The Bui Xuan Phai – For the Love of Hanoi Award, which was announced in mid-August, honor authors, works, deeds, and ideas that contribute to Vietnam’s capital city.

The Award was initiated in 2008 by the Sports and Culture Newspaper and the family of the late painter Bui Xuan Phai. It is given in four categories: Grand Prize, Idea Prize, Job Prize, and Work Prize.

This year’s Grand Prize went to culturist Huu Ngoc, who has written 34 books, many of which are about Hanoi, over the past six decades. His book “A Sketch of Hanoi Culture”, in French and English, was presented to heads of state at the 7th Francophone Meeting in Hanoi in 1997. 

Huu Ngoc wrote 10 volumes entitled “Hanoi, who are you?” in English to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi in 2010. His deep love for Hanoi is described in his book “My Hanoi”. 

Le Xuan Thanh, editor in chief of the Sports and Culture Newspaper, said: “Huu Ngoc’s studies of Hanoi are thorough and different from other studies. He informs and promotes Hanoi’s cultural values to foreign readers, rather than Vietnamese. We applaud Huu Ngoc’s contributions to Vietnamese culture in general and Hanoi in particular.”

The Idea Prize was given to Hanoi’s Department of Transport for its project on managing vehicles to reduce congestion and pollution until 2030, which aims to make a public bus available every 500 meters. 

Mr Thanh added “2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the Bui Xuan Phai – For the Love of Hanoi Award. This year, two of our four prizes were awarded to two projects or two individuals, instead of just one as in previous years.”

The Job Prize was given to the Hanoi authority for creating a pedestrian street around Hoan Kiem Lake every weekend. The Work Prize went to Paul George Harding, a US war veteran. 

Mr Thanh said “Paul George Harding has lived and taught English in Hanoi. He is a great source of inspiration for his students, devoting himself and his students removing advertisements pasted on walls and electric poles. These deeds have had a strong effect on the community.”

Another awardee is writer Bang Son, who is famous for his sensitive essays about Hanoians’ hobbies. The writer’s son Tran Phuong Quang said "My family is very happy with the posthumous award, which marks a milestone in my dad’s writing career.”

Photographer Nguyen Huu Bao, who has captured priceless, simple, poetic moments of Hanoians, also won the Bui Xuan Phai Award said “The collection includes photos that I took for dozens of years everywhere in Hanoi, particularly in the Old Quarter, where I was born and grew up. The photo book was created for my love of Hanoi, rather than customers’ orders. It features the simple and real lives of Hanoi residents.”

The 10-year-old Buil Xuan Phai award has inspired people to love and work for Hanoi. 

VOV5