commune, Bac Son district.

Mr. Dang Minh Duc, Chairman of Vu Lang Commune People’s Committee said: In the commune, there are 2 relic sites located in Bac Son Uprising Relic, including: Vu Lang Truong and Tham Thong – Dap Di pass. Every year, we propagate to the people about the Law on Cultural Heritage and the importance of preserving and promoting the value of relics in village and commune meetings. Every week, we send officials and people to clean the relics.

Notably, from 2016 up to now, the People’s Committee of Bac Son district has directed the installation of regulation signs, introduction signs and zoning and protection at points located in the relic. At the same time, the restoration and embellishment of works items belonging to the relics of Tam Canh Pass, Nong Luc communal house, and Mo Nhai Fort… from the budget of the cultural development program, the provincial and district budgets with the total investment over 17.5 billion VND. Artifacts and documents related to relic are being kept, preserved and displayed at Bac Son Museum and Vu Lang traditional gallery with a total of 138 artifacts. It is known that each year, these places attract about 5,000 visitors. Mr. Ngo Van Tuan, a tourist from Hanoi shared: “Returning to Bac Son, I was very touched when I understood better about the indomitable and steadfast fighting spirit of the previous generation through relic sites such as Mo Nhan Fort, Tam Canh Pass, Nong Luc Communal House… This is really a very meaningful trip and left me with many emotions.”

Mr. Phan Van Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: In order to protect and promote the value of the relic, in order to step by step build a tourist area worthy of a special national tourist destination, in the coming time, the sector will continue to strengthen propaganda about the value and meaning of relic.

At the same time, the sector will do well on advising the Provincial People’s Committee to carry out the task of planning to preserve, restore and promote the value of the national relic, especially Bac Son Uprising, Lang Son province in Decision No. 1018/ QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister dated August 30, 2022.

Believing that, with the special values of history and culture, and the concern to protect and promote the economic values of all levels and sectors with the consensus of the People, Bac Son Uprising Relic will become an address of important cultural, historical and tourism value, contributing to promoting socio-economic development of Bac Son district in particular and Lang Son province in general.