On the 100th birthday of late General Secretary Le Duan (7/4/1907 - 7/4/2007): Visiting his memorial house.

The memorial house of late General Secretary Le Duan at Hau Kien village in Trieu Thanh, Trieu Phong, Quang Tri

Hau Kien is an agricultural village located in Thach Han River right bank, 3 kilometers away from Quang Tri ancient citadel towards the northeast. For 437 years of establishment and development, Hau Kien Village has tenaciously and steadfastly fought against natural calamities and enemy-inflicted destruction to build up the hometown and preserve its good traditions. From Can Vuong Movement (1885) to Duy Tan Movement, from the war against tax in the Central (1908) to the revolutionary high tide against the French for years between 1925 and 1929, they were all participated by Hau Kien villagers. Since the Party was born, under the leadership of Hau Kien Party Cell, the villagers were heartened to stand together to organize political activities, take part in wars against taxes and fees and demand for freedom and democracy. Some of the revolutionary bases were destroyed and many people were cruelly put into prison, tortured and killed by the enemy. Despite this, revolutionary movement in Hau Kien were not deteriorated, the people were wholeheartedly determined to follow the revolution, sheltered and protected militants and Hau Kien was one of key areas for our army to attack and occupy Quang Tri Town, contributing to the glorious victory of the nation. Hau Kien Village was honoured to contribute the huge human and material resources to the motherland: 4 Vietnamese Heroine Mothers, 22 martyrs and 18 war invalids. Particularly, the Village is very proud to protect, help and rear the glorious child of the nation: General Secretary Comrade Le Duan.

The paternal hometown of Comrade Le Duan was located in Bich La Village, Trieu Dong Commune. Until the generation of Le Hiep – Comrade Le Duan’s Father – moved to this Hau Kien village, during two-war resistance, the Comrade’s house was burned many times by the enemies and after the liberation, only its old foundation was left. In 1976, the Party Committee of Trieu Hai District (previously) rebuilt the house on the old foundation. The structure of the house was followed that of the old style house consisting of three compartments and two lean-tos, 4.5 meters wide, 9 meters long, thatched and with wooden walls. Inside the house, some of furniture was restored such as beds, tables, altar etc. In late 1977, the District People's Committee had the roof tiled, having the thatch replaced. In 1995, Quang Tri Museum repaired the damaged parts, preserved the house and displayed some of pictures and artefacts related to Comrade Le Duan and his family. The house precincts was about 2,000 square meters wide, the fence was made of chinese tea plants trimmed very straight and a large number of fruit trees and decorative plants were planted in the garden. In 1997, along the area of river bank in front of the memorial house (with the length of over 1 kilometer), a breakwater was built with concrete support structure and slabs cast with mixture of steel, cement, sand and grits for anti-erosion. On December 11 2001, Quang Ngai People's Committee promulgated the decision No.3074/QD-UB on approval for the project to embellish the relic, the memorial house of the late general secretary Le Duan. This project allowed the precinct to be extended up to 4,423 square meters. The project included functional areas as follow: In the memorial area towards the north was placed the portrait of Comrade Le Duan and this area is a place where visitors can offer incense or lay wreaths, creating a suitable space and appropriate time for everyone to offer incense, especially on major holidays. In the middle is the two-storey display section with the total used area of 800 square meters (not including artefacts displayed on the walls), which is a large space, revealing the status, life and achievements of the General Secretary Comrade through precious pictures and artefacts. In the northern direction is the memorial house i.e. the previous house was preserved in its primitive state, used as a place for worshipping ancestors of Comrade Le Duan’s family. In addition, there is a site in which an infrastructure system was built such as a precinct, internal paths, a parking lot, a souvenir stall etc, creating a harmonious, lively and solemn setting. The entire relic area faces east, fronting Thach Han River.

Going to Hau Kien to visit the hometown of comrade Le Duan, walking on the heroic piece of land, witnessing the documents, the artefacts and reviewing life and revolutionary career of the late General Secretary, we furthered our understanding about human values in the life of the outstanding leader, the excellent student of President Ho Chi Minh. This piece of land is permanently a “red” address, a place for international friends come to visit and a place to educate patriotic and revolutionary traditions of forebears for generations of today and tomorrow.

Translated by THKC