A writer who only visits Hà Nội occasionally has won one of the Vietnamese capital's biggest writing competitions — proof that you don't have to live in a city to understand what makes it special.
Nguyễn Thị Thanh Xuân took first prize in the second 'Hà Nội & Tôi' (Hà Nội and Me) contest, organised by Người Hà Nội (Hanoian) Magazine, at an award ceremony on October 6. Her essay, 'Yêu Một Hà Nội' (Loving Hà Nội), beat hundreds of entries themed around 'Village Stories – City Stories', which invited writers to share personal memories and real-life tales of the city, past and present.
What makes Xuân's win interesting is her perspective. She lives in Thái Nguyên province and only comes to Hà Nội now and then, but has loved the city since she was six. In her prose she describes the mix of urban bustle and rural calm, the colours and flavours of the four seasons, the refined manner of the capital's people, and the drive of a city that has been growing for a thousand years. 'I wrote about the city with my most sincere thoughts, straight from the heart,' she told Việt Nam News.
The contest, now in its second edition, set out to celebrate the heritage of Thăng Long-Hà Nội — the city's ancient name — and the character of its residents. Entries could cover anything from historic traditions, landscapes and heritage to crafts, folk performance, food, daily life and social manners. Second prizes went to Phan Thị Duyên for 'Bà Kể Chuyện Hà Nội' (Grandma Tells Stories About Hà Nội) and Phạm Huỳnh Công for 'Nhà Tập Thể Cửa Ga' (Collective Quarter at Station Gate), with three third prizes and four consolation prizes also awarded. Organisers say both editions drew a big response from writers in and outside the capital.
For travellers, the appeal runs two ways. The winning essays offer an insider-flavoured reading list for anyone visiting Hà Nội — personal takes on village-rooted customs, old railway neighbourhoods and grandmothers' stories that no guidebook quite captures. And if you feel inspired after a trip, there's an open invitation: organisers have just launched the third contest under the theme 'Memories and Aspirations', with rules and prizes at nguoihanoi.vn. Whether you live there, grew up there or simply fell for the place on a short visit, the door is open.
Editor-in-chief Vương Minh Huệ put it well: the entries show Hà Nội as an ongoing muse and reflect the bond the public feels with a millennial cultural hub — and the responsibility to keep its identity alive.
