On the afternoon of October 28, the Organizing Committee of the Bui Xuan Phai – Love for Hanoi Award of the Sports and Culture Newspaper officially announced the 14th Bui Xuan Phai – Love for Hanoi Award in 2021. Taking place in the context of a very complicated Covid-19 pandemic, but this year’s award continues to have a good harvest.
The Grand Prize is the most important category of the Bui Xuan Phai – Love for Hanoi Award awarded annually to those who “have made lifelong contributions to Hanoi with excellent works, ideas, and deeds, by having a flesh-and-blood attachment to Hanoi in both his life and career”. Over 13 seasons, the Grand Prize has found worthy owners: Hanoi scholar Nguyen Vinh Phuc (2009), writer To Hoai (2010), Professor Phan Huy Le (2011), guitarist Van Vuong (2012), photographer Quang Phung (2013), researcher Vu Tuan San (2014), researcher Giang Quan (2015), photographer Le Vuong (2016), researcher Huu Ngoc (2017), researcher Nguyen Ba Dam (2018), researcher Nguyen Thua Hy (2019), and most recently, in 2020 is musician Phu Quang. And this year’s 14th season, the Grand Prize – Love for Hanoi was awarded to musician Hong Dang for his outstanding contributions to the Capital’s music industry, including iconic works about Hanoi such as Milk Flower, Memories of Childhood City…
Musician Hong Dang. Photo: Nguyen Dinh Toan
Originally from Yen Thanh, Nghe An, musician Hong Dang moved to Hanoi and studied composition at the Vietnam School of Music, course I, in 1956. The first work he presented to the capital was the vocalist of the Thousand-year-old Red River, followed by the song People of the Red River, Hanoi Charm, Singing on the city fortress, Milk flower, Memories of Childhood City,…
Milk flower is the song he wrote in the soundtrack of the movie “Hanoi in the bird’s nest season” about the rebuilding of Hanoi after December “Dien Bien Phu in the air.” But like many world-famous songs, it is a song in the film, Milk Flower stepped out of the cinematic frame and became one of the best songs about Hanoi, although there is no word Hanoi or the capital in the lyrics.
In Memories of Childhood City, nature has packed into the backpacks of people going to the border front. Hong Dang’s melody has sobbed the hearts of young men who can’t help but say: “This afternoon, passing the familiar street, hearing the first cicada sound, suddenly heard my heart fluttering. The constant chorus of cicadas.” This is the cicada of childhood in the city, childhood in Hanoi.
Hong Dang’s dedication to the love for Hanoi is not only leaving famous compositions for the capital, but he also contributes in the field of training the next generations at the Vietnam School of Music, later changed to the Hanoi Conservatory of Music, and now the Vietnam National Academy of Music.
The Artwork – Love for Hanoi Award was awarded to the Hanoi 1967 – 1975 book and photo exhibition by German photographer Thomas Billhardt. From 1967 to 1975, Thomas Billhardt went to Vietnam 6 times and returned 6 more times. His photographs of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s made him world-famous.
The Idea – Love for Hanoi Award this year was awarded 2 nominations by ballot. The first “Idea – Love for Hanoi Award” was awarded to the Red River Urban Subdivision Planning Project researched and built by the Hanoi Urban Planning Institute and under the direction of Hanoi city and the coordinate with relevant departments.
The area along the Red River will become a modern and rich urban area in the spirit of the new master plan
In 2021, the information about the Red River Urban Subdivision Planning Project always receives the attention of millions of people in the Capital – when it is associated with the story that has been discussed for decades: Bringing Hanoi out of the situation of “turning away” from the Red River.
The second Idea – Love for Hanoi Award was awarded for the proposal of building an anti-flood tunnel in combination with an underground highway and renovating the To Lich River into a Historical – Cultural – Spiritual Park by Nhat Viet JVE Environment Group Joint Stock Company (JVE Group) and its Japanese partner proposed planning.
The anti-flood tunnel in combination with an underground highway will be integrated along the river
The Job – Love for Hanoi Award was awarded to “The vaccination campaign in Hanoi was on schedule along with the efforts of the Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control force to help the capital stay strong during the pandemic”.
A vaccination site in Hanoi
The “speedy” campaign to provide Covid-19 vaccine for 100% of Hanoi people eligible for vaccination has reached the finish line on schedule, creating a solid basis for pandemic control in the capital area, gradually relaxing loosening the distance, bringing Hanoi to a state of “new normal” in the context of the pandemic’s complicated developments. Specifically, on the afternoon of September 8, 2021, Plan No. 206/KH-UBND for large-scale testing and vaccination against Covid-19 for people in the city was issued. The purpose of the plan is to focus all resources, take advantage of every minute, every hour, by all means, to make the most of the “golden” time during the time of social distancing. Time to deploy large-scale testing, vaccination against Covid-19 pandemic until September 15.
During the “speedy” week of vaccination from September 8 to September 15, 2021, Hanoi mobilized 1,600 lines in the city to operate continuously, vaccination sites were open at maximum capacity, the highest on 12/9 with 573,000 doses. In just one week, Hanoi’s health sector has vaccinated nearly as much Covid-19 vaccine as six months ago combined. 100% of eligible people have received at least 1 dose.
The campaign of “speedy” to vaccinate has been a great success. On September 21, Hanoi began to relax the social distancing and assigned industries to develop production and business recovery plans to focus on performing the task of economic recovery and development; prepare a plan to complete vaccination with the second dose of vaccine for 100% of people in the first half of November 2021; on that basis, calculate the plan for students to return to school as well as colleges and universities to resume operation.
The Bui Xuan Phai – Love for Hanoi Award was established in 2008 by the Sports and Culture newspaper and the family of the late artist Bui Xuan Phai, to award authors, works, ideas, and work with high scientific and artistic value, imbued with the love of Hanoi.
Organizing Committee