Building a Model New Rural Area in Hanoi: “Journeys” to Sustainable Development

Not stopping at the goal of achieving new rural standards, Hanoi is gradually improving the quality of life in suburban areas through building a model new rural area.

According to the Office of the Coordination of the New Rural Area Development Program of Hanoi City, to date, Hanoi has issued a decision to recognize 109 communes that have achieved model new rural standards (accounting for 28.5% of the total number of communes) and exceeded 29 communes compared to the target set by Program No. 04 of the City Party Committee. Hanoi's countryside is changing strongly with modern infrastructure; bright, green, clean, beautiful landscapes; rich community cultural life. Hanoi is creating civilized countrysides with a strong identity of the Capital.

Many good ways

In Dai Ang commune, Thanh Tri district, where there is the conical hat making craft in Vinh Thinh village, the garment making craft in Vinh Trung... along with a diverse system of historical and cultural relics with many communal houses, pagodas, and communal houses in the villages that are preserved, restored, and exploited for their value in attracting tourists. Therefore, in the construction of a new model rural area, tourism is also an area in which the commune has achieved good results. Vice Chairman of Dai Ang Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Hung said that the commune has implemented the smart village model in all 4/4 villages. These villages have many production and business establishments, households that introduce, promote, market, and sell products, goods, and services through e-commerce. Dai Ang currently has more than 2,000 workers working in commercial, service, industrial, and handicraft establishments; the average income of people has increased over the years and the commune no longer has poor households. Immediately after being recognized as a commune meeting the advanced new rural standards in 2022, the Party Committee of the commune held a meeting, issued a resolution, focused on improving the quality of the criteria, and strived to reach the finish line of a model new rural commune. With the motto "doing it to the end, making sure it is done", Dai Ang commune has developed a plan, determined a specific roadmap associated with each part of the work and completion time for each village; assigned specific tasks to each member, regularly followed the grassroots, listened to the opinions and aspirations of the people to promptly resolve difficulties in the implementation process. Along with that, the commune well implemented the motto "people know, people discuss, people do, people check and people enjoy"; adhered to the principles of democracy, publicity and transparency in all work. Thanks to that, community awareness and people's awareness were raised, promoting democracy in accordance with the spirit and content of implementing new rural construction.

Not only in Thanh Tri, many districts such as Dan Phuong, Dong Anh, Gia Lam, Me Linh, Soc Son ... are also forming new model rural areas with synchronous infrastructure, essential services such as health, education, and commerce that are not inferior to the inner city. People have access to modern services in a fresh living space, and community culture is preserved and promoted. According to Mr. Ngo Van Ngon, Deputy Chief of the Standing Office of the Office of the Coordination of the New Rural Development Program of Hanoi City, determining to build a model new rural area that is substantial, sustainable, and has focused and key investments, Hanoi has focused on persistently directing and completing each task and criterion according to the motto: "do easy first, do difficult later".

At the same time, promote and improve the effectiveness of propaganda and mobilization work, create high consensus in the whole society; regularly encourage all classes of people to actively participate in building a model new rural area. In addition to the support policies of the city and the district, localities have taken advantage of and mobilized many resources to build a model new rural area; effectively integrating capital from programs, projects, contributions from cooperatives and enterprises located in the area to create a comprehensive resource. In particular, localities have actively mobilized resources from the people to build a model new rural area, creating a strong spillover effect throughout society. Focus on effectively implementing the State's support mechanisms and policies, mobilizing maximum resources to create breakthroughs; focusing on investment, supporting production development, improving income and living standards of the people.

From 2021, Hanoi has determined that the stage of building a new model rural area will go into depth, taking digital transformation as one of the pillars. Many localities focus on investing and applying digital transformation not only in administrative management but also expanding to many fields: Smart agriculture, education, healthcare, e-commerce, social security... In the agricultural sector, many communes apply automatic irrigation technology, soil moisture monitoring, traceability of agricultural products... to help farmers optimize costs, improve productivity and product quality. Some cooperatives in Soc Son, Me Linh, Phuc Tho districts have applied product traceability technology using QR codes, bringing agricultural products to e-commerce platforms such as: Postmart, Voso... contributing to increasing product value and expanding the consumption market.

Towards sustainable development

Speaking about the process of implementing the construction of a new model rural area in Hanoi, Ngo Van Ngon, Deputy Chief of Office in charge of the Office of the Coordination Office of the New Rural Area Development Program of the city, said that Hanoi does not build a new model rural area just to "have more titles" but aims at a larger goal: Creating an ideal place to live for the people. There, the elderly receive on-site medical care, participate in health clubs, and perform arts; children have playgrounds, libraries, and spacious classrooms; workers have on-site job opportunities through production models associated with OCOP (One Commune One Product Program), community tourism, services, etc.

Hanoi is also the first locality to develop and implement a set of criteria for a new model rural area suitable for special urban areas, linking rural areas with ecological urban development, and sustainable suburban development. From a purely agricultural commune, Hong Van commune (Thuong Tin district) has risen to become a bright spot thanks to the combination of developing traditional craft villages with experiential tourism. On weekends, this place attracts hundreds of visitors. This activity contributes to increasing income and preserving the cultural identity of the countryside. The harmonious combination of technology and traditional values ​​is helping Hanoi's countryside develop sustainably. Formerly purely agricultural lands have now become attractive living spaces with good infrastructure, full services and a clean environment. Hanoi not only fulfills its mission well, but also pioneers in shaping new standards for Vietnam's countryside in the future: Modern - civilized - sustainable. In particular, Hanoi always focuses on the cultural - human factor in building a model new countryside. Movements such as: The whole people unite to build a cultural life; build a cultural family; Keeping villages, hamlets, alleys bright, green, clean, beautiful, safe... has been widely implemented, contributing to enhancing the spirit of self-management, solidarity and community responsibility.

According to the Office of the Coordination of the New Rural Development Program of Hanoi City, up to now, the city has had 109 communes meeting the standards of model new rural areas, exceeding the target for the entire period of 2021-2025. Although in 2025, the city did not set any new targets due to the rearrangement of commune-level administrative units and the construction of a 2-level local government, this result shows the city's organizational capacity, creativity and high determination.

The journey to build a model new rural area in Hanoi is not only a matter of infrastructure investment, but also a story of comprehensive transformation in thinking, working methods and lifestyle. Each model countryside today is the result of persistent efforts from the government, people and the whole community. Hanoi is gradually affirming itself as a "model" for the whole country in building a new, civilized, unique, environmentally friendly and sustainably developed rural area.

By Dình Bao, Vietnam Business Forum