Memories of Hebei Province's booth at the old exhibition

BAC NINH - Recently, the National Exhibition Fair Center (Dong Anh Commune, Hanoi) was inaugurated to replace the Giang Vo Exhibition Fair Center. From August 28 to September 5, the exhibition "80 Years of the Journey of Independence - Freedom - Happiness" took place here to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2. Bac Ninh province and other provinces and cities across the country participated.

In the exciting atmosphere, I recalled the days of organizing the booth of Hebei province at the fairs and exhibitions of economic and technical achievements in the 1980s of the last century.

Provincial leaders visited and directed the activities of the Ha Bac Pavilion at the first National Economic and Technical Achievements Exhibition Fair (1983). Photo: Archive.

Giang Vo Exhibition, located at 148 Giang Vo Street, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, has been in operation since 1974. During its operation, it has changed its name many times such as: Giang Vo Exhibition Area (1974-1978), Central Exhibition Area (1979 - 1982), Vietnam Economic - Technical Achievement Exhibition Center (1982 - 1985), Giang Vo Exhibition Center (1985 - 1989) and since January 18, 1989, it has been named Vietnam Exhibition Fair Center (VEFAC) but people still call it Giang Vo Exhibition.

Since 1982, the Center has significantly changed its operational objectives. In addition to being used to promote and honor the country's achievements, it also creates conditions for organizations nationwide and international visitors to carry out business activities such as displaying, advertising, trading and signing economic contracts. The policy at that time was to annually organize fairs and exhibitions of economic and technical achievements of industries and localities nationwide, from New Year's Day to after Lunar New Year (usually ending after the 15th day of the first lunar month).

The first Economic and Technical Achievements Exhibition Fair opened on January 1, 1983. At that time, every time Tet came, fair and exhibition activities were bustling, becoming major events of the whole society. From 1983 to 1989, Ha Bac province regularly participated in national economic and technical achievement fairs and exhibitions; every year's summary was followed by preparations for the following year. Every year, Ha Bac province established the Organizing Committee of the Provincial Economic and Technical Achievements Exhibition Fair, headed by the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. The Ha Bac booth at the Giang Vo Exhibition was established by the Provincial People's Committee. The officials assigned to participate in the booth were responsible for coordinating and receiving goods from within the province for display, sale, quality inspection, and award registration, etc.

The booth was a place to show the economic and technical achievements of the province, so the provincial leaders paid great attention, regularly came to check, gave comments on the display method, and requested additional items. At that time, goods were scarce, so having products to display and sell at the Fair or transporting goods on the road was not as easy as it is now, sometimes we had to ask for direct instructions from the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

The Ha Bac province booth is very famous for its products such as Song Cau cigarettes and Lang Van wine. Some products won Gold Medals such as Lien Minh wax paper, fine art wooden products from Choi village and Phu Khe village, dried lychee and lychee honey from Luc Ngan, Tan Hong lacquer paintings, etc. At the first Fair and Exhibition, the booth was also known to many people with the symbol of a crossbred economic pig weighing nearly 150kg, affirming the outstanding achievements of the livestock industry in the province.

Up to now, Bac Ninh 's economy has developed remarkably compared to 40 years ago. The scale of the economy and the economic growth rate of the province are ranked high compared to other provinces and cities in the country. The number of private enterprises has increased rapidly. The manufacturing industries in the province are diverse; OCOP products are abundant... Remembering the Ha Bac Pavilion at the Economic - Technical Achievements Exhibition Fair in Giang Vo, we are more proud of the connection between the past and the present, of the journey of development and strong growth of our homeland.

Truong Duc Nhan, Former Deputy Director of Ha Bac Pavilion at Giang Vo

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/hoi-uc-ve-gian-hang-cua-tinh-ha-bac-tai-hoi-cho-trien-lam-nam-xua-postid425229.bbg