Tan Thanh in the past time and the present time

Located on Quan Loi islet and surrounded by water, in the past, people only knew Tan Thanh lands including places, such as Con Co islet, Con Cau islet, Con Ba islet, Con Thay Thien islet and Con Ong Ban islet. This land has been dubbed "five no": no road, no school, no station, no electricity and no water supply.

The past time

In the two wars against the French colonialists and the US imperialists, famous places, such as Con Co islet, Con Cau islet, Con Ba islet, Con Thay Thien islet and Con Ong Ban islet (Tan Thoi commune, Go Cong Tay district) were the revolutionary bases and rest stops for guerrilla forces and army to attack the enemy's posts.

The history of this land recorded: "From the base of Con Ba islet and Con Ong Ban islet, our forces frequently crept along villages to mobilize people for struggling against the invaders and when there was an opportunity, they would organize to raid on enemy's posts on Hoa Dong district. On April 1975, guerrilla forces of the commune moved on to Tan Phu, Tan Quy and Tan Hung hamlet in collaboration with the local army troops. They divided into two wings to attack posts of enemy in the locality. By 8 a.m. on May 1^st, 1975, Tan Thoi was completely liberated."

Mr. Nguyen Chi Trung, former Secretary of Go Cong Tay Party Committee (term of the year 1983 - 1985) said: "In the last years of the 17th century, the conflict and the dispute among Northern feudal corporations constantly happened, more and more migrants from Northern Vietnam come to Southern Vietnam. Some people followed estuaries to select high-level areas near canals on Loi Quan islet to settle and reclaim. On that day, timbers and housebuilding materials were available; shrimp, fish, birds and wild animal were extremely numerous. At the end of the 18th century, when residents were crowded, land clearance were extended, Nguyen dynasty established Hoa Thoi village at Western Loi Quan islet (Kien Hoa district, Truong Don Palace) to manage. Until 1836, in the reign of King Minh Mang, the village was renamed Tan Thoi village consisting of 12 hamlets, of which Tan Thanh hamlet was the forerunner of Tan Thanh commune today."

The wide shrimp pond - Pho to: Thai Thien.

At the present

Talking about first days of Tan Thanh land, Mr. Tran Huu Ngo, former and first Secretary of Party Committee of the commune (term of 2002-2008) recalled: "Tan Thanh Commune was officially established on February 15^th, 2002 according to Decree No.07/ND-CP of Prime Minister. Tan Thanh was one of the poorest communes in the province, the poverty rate accounted for around 70%. There was no office for Commune People's Committee working, so they had to temporarily ask local people's house to set up the office. Dispensary was a mobile boat which moved from this islet to another islet. Officers going to the district or villages on work were so hard because they had to cross many ferries and canals. In conclusion, Tan Thanh was a commune surrounded by rivers and faced difficult traffic. Its infrastructure facilities were poor then, so Tan Thanh was called the land of "five no"."

After 10 years of establishment, Tan Thanh now has many changes. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hai, former Secretary of Communal Party Committee (term of 2008-2015) said: "No one can predict that Tan Thanh can grow as nowadays. Especially, since Tan Thanh became a commune of Tan Phu Dong district, electricity, roads stretched to the villages, clinics, schools have met national standards, and its economy is developing rapidly. Especially, with the attention and help of all departments and agencies of the province and the district, communal infrastructure has been built basically and structure of plant varieties and animal breeds has been changed to adapt to the weather and soil of the region affected by high tides, salinity and lack of fresh water. Most of the area specialized in growing fruit with high economic value, such as coconut and soursop, and saline lands were switched to grow fishery. Therefore, the economy develops, income per capita reaches 20 million/year and the poverty rate decreases by 24%".

Before we left, Mr. Hai told us: "In the past, no one thought that this land of "five no" would have many magnitude villas like today".

(Source: www.tiengiang.gov.vn)