Precious green roads in Tra Vinh, my hometown

Tra Vinh has many tree-lined streets right in the city

Growing up in the “green city” of Tra Vinh, if asked what impressed me most about my hometown, I probably wouldn’t hesitate to think about the rows of green trees always present throughout this city.

As is common sense: the more people value something, the more they fear losing it. But fortunately, Tra Vinh is still green.

Rows of shady green trees in Tra Vinh

Tra Vinh city is increasingly expanding and developing, initially there were only 6 wards, now there are 9 wards and continues to grow faster and faster. The population is more dense, with many people from other localities coming to study and work. Tra Vinh people are surprised when they return home from time to time.

However, some things are still there, intact as before. That is Hang Me Street (May 19 Street) with ancient tamarind trees. That is street number 3, street number 4 – the familiar name of Tra Vinh people for Le Thanh Ton street, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia. These roads are full of trees, green, cool, beautiful and clean.

The elementary and middle schools I attended are still surrounded by star trees and olive trees. At that time, it was the season when the oil fruits fell, and the fruits flew all over the yard. We often pick up bunches and bring them upstairs to drop them off.

It’s not fun to play like that, but I remember it forever and never forget it.

Now the star trees and olive trees are still there, when the young fruit season comes, the old fruit still flies in the rain and wind. I wonder if the kids liked playing our game that year?

As a Tra Vinh person, everyone must have heard, cherished and been proud of the title “green tree city” of their hometown. But many times when living in happiness, people pay little attention or even doubt whether they are really that happy?

I sometimes wonder how long Tra Vinh will remain green before the current wave of concretization, modernization and especially the increasingly dense population.

Among the top cities with the best air quality in the world

One piece of information related to Tra Vinh that reassures me somewhat is that in April 2023, for the first time, the Vietnam Confederation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the United States Agency for International Development in Vietnam (USAID) Announcing the Provincial Green Index (PGI). The “green tree city” of Tra Vinh, my hometown, is honored to be ranked 1st out of 63 provinces and cities in the country.

The Provincial Green Index is not purely an environmental assessment, but PGI is a set of indexes to evaluate and rank environmentally friendly localities from the perspective of business practices (level of application of friendly technology). the environment of local businesses, the level of management and environmental behavior of businesses, the level of interest and willingness to invest in environmental issues of local authorities and many important environmental issues. other important).

By early March 2024, another good news came to Tra Vinh, this time an international recognition.

According to a published report by IQAir (Global Air Quality Monitoring Agency – Switzerland), Tra Vinh city ranked 3rd in the top 15 cities with the cleanest air quality in Southeast Asia, and Ranked the freshest in Vietnam.

When this report was published, I remember the people of Tra Vinh sharing the article from IQAir’s Facebook with surprise and pride. To me, that assessment is also a motivation for Tra Vinh people to look back and appreciate more the reality of the good environment they have, to preserve and promote it better and better.

Talking about air pollution, I don’t know much about the indicators, I just noticed that since the COVID-19 epidemic, I have had to wear a mask when going out. When the epidemic is over, I also put away my mask. Because in Tra Vinh there are a lot of shade trees and it is important that people can breathe comfortably even if they have to go out on the street.

Every time I have the opportunity to go to big cities, even if I wear a mask, going out during the day is almost torture for my respiratory system. I think young people in Tra Vinh, when they first go to school far away, will probably encounter a similar “environmental shock”.

Also in early March 2024, on the road I saw a “strange phenomenon”. There is a section on Dien Bien Phu Street, Tra Vinh City, where people hang a propaganda banner, but its size is only half the size of a normal banner and is hung off to one side of the road.

I wonder if they ran out of fabric at this place or why the banners are so strange.

As I passed by, I looked back to see that the banner was half hanging like that because the rest was a canopy of trees. At that time I found it very interesting, I didn’t know who came up with this commendable idea. Today I was going to take a photo of the illustration, but they took down that banner, leaving only this tree canopy.

Precious green roads in Tra Vinh, my hometown - Photo 3.

This way of hanging banners halfway across the street is both novel and shows love for trees in the city, while also being economical and effective.

Another interesting thing is: there are many roads in Tra Vinh city, when walking there I feel like I am entering a green “cave” because on both sides are cool green trees.

Tra Vinh also has an interesting place called “fishtail intersection”, where two roads Le Loi and Phan Dinh Phung meet, leading to the industrial park and Uncle Ho’s temple in Long Duc commune. On these two roads, one side is planted with purple oleander trees, the other side is planted with beautiful yellow flower trees.

Every afternoon, if I want to go for a walk, I often go on one side of the street, go to the intersection and go around the other street to return. It’s very peaceful while walking and looking at the flowers like that.

To be fair, if only considering the trees and climate, Tra Vinh is blessed by nature and inherits a lot of achievements from previous generations.

However, Tra Vinh city is always very active in preserving and taking care of ancient trees as well as planting more trees on newly opened roads. Youth organizations in wards and hamlets are also interested in carrying out environmental protection propaganda campaigns, drawing proud images of a green Tra Vinh.

I hope Tra Vinh can develop economically, socially, and culturally while still maintaining its “purity”. This is a “strength” that is not easy to obtain.

We invite you to visit my hometown to discover more interesting things in this green land.