Eighty-four years ago, on January 28, 1941, after 30 years of travelling the world in search of a way to salvage the country, Uncle Ho, then known as Nguyen Ai Quoc, returned to Pac Bo to directly lead the Vietnamese revolution from one victory to another.

Today, the special national site of Pac Bo has been developed into a clean and well-kept site, becoming a tourism destination for educating generations, especially young people, about the revolutionary tradition.

A RED TOURISM DESTINATION

The Pac Bo Special National Site is located in Pac Bo Hamlet, Truong Ha Commune, Ha Quang District, about 55 kilometres from the centre of Cao Bang Province’s eponymous capital city.

Here, on January 28, 1941, Nguyen Ai Quoc and five of his comrades returned to Vietnam via border marker 108 on the Vietnam-China border.

Moved by that special sacred moment, the late poet To Huu wrote some verses that still resonate today: 

“... Oh, this spring morning of ‘41
White plum blossoms bloom in the border forest
Uncle Ho returns... Silence. A bird sings
Sweetly by the reed bank, filled with joy
Uncle Ho has returned, oh Motherland
With love, the earth warms with his touch
Thirty years his feet never rested
Until now, finally arriving here!...”
(An excerpt from the epic poem “Following Uncle Ho’s Footsteps”)

Thanks to the investment and construction attention of all levels, sectors and localities, the Pac Bo Special National Relic Site has been built in a spacious manner, worthy of becoming a “red address” for many visitors from near and far.

Dao Van Mui, Director of the Management Board of Special National Relics of Cao Bang province shared that in 2024, the Management Board welcomed hundreds of thousands of people to visit, offer incense and flowers, and report to Uncle Ho at the Ho Chi Minh Temple in the relic site.

Within the relic site, located on a high hill, is the Ho Chi Minh Temple. The project was built with the support of Ho Chi Minh City, the capital city of Hanoi, and Nghe An Province. The Ho Chi Minh Temple was inaugurated in May 2011 to welcome visitors to offer incense and flowers on the occasion of the 121st anniversary of his birth.

Below, opposite the central courtyard in the Relic Site, is the Km0 milestone of the Ho Chi Minh Road. This is the starting point of a national traffic artery stretching from Cao Bang to Ca Mau with a total length of 3,167 km. The location of the Ho Chi Minh Road Km0 milestone is a favourite check-in and souvenir photo spot when visiting the Pac Bo National Special Relic Site.

Continuing into the relic site, visitors will come to Lenin stream, Marx mountain, where, during his days of living and working at Pac Bo, he wrote the majestic Pac Bo poem:

Far away mountains, far away rivers
It doesn’t have to be vast to be called
Here is Lenin stream, there is Marx mountain
Two hands built a country.

Continuing the journey, into the relic site, visitors will admire the charming landscape, with the clear Lenin stream, winding and murmuring as if telling the story of the past, years ago, Uncle Ho was here, living and working with the whole Party, army, people in fighting to regain independence and freedom for the nation.

At the Coc Bo source relic cluster, there is Coc Bo Cave, where Uncle Ho lived and worked in the early days of returning to the country. Here is the stone table where he sat and worked during those years.

Visiting the Pac Bo National Special Relic Site, tourist Tran Minh Hung from Hanoi was moved to share: “Coming to the relic site helps me understand more about the life and revolutionary career of President Ho Chi Minh, the beloved leader, the Father of the nation who devoted and sacrificed his whole life for the country, for the happiness of the people.”