A Policy-Driven Boost
Tuyen Quang is a northern mountainous border province where ethnic minorities account for 72% of the population. Of its 124 communes and wards, 123 are classified as ethnic minority and mountainous areas, including 17 border communes, with a total of 3,802 villages and residential groups. Recognizing these unique characteristics, the provincial Party Committee has consistently placed ethnic affairs at the strategic core of its development agenda, viewing them as a key driver of sustainable growth.
Between 2021 and 2025, nearly VND 3 trillion was allocated to ethnic minority areas for the construction of 1,583 infrastructure projects, alongside almost VND 2 trillion to support agricultural and forestry production. Timely policies and mechanisms were launched to support agricultural restructuring linked to new rural development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, shifting production toward standardized, market-oriented key and specialty products.
In early 2026, the household of Tran Thi Hien in Khuan Nhat Village, Hoa An Commune, was among 22 households selected to benefit from a breeding horse linkage project under the National Target Program on Sustainable Poverty Reduction. The project, with a total budget exceeding VND 2.5 billion, received nearly VND 1.9 billion in state funding for livestock supply and technical support.
“In the past, we struggled financially and lacked the capital to invest in large-scale livestock”, Mrs. Hien said. “Supported with three breeding horses and hands-on technical guidance, we are determined to take good care of the herd, improve our livelihoods, and escape poverty”.
Change in Tuyen Quang’s highland areas has been driven not only by investment policies but also by efforts to unlock local potential. Walking along a concrete road cutting through hills of specialty tea, Pham Van Minh of the Cay Village Tea Cooperative Group in Minh Thanh Commune recalled that local livelihoods have transformed since the province launched its agricultural restructuring policies. Once reliant on corn and cassava, households have shifted to producing Thanh Tra specialty tea as a marketable product, attracting a growing number of visitors and significantly improving incomes.
Breeding horses are presented to poor households
Policy outcomes are now visible on the ground. All communes have road access to their administrative centers, while 45 communes have been lifted out of the “extremely disadvantaged” category. By the end of 2025, the poverty rate among ethnic minority households has declined by more than 4 percentage points on average. The preservation of 22 nationally recognized intangible cultural heritage elements has also emerged as a new driver of economic growth through community-based tourism.
Ms. Trieu Thi Lam Hanh, head of the Then singing and Tinh lute club in Tan Trao Commune, said: “We join the club not only out of passion, but also to preserve our ethnic language and writing for future generations. Now that villages have community cultural houses, we have proper spaces to meet and rehearse regularly. Culture is the foundation of community-based tourism, helping local people generate additional income”.
Narrowing Regional Gaps
The First Provincial Party Congress Resolution underscores the importance of improving the quality of ethnic minority cadres and civil servants. In disadvantaged areas, the effectiveness of policies is closely linked to the contributions of ethnic minority Party members, who account for 58.26% of the province’s total membership and serve as role models in local development movements.
In Viet Lam Commune, Mr. Ha Ngoc Cham, a young Party member, works as a commune official while also running a successful specialty tea business. His enterprise provides stable jobs for around ten local workers. “If you want people to believe, you must lead by example in applying science and technology. When a model proves effective, others will naturally follow. In highland areas, Party members should be the ones who ignite and sustain patriotic emulation movements”.
Residents of Tan Trao Commune preserve traditional culture as a foundation for community-based tourism
Despite visible progress, challenges remain. Poverty rates in ethnic minority areas, while declining, are still higher than the national average, and infrastructure in some particularly disadvantaged communes requires further investment.
For the 2025–2030 period, the province has identified three strategic pillars for remote and disadvantaged areas: Prioritizing investment in inter-communal roads, power grids and telecommunications to eliminate service gaps; accelerating the transition from traditional agriculture to sustainable forestry and eco- and heritage-based tourism, with enterprises and cooperatives serving as market linkages; and strengthening education, vocational training and healthcare services.
According to leaders of the Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, the province’s goal in the new term is not merely poverty reduction, but sustainable poverty reduction and prosperity built on local strengths. Policies and projects must respond to the real needs of communities so that every resident can see and feel the benefits of development, gradually narrowing regional disparities.
With the concerted efforts of the entire political system and the determination of ethnic communities themselves, Tuyen Quang is working steadily toward its development goals. Newly built roads, modern schools and the growing sense of well-being among highland residents stand as tangible evidence of a province moving confidently into a new era of development and integration.
Nguyen Thanh Hieu
From a Vietnamese article on Tuyen Quang online
