Hanoi will successfully realize its modern, smart urban planning along the Red River.

Throughout its millennia-long history, the Red River has always been closely associated with the formation and development of Thang Long-Dong Do-Hanoi. With the aspiration to create a modern and prosperous city on both banks of the Red River, while preserving and promoting its millennia-old cultural and historical values, and in accordance with Resolution 15-NQ/TW of the Politburo on the direction and tasks for the development of Hanoi until 2030, with a vision to 2045, Hanoi is facing a historic opportunity to restructure its development space, realize the aspiration of creating a "Red River miracle," and build a cultured, civilized, and modern capital city.

Hà Nội Mới•19/02/2026

At the beginning of the new year, reporters from the Hanoi Newspaper and Radio and Television Agency interviewed Dr. Nguyen Anh Thu – Department of Cultural Heritage, Hanoi University of Culture – on the topic of continuing the story of the Red River civilization, from the past to the present, on the journey of building and developing the Capital city.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Thu – Department of Cultural Heritage, Hanoi University of Culture

Madam, why is the Red River considered a waterway steeped in historical values associated with the formation and development of Thang Long-Dong Do-Hanoi?

The Red River is not only the largest hydrological axis in Northern Vietnam, but also a geographical, historical, and cultural cradle, giving birth to brilliant cultures such as Phung Nguyen, Dong Dau, Go Mun, and Dong Son, which were the foundations for the formation of the Van Lang and Au Lac states and subsequent independent feudal dynasties. The Red River is the main source of water and the accumulation of alluvial soil that built up the Northern Delta, transforming the Red River Delta into a region of "water and people gathering," fostering a fertile, sacred, and sustainably developing land, gradually becoming the cradle of Dai Viet civilization and the economic, political , cultural, and military center of Vietnamese history. Throughout history, the Red River has witnessed and contributed to the creation of countless legends and historical milestones: from the myth of Lac Long Quan and Au Co, the legend of Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh, Saint Giong, to the story of Chu Dong Tu and Tien Dung, from Dai La, Thang Long, Dong Do, Hanoi to the present-day Northern Delta region - the political, cultural, intellectual and creative center of the entire country.

It is clear that one of the most prominent and enduring natural geographical features of Thang Long - Hanoi is its close connection to the element of water, or as the late Professor Tran Quoc Vuong put it; Hanoi is a "city of rivers and lakes," as the meaning of the capital's name suggests, "located within a river" (with the Red River to the east and the Day River to the west).

Dong Ky Village Festival. Photo: Ngoc Hop

Great civilizations around the world are often associated with rivers. In Vietnam, the Red River is also known as the Mother River. What is the value of the Red River in enriching the culture of Thang Long - Hanoi, Madam?

Since the dawn of humankind, great rivers have always been the origins of civilizations. The Red River originates from the Five Peaks, a sacred plateau in southern China, which is also the source of the Xiang River and the Yangtze River – rivers considered the backbone of Southern Chinese civilization. Thus, the Red River shares a common origin and vital energy with the rivers that shaped the great centers of Eastern civilization.

For the Vietnamese people, the Red River is the "Mother River," the lifeblood that has nourished the nation and its people from the Hong Bang era to the present day. From the fertile alluvial soil of the Mother River, the Vietnamese have created a rice-based agricultural civilization, living in harmony with nature, forming riverside markets, and developing trade and traditional crafts (pottery, metallurgy, carpentry, rattan and bamboo weaving, silkworm farming, and weaving). The inhabitants along the Red River not only built close-knit village communities but also formed a flexible operational order, reflecting the evolution of social organization. Over time, from kinship ties, traditional crafts, markets, to self-governing and community coordination institutions, they have created a model that harmonizes the interests of humans and nature. These institutions gradually connect to form a flexible yet strong national model, manifested through a process of flexible linkage and decentralization – a natural, harmonious, and sustainable institutional "flow," just like the rhythm of the Red River itself. For Thang Long, from the Ly-Tran dynasties to the early Le dynasty, and later to Ke Cho and Hanoi, the Red River always played the role of the main economic axis of the Northern Delta, and also served as a cultural source connecting throughout thousands of years of history, nurturing the flourishing culture of Dai Viet with very proud achievements.

The intermingling, convergence, and crystallization of cultural flows throughout history have created a very unique cultural identity for the land and people of Hanoi.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Thu at Chem Temple, with the Red River in the background.

Currently, Hanoi is undertaking a major project to realize the "Red River aspiration." What are your expectations for Hanoi's future development from a cultural perspective?

Throughout history, the planning, development, and preservation of the Red River waterfront area has not been simply a matter of water management or urban planning, but a journey connecting with the cultural heritage, the spirit of the land, and a strategic vision of a "capital of emperors for generations." Today, Thang Long - Dong Do - Hanoi is the economic, political, and cultural center of a traditional and modern Vietnam, developing rapidly in the era of national progress. To realize the aspirations of the Red River, Hanoi is implementing key projects to awaken and restore the Red River waterway's central position in urban planning, forming a vibrant and distinctive landscape axis where the story of the Red River civilization continues to be written every day. This approach brings the Red River civilization back into contemporary life not in a static form, but as a vibrant flow where the past is recalled and present in the narrative of the Red River civilization.

Overall perspective of the Red River Landscape Boulevard. Photo: Developer

One final question: What are your wishes for the Year of the Horse (Bính Ngọ)?

Entering the new year, I would like to send my best wishes to our readers: "May the source of life be restored, and all things be renewed," hoping for the beginning of a new cycle of vitality, where all things and landscapes are renewed. As the old year passes, the new year will bring hope and positive changes to everyone's lives. I also believe that, with the determination of the entire political system and the unity of the people, Hanoi will successfully realize its modern and smart urban planning along the Red River, unlocking the powerful resources from the Mother River, while preserving, protecting, and promoting the cultural identity of this thousand-year-old capital city. Preserving identity is not just about preserving memories, but about safeguarding a foundation of values that directly shapes Hanoi's development. Only when culture and identity are fostered as an intrinsic resource driving innovation can Hanoi elevate its position as the capital domestically and internationally, becoming a civilized, modern, and globally connected metropolis.