The way to name the new ward after the merger in Da Lat city is supported and praised by the people.

People's interest is expressed through the contribution of opinions through the voter opinion polls representing households on the Project on the arrangement of administrative units at the provincial and communal levels that localities have implemented in the past. This interest has also spread on social networking forums and many localities have had to change the way they name communes and wards after listening to people's opinions.

In Lam Dong province, the process of collecting people's opinions on the Project to merge administrative units, including how to name new communes and wards after the merger, has so far been determined to be basically in line with people's wishes, with a high consensus rate, along with a few concerns and recommendations.

• “BEAR THE NAME OF THE COMMUNE AND VILLAGE IN EACH MIGRATION TRIP”

In the poem "Country", Poet Nguyen Khoa Diem wrote: "They pass on their tone of voice to their children to practice speaking/ They carry the names of communes and villages with them on each migration trip"... This "carrying" of commune and village names can be clearly seen in Lam Dong.

At a Central Conference after the country's reunification, discussing the redistribution of labor and population nationwide, the late Chairman of the Council of Ministers Pham Van Dong directed: Organize the sending of millions of people from the delta provinces and densely populated urban areas to the northern mountainous areas, to the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta to reclaim land and build new economic zones to effectively exploit labor and land resources, create wealth, and bring a prosperous and happy life to the people.

That Central Highlands region has Lam Dong province. After liberation, people from the North and Central regions migrated to the fertile red basalt land to reclaim land and establish new economic zones. That is why even in the Southern Central Highlands, there are still names imbued with the Northern character. Right in the middle of Da Lat City, there is still Ha Dong Flower Village and Nghe Tinh Hamlet.

Or in Lam Ha district, the "marriage" between the two lands of Hanoi and Lam Dong, when Hanoi people came here to do new economic activities, they brought with them the village names, commune names and customs of the Red River Delta to the highland. That is why there are communes such as Me Linh, Gia Lam, Hoai Duc, Dan Phuong, Phuc Tho, Tan Ha... Or going south of Lam Dong province, in Da Huoai district, which was newly established on the basis of merging the three districts of Da Huoai, Da Teh, Cat Tien, each district previously had commune names that were brought by people from Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh provinces... when they came to the new land to do economic activities. And commune names such as Quang Tri, Trieu Hai, Duc Pho, Tu Nghia, Quang Ngai, Phu My, Phuoc Cat... were formed on this land more than 30 years ago.

Vietnamese people, whether living in their homeland or abroad, still have a deep affection for the names of villages and communes because these are not only administrative names, distinguishing marks on maps, but also the culture of an entire region and a part of memory, a way to remember the origins of the people living on that land.

After the arrangement, Lam Dong still has 51 commune-level administrative units, including: 9 wards and 42 communes.

• HOW TO CREATE A NEW NAME THAT IS PATIENT TO THE PEOPLE

In the current revolution of streamlining and streamlining the apparatus of the political system, when arranging and merging provincial and commune-level administrative units, eliminating the district level to organize a 2-level local government model, in addition to issues of organizational structure, operating mechanism, personnel, etc., the naming of newly established wards and communes is given great attention by local authorities and is of special interest to the people.

For Lam Dong province, based on the Resolution on the unification of the policy of the Provincial Party Executive Committee at the 20th Provincial Party Committee Conference, the 24th Session of the 10th Provincial People's Council approved the Project on rearranging commune-level administrative units in the province and the Project on rearranging the provinces of Lam Dong, Dak Nong, and Binh Thuan.

Accordingly, the Project to arrange the provinces of Lam Dong, Dak Nong, Binh Thuan in the direction of merging 3 provinces into one province, including the entire natural area and population size (both permanent and temporary) of the 3 current provinces. The new province is named Lam Dong , the administrative - political center is located in Da Lat city, Lam Dong province today.

According to the Project on rearranging commune-level administrative units in the province, Lam Dong currently has 10 district-level administrative units, including: 8 districts, 2 cities and 137 commune-level administrative units, including: 106 communes, 18 wards, 13 towns. After the rearrangement, Lam Dong has 51 commune-level administrative units, including: 9 wards, 42 communes, a reduction of 86 administrative units, reaching a rate of 62.77%.

New communes and wards are established on the basis of merging 2 to 4 communes and wards within the same current district-level administrative boundary or even beyond the administrative boundary for some communes with similarities in socio-economic development and convenient geographical distance, opening up great development opportunities in the future but also posing challenges and obstacles in the present, and choosing new commune and ward names is an example.

Recognizing the importance and interest of the masses in naming new provinces, communes, and wards, Resolution No. 76 dated April 14, 2025 of the National Assembly Standing Committee on the arrangement of administrative units at all levels clearly states: The names of commune-level administrative units must be easy to read, easy to remember, concise, ensure systematicity, scientificity, consistent with the historical and cultural traditions of the locality and be supported by the local people.

