Gia Lai province not only has the Sea of Lakes, Chu Dang Ya volcano, beautiful rubber forests with beautiful leaves like poems, green tea fields, but also has a beautiful and romantic road that many people call the "Korean road". This inter-village road belongs to Nghia Hung commune, Chu Pah district, 15km from the center of Pleiku. The 1km road with 101 pine trees planted since 1917, passes through the giant blue carpet of the Tea Lake Sea, where 1,000 hectares of tea stretch towards the distant mountains.
No one knows exactly when the two rows of pine began to take root here, only that since the beginning of the 20th century, it was planted by the French after they came to establish the Tea Department - the first tea plantation in Gia Lai, now Bien Ho Cha. Since then, hundreds of three-leaf pine trees have grown to breathe the highland air, and to this day, they stretch out their wide foliage to shade the land on the other side of the Lake Sea for hundreds of years. The trunk of the pine tree soars, lined up in two straight rows, and the wide pine foliage pierces straight into the sky. Each pine tree is hugged by 3 people. On the surface of the mistletoe moss is full. The rustling sound of pine trees like a harmony of thousands blended into the melodies that echoed in my head: "There are green pine rows in my eyes".
This place is not noisy, crowded with people passing by. This place is only green, the tranquility and the fragrance of the dew, of the earth, of the wood, of the young tea leaves. Stopping at the road, a little quiet and a little wild, the idyllic between the green and the clarity of the atmosphere made time seem to stop. If Gia Lai is a painting with wild and rustic colors, this road is like a gentle stroke that makes the land on the other side of T'Nung Lake (Bien Ho) more romantic and lyrical. If the Sea and Lake are likened to the eyes of Pleiku, then for me, the green patch of tea, of the pine trees is smooth hair.
If you come to this road early in the morning, you will pass through a hazy mist, the sun weaves up shimmering like a silk shirt. This is the best time for paparazzi to capture beautiful moments, and "memory hunters" continue to hold "oh, ah" in their minds once more in their lives. On summer afternoons, the sun's shadow gently plays with the leaves and then lands on the road surface sparkling like waves. At sunset, the sun shines through the foliage, following the steps of farmers to harvest tea.
Experiencing a lot of rain and sunshine, Gia Lai has also changed his clothes many times, but two rows of pines are still standing there on the side of the road, witnessing the simple daily life of the people of Nghia Hung commune. Under the canopy, children go to school, adults go to school. Pine is a place where parents rest, while children play and hide and seek behind big trees.
Every slight movement in space, every sound on that road is easily awakened, evoking the unique heavens in each person. Because when looking at the end of the long roads, it is easy for everyone to awaken hopes and desires inside. Pine goods witnessed the hardships of the people "selling their faces to the land, selling their backs to the sky", but also witnessed the fruits of their labor being brought back.
Walking in the cool atmosphere of the mountain village in the early days of winter, along the tea fields, the bright yellow wildflowers and the mink's tail grass shine in the midst of the thousands of greensAt the end of the pine row, leading to the majestic and ancient Buu Minh Pagoda - one of the first Buddhist institutions in Gia Lai.
A hundred years have passed, life has changed, the pine tree still stands there, straight, stretching, when cheering, when it is quiet; some old trees die, new trees are planted. It is the path of memory and of the future.
Photo: Le Phuong, Shutterstock
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