Preserving memories of 63 provinces and cities before the merger

With a passion for traveling, since the age of 18, Nguyen Quyet Son (Binh Duc commune, Tay Ninh province) has started his "backpacking" trips to all provinces and cities across the country. In each locality, he always looks for landmarks and local nameplates to check-in and keep memories for himself. Up to now, Son has managed to "pocket" a collection of check-in photos in all 63 provinces and cities before the merger.

The trips help Nguyen Quyet Son (Binh Duc commune) see the beautiful scenery of his hometown that sometimes cannot be fully conveyed in pictures (Photo: NVCC)

For me, the journey of "collecting" images of local boards is a priceless experience. I get to see with my own eyes the landscapes of my homeland, explore the culture of the region, make new friends,... Those things, images cannot describe them all" - Son shared.

As someone who loves to travel but always wants to be proactive with his time, most of Son’s trips are solo trips by motorbike. Once, when reading an article on social media about preserving the imprints of the lands he has visited, Son started to pay more attention to taking pictures of the map and beautiful scenes along the journey as a way to preserve his own memories.

When he heard the news that provinces and cities were about to merge, Son discovered that he already had photos of more than 80% of the old provinces and cities. The young man was determined to “complete” the collection before the “historic moment” and was able to check-in the map of all 63 provinces and cities.

The 40-day journey from South to North, Quyet Son started from Long An province (old) (Photo: NVCC)

Up to now, Son has made two motorbike trips from the South to the North, both for tourism and to “hunt” for geographical signs. The longest trip lasted nearly 40 days. “Traveling by motorbike, I am free to stop wherever I want. Thanks to those trips, I see the beauty of my country and love my homeland even more,” Son confided.

Ha Giang province has now merged with Tuyen Quang province, the new name is Tuyen Quang province (Photo: NVCC)

Traveling alone, Son always prepares carefully for each trip: from health, motorbike maintenance to detailed scheduling, learning about each destination in advance, downloading offline maps in case of losing phone signal,... "Knowledge and some basic skills are very important to proactively handle unexpected situations. In my backpack, I always have some necessary medicines, oil and basic motorbike repair tools" - Son shared more.

Once he completed the collection, Son did not stop. He said he was planning new trips to check-in the map of the 34 provinces and cities after the merger.

"The merger of provinces and cities also opens up a new journey for me. I want to leave behind images with new administrative boundaries. It's the same land but I will definitely have completely new experiences, partly because the locality has more development potential, partly because I will also choose completely different destinations from the last trip. I will still travel by motorbike, the way I used to do to fully experience every road of my hometown" - Son said.

For Son, each trip is a journey to preserve youth, record the changes of the country and remind himself to cherish each land he has set foot on./.

Moc Chau

Source: https://baolongan.vn/luu-giu-ky-niem-63-tinh-thanh-truoc-khi-sap-nhap-a198375.html