And to know whether "local people agree and support" or not, localities in Lam Dong province have conducted a survey of voters representing households on the Project to arrange provincial and commune-level administrative units in Lam Dong province in accordance with the instructions and regulations of the law. As a result, 97.86% of voters agreed to the policy of merging Dak Nong - Binh Thuan - Lam Dong provinces into a new province named Lam Dong, with the Administrative - Political Center located in Da Lat city; 97.32% of voters agreed with the Project to arrange commune-level administrative units in Lam Dong province and the rate of disagreement was 0.83%.

With such a high consensus rate, it shows that the naming of communes and wards has been carefully researched and selected by local authorities and specialized agencies before consulting with people, and in reality, it has been shown to be consistent with the thoughts and aspirations of the majority of people.

For example, in Da Lat City - the political, economic, cultural and social center of the province, from 12 wards, 4 communes of Da Lat City, Lac Duong town and Lat commune of Lac Duong district were arranged and merged into 5 basic administrative units (5 wards), reducing 13 commune levels, reaching a rate of 72.22%. The names of the selected wards are: Xuan Huong Ward - Da Lat, Cam Ly Ward - Da Lat, Lam Vien Ward - Da Lat, Xuan Truong Ward - Da Lat, Lang Biang Ward - Da Lat.

This naming method is supported by the people because the ward names are all associated with the unique characteristics of Da Lat such as Xuan Huong Lake, Cam Ly Waterfall, Lam Vien Plateau, Lang Biang Mountain, etc. According to the leaders of Da Lat city, the naming of the wards is carefully considered because this is a city with a distinct urban memory with many famous landscapes, the whole city or each place name are international geographical indications. Naming like this ensures that after the arrangement, the ward names, although new, are still familiar to the people and tourists.

In particular, after the wards are all attached the name Da Lat because this is a famous international geographical indication since its formation. Therefore, adding Da Lat after the ward names is to maintain the advantage for the wards that are arranged later. The Da Lat brand resonates with the place names given to the new wards to soon form prestigious brands in many fields of economy, culture, society, tourism... From the perspective of the people, Da Lat has become a brand with common ownership, naming like that is also a way to ensure fairness and not lose the Da Lat brand.

In addition to the 5 wards in Da Lat, 6 communes after the merger in Lam Ha district were also named in a similar way, including: Dinh Van Lam Ha, Phu Son Lam Ha, Nam Ha Lam Ha, Nam Ban Lam Ha, Tan Ha Lam Ha, Phuc Tho Lam Ha. The new commune name was created from the combination of commune and village names brought from the place of birth and associated with the name of the economic region where people settled and made a living. It is also a testament to the strong connection between the two lands of Hanoi - Lam Dong.

• THERE ARE STILL CONCERNS

The remaining newly merged communes in the province were named after the old communes, old districts, or famous places or names from the past. The decision of Lam Dong province to name them like that received the support of the people.

However, there are still new communes named by taking the district name with serial numbers, as the districts of Dam Rong, Bao Lam, and Da Huoai chose. Regarding this naming method, the Ministry of Home Affairs' guidance also mentions the encouragement to name commune-level administrative units according to serial numbers or according to the name of the district-level administrative unit (before arrangement) with serial numbers attached to facilitate digitization and updating of information data.

This naming method is not wrong, but it causes regret for the names that were once associated with the historical and cultural values ​​of a land that were not used to continue to take advantage of and promote the inherent values ​​of the name that has been passed down through many generations.

Master Nguyen Van Hau (Bao Loc City) expressed: "In particular, Bao Lam district named 5 new communes in the order: Bao Lam 1 to Bao Lam 5, which is not really in accordance with the principles stipulated in Decision 759 of the Prime Minister. That is, it is necessary to carefully and thoroughly research the traditions, history, and culture of the localities and prioritize using one of the names of the administrative units before the merger to name the new unit...

The name of Bao Lam district is only 30 years old, not long enough to form historical values, so it is not necessary to retain the names of the heroic communes of the People's Armed Forces - which were revolutionary bases and war zones in the two resistance wars against France and the US, such as the communes of Loc Bac (including Loc Bao), Loc Lam (including Loc Phu), Loc An (including Loc Duc, Tan Lac) and Loc Nam. These are historical and cultural places that need to be preserved through naming communes to educate revolutionary traditions for present and future generations. So, why not use the names of heroic communes to name new communes, both in accordance with the principles of Decision 759 of the Prime Minister and promoting historical and traditional values?

The process of streamlining the apparatus must be "running and lining up at the same time" to meet the requirements, so it requires urgency and determination. That also means that while doing, we must learn from experience and make appropriate adjustments, and the selection and naming of new administrative units is one of the issues that needs to be carefully and thoroughly considered. Because the names of the land and villages will follow the people like a part of their flesh and blood, as Poet Nguyen Khoa Diem wrote in the poem Country:

“Place names drift from the distant past

Drifting with blood and drifting with tears

Has been condensed into people's names, places' names

For years, along the lagoon and riverbank.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/xa-hoi/202505/ten-goi-moi-sau-sap-xep-su-lua-chon-hop-long-dan-ec108ab/