Despite a long history of building and protecting the country together with a lot of ups and downs, and big changes, Thang Long – Hanoi people still maintain good qualities and strong spiritual values which are:

Self-respect

Self-respect originates from the national consciousness, respect and pride of the ancestors' glorious tradition in the history of building and protecting the country as well as in the revolution and struggling period. Hanoians always respect and are proud of the glorious victories against the foreign invaders in the "Flying Dragon" city.

Humanity, tolerance and peace passion

The humanity itself stems from people's daily life and national long-term struggle. It is the essence and inevitable consequence of a country which had to spend more than a half of its history time fighting for peace.

Energetic, honest, righteousness and good will

People from different provinces throughout the country have brought handicraft to Hanoi which helped create 36 bustling craft streets and guilds. The will of Hanoians is also reflected in the work of making the dyke to prevent Red river's flood which prolonged together with the history of 1000 years of foundation.

Practicality, creativeness and sensitiveness

As Hanoi is crowded with people from other places, Hanoians are very practical which are reflected in following aspects: They always consider the pros and cons in doing business to gain the best profit.. "Kheo tay hay lam, dat le Ke Cho" is a familiar proverb to praise the talent, creativeness of Hanoi craftsmen. Whether it is in the past or at current, Hanoians are always very adaptive, sensitive, dynamic and do not mind receiving new things, studying and improving their works to create new ones. These characters can be found in the architectural and cultural works and in the penetration of religious thoughts, interactions with not only the North but the Western countries etc.

High esteem of knowledge and beauty

Hanoi is a gathering place of all cultural features hence the land and Hanoians (Thang Long people) have a strong desire of learning and respecting knowledge. Living in a good environment and being well-educated, Hanoians can feel the beauty of nature, the surroundings and architecture and like to enjoy beautiful natural landscapes and pictures.

Elegance

When we talk about Hanoians' beauty, the elegant way of living cannot be missed. Hanoians are well-known for being polite, gentle in behaving, communicating and dealing with relationships efficiently and skillfully. The elegance is reflected in every Hanoians' word with standard pronunciation and the costumes as well. Clothes for men or women, old or young always retain the elegance, harmony and simplicity. "Ao dai" (traditional Vietnamese dress) is considered as the typical feature of Vietnamese women. In terms of gastronomy, Hanoians show their high aesthetics and exquisiteness in preparing the food. Thanked to this, Hanoians have created many cuisines that become famous such as Pho, vermicelli with chicken, round rice noodles with boiled snails (Bun Oc), grilled fish (Cha ca), Thanh Tri stuffed pancake (Banh cuon Thanh Tri), Vong green rice flakes, soft green-lentil cake (Che kho), and West Lake shrimp pancake (Banh tom Ho Tay) etc.

Through history, the above typical lifestyles of Hanoians show that: some traditional features have brought cultural values while others have not. It is our responsibilities to acknowledge the traditional features for selecting and developing traditional cultural characteristics sustainably while removing the bad ones.

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