Ho Chi Minh Trail to become tourism destination
Ha Noi, Nov. 17 (VNA) -- Central Quang Tri province has allocated 53.13 billion VND (3.5 million USD) on a project to restore the Ho Chi Minh Trail for tourism, said Nguyen Thi Mai, Director of the provincial Trade-Tourism Service.
The province plans to restore the 41-km Khe Sanh-Sa Tram-Ta Long section in Huong Hoa and Dakrong mountainous districts. The section will lead to such historical places as Khe Sanh, Ta Con Airport and Peak 544, former military U.S. strongholds broken by the Vietnamese people and army. The headquarters of the Tri Thien-Hue party committee and the leadership of Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces were located along the route.
Restoration will take three years to 2005, and the provincial tourism service will arrange themed tours to historical sites and villages inhabited by Van Kieu, Ta Oi, and Pako ethnic minorities.
The Ho Chi Minh Trail, famous as a pivotal secret supply line for the southern liberation forces during the American war, was built in May 1959 and ran from central Quang Binh province, north 17 degrees latitude. During the U.S. war, U.S. military forces dropped bombs and ordnances along the road, three times more than the volume used during World War II and six times that during the Korea war, to destroy and cut off supplies of food, weapons and human resources for the revolution.
Regardless of destruction and climatic difficulties, the Ho Chi Minh Trail was widened and stretched to all battle fronts. From the first footpath crossing over the Truong Son mountain range, the road developed into a web of routes with a combined length of tens of thousands of kilometres, and warehouses and liaison stations from Quang Binh province to southwestern Tay Ninh province. Apart from paths for troops and bicyles, the road was expanded under cover of tropical forest to make daytime movements possible. In addition, thousands of kilometres of pipeline to transport petroleum to the battle fields were installed along the road.
Quang Tri province-funded project is the first to restore the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail which helped the Vietnamese people and army liberate the south and reunite the country.
