The northern province of Tuyen Quang is offering financial assistance to help locals build and upgrade stilt houses in its Tan Lap cultural village, as part of efforts to meet national criteria for rural development.

Chairman of the Tan Trao commune People’s Committee – which manages the village - Nguyen Van Hoa said locals will receive a maximum funding of 200 million VND (9,500 USD) to build new houses while 100 million VND (4,700 USD) will be used for repair work.

The communal authorities will closely watch over the disbursement to ensure that the package will reach the hands of families in need.

According to the committee, proceeds raised from the public for the endeavour has amounted to 2 billion VND (90,000 USD). Eleven households have been chosen to benefit from the scheme.

Recognised as a special national relic in 2012, Tan Trao was once a revolutionary base and the capital of liberated zone during the resistance war against the French colonialists.

Many historical decisions were made at the site, leading to the success of the 1945 August Revolution.-VNA