(VOVworld) Bach Long Vy island is the most remote island in the Tonkin Gulf. Acknowledging the important position of the island in national defense and security, soldiers and volunteers have spared no effort to turn the island from a desolate place into a fishing center of great attraction to tourists.

Soldiers grow vegetables on Bach Long Vy island

Bach Long Vy means the White Dragon’s Tail. During the war against the Americans, the island received the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” for its contribution to national revolutionary activities. Visiting Bach Long Vi district today, visitors will be surprised by the rapid development on the district island as soldiers and people there have overcome many difficulties to protect and develop the “pearl island”. In 1993, a group of 62 volunteers were the first to come and settle down on the island. Head of the group Vu Thi Ngan said: "We had a lot of difficulties during our first days on the island. We totally depended on supplies from the mainland. I still remember the moment we received the first ship after two months on the island. It carried 4 big packages of letters from our relatives and comrades on the mainland. We burst into tears reading the letters."

With iron will, the volunteers managed to build all the basic infrastructure on the island, including roads, electricity, and healthcare centers in order to create the best possible conditions for people to come and live on the island. Deputy head of the Volunteer Group Nguyen Van Hau recalls their first days living on Bach Long Vy: "As there was no pier, we had to carry loads of bricks from ships anchored far from the construction sites. We detected bombs and mines left over from the war, leveled the land to build basic infrastructure, and dealt with a shortage of clean water."

With a resolute determination and enormous creativity, young people and soldiers have worked tirelessly to build infrastructure for local people.  Cactus-shaped rocks have been turned into vegetable gardens and water reservoirs. Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bach Long Vi district Dinh Van Dung told us:“We started from almost nothing: no infrastructure or communal buildings. But now local people have access to adequate infrastructure including roads, sea ports and harbors, thanks to the young volunteers’ efforts”.

Younger generations on the island have turned make-shift accommodations into spacious houses. Several couples ended up getting married and settling down here. Vu Khanh Dinh volunteered to leave Hanoi and met his wife Tran Thi Le Thu on the island. Dinh said he's satisfied with what he's having: “It was really dull when I arrived on the island because there was no electricity. But I got help from other team members both emotionally and financially. Our mutual affection helped us ease our homesickness. Here I met my wife and I enjoy my new life”.

 To Tuan