Yen Bai is the first and only province in the country so far to include the Happiness Index in the provincial Party Congress’s Resolution. The philosophy and aspiration "For a green, harmony, identity and happiness Yen Bai" has become a guideline for all strategies for the province to overcome its difficulties.

It’s the innovative thinking towards sustainable development goals, of which people are the centre, along with drastic actions has helped Yen Bai achieve many remarkable results. Specifically, its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth reached 6% last year, ranking fifth out of 14 provinces in the northern midlands and mountainous region. Yen Bai city officially became a tier-2 urban area; the people's happiness index stood at 65.62%, an increase of 12.32% compared to the beginning of the term, exceeding the target set in the plan of actions to implement the 19th provincial Party Congress’s resolution; Yen Bai led northern mountainous provinces in building new-style rural areas, surpassing the targets assigned by the Government.

The year 2024 brings a lot of confidence and hope for new development, the Happiness Index and the motto "Drastic, synchronised, creative, breakthrough, effective" will continue to lead the way and nurture the solidarity and collective wisdom of the Party organisation and people of the province.

As one swallow cannot make spring, more joint efforts are needed to have more happy individuals, families, offices, schools and localities.

May the new year and new spring a smooth one. Only when we open our hearts to happiness, can we have an innovative mindset and become more resilient, thus, difficult tasks will be less difficult, goals will no longer be pressure but will become motivation and challenges will be opportunities for us to rise up. We don’t have to wait for happiness until reaching the finish line but it can be found when we are on the way.