The program aims to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Vinh Linh Area's Traditional Day (August 25, 1954 - August 25, 2024), review the years of division between the North and the South, and especially the occasion to recall the glorious steel accumulation period of Vinh Linh, the northern bridgehead, the direct rear of the southern frontline.

Attending the program were Party Central Committee members: Senior Lieutenant General Tran Quang Phuong, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly; Le Quoc Minh, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association; leaders of Quang Tri province...

Speaking at the event, comrade Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, President of the Vietnam Journalists Association emphasized: "The 17th Parallel - Aspiration for Peace" is a special program to review the heroic past of the nation, celebrate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Agreement on Indochina, the 52nd anniversary of the Liberation of Quang Tri; it is also an opportunity to express deep gratitude for the great sacrifices of the previous generations.

He said that 70 years ago, the Geneva Agreement took the Ben Hai River on the 17th Parallel as a temporary military demarcation line with the stipulation that after two years there would be a general election, moving towards unification of the two regions.

But the US imperialists set up a puppet government in the South, brazenly broke the Agreement, and carried out their invasion ambitions, aiming to turn the South into a springboard to attack the North. Therefore, the peaceful and idyllic Ben Hai River became a wound that divided the country for more than two decades.

During that long resistance war, Quang Tri was an extremely fierce battlefield. The Vinh Linh steel ramparts together with the heroic Con Co island were both the front line and the direct rear of the southern battlefield. The people of Quang Tri, whether on the north or south bank of the Ben Hai River, had to endure countless hardships and pains, but they were never shaken, single-minded, steadfast, and loyal.

History has chosen this land as the place of historical confrontation between two forces of justice and injustice. Thousands and tens of thousands of people from all over the country have come here, fought tenaciously and sacrificed heroically. The blood and bones of countless heroes and martyrs have soaked into the sacred land of Quang Tri, building victory monuments. The names Ben Hai, Hien Luong, Con Tien, Doc Mieu, Duong Chin, Khe Sanh, Cua Viet, Thanh Co…

Comrade Le Quoc Minh said that today, from a poor province due to the severe consequences of war with "famine fields and grass-starved fields", Quang Tri has changed dramatically, standing shoulder to shoulder with other provinces in the region with remarkable development achievements in all fields of economy, society, security and national defense.

"With all that meaning and earnest wish, Nhan Dan Newspaper in coordination with Quang Tri province organizes the Parallel 17 Political Art Program - Aspiration for Peace. We hope that the program, by honoring immortal values, will bring pride and faith in the past, thereby transmitting the energy of the past to the present and the future; wholeheartedly working together to strive for the most beautiful dreams to soon become reality in our beloved homeland and country", the Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper emphasized.

The political art program Parallel 17 - Aspiration for Peace opened with chapter 1 "July Days". Thousands of audiences present at the Northern Flag Tower seemed to live in the peaceful space of the heroic land of steel and flower ramparts of Vinh Linh with the performances Flow of Life (Lavender Dance Group); Mother's Homeland is My Homeland (Singer Van Khanh - Viet Danh).

But that peaceful scene did not last long when the "Ben Hai Cuts" appeared. Two years after the Geneva Agreement, as the General Election date drew closer, the hope of national reunification was pushed further away. The pain of separation cut into the hearts of each person, each family in a state of separation and unfinished business. At this point, chapter 1 continued to open up for the audience a new scene called: Red Separation with the immortal song: Cau ho ben Hien Luong (performed by singer Anh Tho and Lavender Dance Group).

In chapter 2 with the theme "As if there was no separation", the audience continued to listen to touching stories, full of faith and hope on the banks of Ben Hai during more than 20 years of separation. All those present were speechless when witnessing the unique "duet" between the late artist Chau Loan and singer Huyen Trang through the arrangement using the recording tape left behind with the nostalgic and poignant folk melodies of the work Voice of our homeland.

Chapter 3 "Blood and Flowers" takes viewers back to the most fierce years of the war, witnessing the resilience of the army and people of Vinh Linh in particular and Quang Tri in general through supply trips, transporting food, ammunition and people by both land (Suite "Truong Son Steps") and waterways across both banks of the river, and from the mainland to Con Co Island, to see the extraordinary efforts and abilities of people during wartime.

Chapter 4, with the theme of Vietnamese Strength, continues to recreate the determination of the Vinh Linh people to "stick to their land and protect their villages" in the midst of the enemy's bombs and bullets. The legend of the village in the tunnel appears through a series of reports, stage scenes and elaborately choreographed dances.

The program also set aside a minute of silence to pay tribute to the souls of the heroes, martyrs, and compatriots who died for the country to rise up. The final chapter, titled "The land of steel blooms", began. The performances "Anh co ve Quang Tri voi em khong" (Do you come back to Quang Tri with me), the suite "Dialogue of the Fatherland" - "Dialogue of pride" - "La co" (Flag)... were performed to convey the message of determination and efforts to innovate and develop every day of the land of steel Vinh Linh in particular, and Quang Tri province in general.