Shining elegant and civilized identity

On that foundation, Hanoians today not only inherit the traditions of their ancestors but also proactively cultivate new elegance, cultivate dignity, elevate civilization, and contribute to making the identity of the capital more radiant - where the elite converge, where culture becomes the force that shapes people and cities.

Today's Hanoians contribute to making the identity of the capital more radiant - where the elite converge. *Photo: Quang Thai*

Promoting the golden values of the past

Thang Long - Hanoi has the characteristics of a land of convergence of elites. Therefore, the life and character of the people of the capital also have the typical appearance of many lands in the country. To survive and develop in the capital, immigrants here have to rub shoulders, compete in intelligence and talent. Talent, sophistication in dress, sophistication in play, sophistication in food, sophistication in work gradually permeate each generation. Then, the later generations are born, the character of the capital is increasingly prominent. Therefore, Hanoians are often mentioned with qualities such as "talented", "elegant, graceful", "humane, loyal", "respectful of morality, respectful of dignity", "refined, tolerant", knowing "respect for elders, yielding to juniors"...

Deeply aware that culture is the source of the long-lasting strength of the Capital, for many years, Hanoi City has always paid attention to and taken care of developing the culture and people of the Capital with specific action programs. Especially in the 2026 - 2020 term, the Hanoi Party Committee issued 10 working programs, including Program No. 06-CTr/TU "On cultural development, improving the quality of human resources, building elegant and civilized Hanoians in the period of 2021 - 2025" (abbreviated as Program No. 06-CTr/TU) with the goal of building elegant and civilized Hanoians, based on the foundation of a thousand-year tradition of culture and absorbing the quintessence of human culture. Previously, in 2017, the Hanoi People's Committee also issued two important documents, namely "Code of conduct for cadres, civil servants, public employees, and workers in agencies under Hanoi city" and "Code of conduct in public places in Hanoi city". Recently, on February 19, 2024, the Hanoi Party Committee continued to issue Directive No. 30-CT/TU on "Strengthening the leadership of Party committees in building elegant and civilized Hanoians"...

From those decisions, Hanoi's cultural lifestyle has gradually taken shape through thousands of practical activities. Many typical models and movements in cultural behavior have been replicated such as "All people unite to build a cultural life", "Friendly schools, active students", "Building civilized streets", "Bright - green - clean - beautiful city", "Cultural family", "Friendly one-stop shop, close to the people", "5 no, 3 clean villages and residential groups"... From here, each model and each simple action gradually permeates social life, turning into beautiful habits, cherishing seemingly small but extremely profound cultural values: Helping the elderly cross the street, giving up seats on the bus, throwing trash in the right place, saying thank you - sorry at the right time...

Since 2022, Long Bien district (old) has transformed the "Bow Culture" from a pilot model in a junior high school into a widespread movement, covering the entire system of more than one hundred kindergartens, primary schools, and junior high schools in the area. In Ba Dinh district (old), 100% of wards have "Model Cultural Neighborhood Groups" that strictly maintain the code of conduct in public places... Towards the 18th City Party Congress, the slogan "Beautiful behavior for a civilized capital" has become a call to arms, arousing a sense of responsibility, turning small actions in daily life into beauty, contributing to building the image of an elegant and modern Hanoi...

Building the value system of Hanoi people in the new era

For over a thousand years, Thang Long - Hanoi has always been a land that knows how to receive the quintessence from all over the country. With the spirit of a thousand years of culture, Hanoi people have "filtered the muddy, brought out the clear", multiplied the good things, erased the bad things, creating a unique and charming culture - Hanoi culture. Today, in the context of digital transformation, globalization and urbanization taking place at an unprecedented speed, Hanoi is facing the urgent need to clearly define the new cultural identity of Hanoi people.

In January 2024, at the Seminar "Building a system of family values in the capital and standards for elegant and civilized Hanoians - Current situation and solutions", many opinions said that defining the qualities of Hanoians needs to be clearly and specifically recognized in the context of Hanoi's transformation, which are: Altruism, kindness, elegance, sophistication, modesty and tolerance. Dr. Nguyen Viet Chuc commented that entering the new era, Hanoians must affirm more clearly the unique qualities of a heroic capital, a city for peace , a creative city, which are pioneering, bravery, creativity and tolerance. In which, tolerance is a quality that has made the character of Vietnamese people and in Hanoi it is even more radiant. Without tolerance, Hanoi could not have become a cradle of nurturing talents, could not have been a place to gather talents and resources from all over. Notably, creativity is considered one of the important qualities of Hanoians in the new era. Perhaps that is why Hanoi has affirmed its pioneering position by becoming the first locality in the country to issue and implement Resolution No. 09 - thematic Resolution on "Developing cultural industry in the city for the period 2021 - 2025, orientation to 2030, vision to 2045".

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong once commented: “Hanoi’s strength in developing the cultural industry is not only its rich heritage and diverse creative ecosystem, but also its strong international connectivity. Hanoians are always known as flexible, open-minded individuals who are ready to accept new ideas. It is this resource that has created a diverse Hanoi in international exchanges...”.

Recently, in the Draft Political Report submitted to the 18th City Party Congress, building elegant and civilized Hanoians continues to be one of the outstanding contents and one of the goals by 2030 is to build elegant, polite, loyal, civilized Hanoians, representing the culture, conscience and dignity of the Vietnamese people...

Building elegant and civilized Hanoians cannot be just empty slogans or temporary movements. This is a long-term journey, requiring the synchronous participation of the entire political system, the exemplary role of cadres and party members, and, most importantly, the proactive and voluntary participation of each citizen of the capital.

Associate Professor Dr. Do Thi Hao, former President of the Hanoi Folk Arts Association, emphasized that elegance and civilization are not lofty or distant things. They exist in everyday behaviors, through daily living and behavior, in every family. Today's youth must be passed on the cultural and ethical values that their ancestors left behind thousands of years ago, and at the same time know how to inherit and promote new cultural values. Most importantly, the determination of the entire political system and the consensus of each citizen must be guided by a clear system of institutions, policies and regulations - "take the beauty, eliminate the ugliness".

Associate Professor Dr. Tran Huu Son, former Vice President of the Vietnam Folk Arts Association, affirmed: "The cultural character of Hanoi people only truly shines when placed in a social space regulated by law and cultural standards."

It can be seen that building elegant and civilized Hanoians in the new era is a process of both preservation and innovation. Preservation to not lose identity, innovation to adapt to the modern pace of life so that from that deep traditional source, Hanoi's cultural values are tempered into a distinct character, where elegance and humanity blend with a modern, dynamic spirit, so that every word and every gesture of Hanoians exudes the identity of the thousand-year-old capital in the new era.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/toa-sang-ban-sac-thanh-lich-van-minh-718579.html