GOING UPSTREAM ALONG THE BLACK RIVER

Update: 11/18/2014
Saying that we go upstream the Black river is just an exaggeration. Basically we only went along the left bank of this swift river to discover its historical mysteries. In fact, to successfully accomplish this adventure was already a miracle to us. Lai Chau can be called the best place to challenge people in self-improving and self-discovery.

 

The Black river looks like a red thread

From the historical documents, I know that after defeating the Ming invaders and won back the independence in 1432, King Le Loi marched upstream the Black river to pacify the Deo Cat Han insurrection and on his way back, he had the poem “Than chinh Phuc Le chau Deo Cat Han” engraved on stones. It remains mystical to this day how King Le Thai To engraved that poem with his sword. Witnessing that poem after nearly 600 years of existence, we were still very impressed. Some even doubt the story of Le Loi and his upstream march using primitive means of transportation. Still, there are a lot of historical evidence proving the truth of this story. It clearly demonstrated the will and determination of our forefathers in protecting the country. During the construction of the Son La hydropower plant, the stele was relocated approximately 500 meters away from the previous location on the provincial road to Muong Te – Lai Chau. The stele’s direction is towards the Black river, facing both the road and the waterways. At this moment the stele was part of the architectural complex of temple King Le Loi.

 
A small ethnic minority village in the riverside

Toward the legendary Muong Lay crossroad, the Black river met Nam Na stream – the famous ruined palace of the Thai King Deo Van Long. The local people shared with us lots of mystical stories about that King such as he worked as the minion for French enemy to kill local citizens; the brutality even to his children; the lavish wealth; the frequency of over-night parties with beautiful girls. Standing on the remains of one of the most luxurious palaces in the past and looking at the confluence, the travelers will see peaceful sky keeping them in this place.

 

The Black river has now been conquered and brings the largest amount of hydropower resources than any other river nationwide. It has become a gentle river with a large wavy surface.

 

From the confluence, along the left bank of the Black river, going to Provincial Highway 127 about 100 km, we reached Muong Te town. Along the sinuous but amazing road, there are always hidden dangers as the road run between steep cliffs and deep abysses with red, aggressive currents. There are some river cliffs with monstrous shapes, eroded away by the strong currents in long ages.

 

From the town, along the river and go back 40 km, we will reach Nam Lan intersection. Passing around 20 km more, we went to Keng Mo border station. The sightseeing is fantastic when Black river looks like the thread between both sides of towering mountains. However, the journey is extremely difficult. In the 20 km road, the strong will and determination of each traveler was really challenged.

After 3 hours experiencing on each curve, finally travelers reached Keng Mo border station.

 
King Le Loi stele


Through the suspension bridge next to Keng Mo station and continued going in appropriately 5 km, we reached the confluence when border post no. 17 was put. This is the place where Black river started flowing into Vietnam.  As researched, we know this ferocious river flows in the steep basin and full of challenging falls to any boat.  For these reasons, the “Black river ferrymen” have named some falls to describe the aggressiveness such as: “Kẻng Cớn” means rolling stone; “Kẻng Mỏ” means flipped boats. In the narrow border confluence with more than 100m width, water is very cold and swift. The riverside is full of rocks, many of them have strange shapes like human foot with different beautiful colors.         

 



After a very arduous journey, we finally conquered the last border post of the Northwest. Standing here, we felt not only proud but also impressed and admired our forefathers for fighting to preserve our beautiful country. This river is also the place of starting culture of the ethnic people. It has nourished and enriched the noble traditions of our nation and witnessed the legends of Vietnamese. Recalling the journey, I suddenly remember two sentences in a great poem:

“Chung thủy giai Đông tẩu

 Đà Giang độc bắc lưu”.

Thái Hà
Translator: Thu Phuong