Published:  08:22 Wednesday - February 27, 2013

Hanoi’s coffee shops, landmarks or smiles, the friendliness of the Hanoians are shown through the clips introducing about Vietnam, produced by young people.

"If you use a single word to tell the world about Vietnam, what would you say?" Le Anh Tu, a second year student of the Hanoi -based FPT University, chose the word “peace” because peace is everywhere in Vietnam, even in a crowded, noisy and modern city like Hanoi.

Le Anh Tu brings the peace of Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general to introduce to the world.

“Peace” is not only in historical sites such as Hoan Kiem Lake, The Huc bridge, Ngoc Son Temple, Thang Long royal citadel but also present in the bell sound at the Tran Vu temple, the smile, the friendliness and the charm of the people living in Hanoi, no matter who they are, what they do and where they come from.

"Hanoi is developing vibrantly but traditional values are still there. Even 10 years or 100 years later, although Hanoi will change in anyway, any Vietnamese can still find a peaceful place in their hearts." This is comments in the video by Anh Tu.

To complete the 100 second video entitled “Peace,” Tu had to balance the time for his class, for the semester exam and for shooting the video.

Tu said that he made the video at the time of the semester exam, when he was quite busy. He said: "I knew about the competition only a few days before the deadline. I had to work at night and I finished it within about five days. This is the first time I participated in a video-making contest."

According to Tu, there are many topics but he himself felt the peace around him. Therefore, he decided to choose peace to introduce to the world about Vietnam. For Tu, the sound of peace sometimes just comes from the bell sound of a temple, a friendly smile or the street sound.

The author of "Hanoi Café in Vietnam" regrets to not have much time to highlight the characteristics of each coffee shop.

Tu said he used two cameras to shoot “Peace.” He asked his friends to make English subtitles. Tu’s video received more than 190 votes and good comments for the contents and photos.

With the same theme about Hanoi, Bui Quang Hung, a student from FPT Arena, chose Hanoi’s cafes to introduce to the world. To Hanoi, you will enjoy unique coffee flavors. You are vibrant and like the noise or you are a quiet person who likes sipping a cup of coffee in the old space of the old quarter, you can find a suitable shop in Hanoi.

Having participated in several video contests, it took Hung only several days to complete the scenes for "Hanoi Café in Vietnam." Hung and his friends had some small problems when some café owners did not agree for filming or some cafes were overcrowded. Hung said, compared to the original script, when shooting, he had to "improvise" and change a lot. Going through four coffee shops, Hung had that product.

However, the video is too short so Hung regretted to not express all his "intentions." He said if he had more time, he would have highlighted the characteristics of each café to impress the audience.

Also choosing coffee, Bet Cafe Style by Nguyen Thanh Dat, a former student of the Tan Tao University in Ho Chi Minh City received 206 votes and won the second prize. Through video, Dat wanted to introduce a unique culture of Saigon coffee – sitting-flat cafes.

Nguyen Thanh Dat is proud to introduce sitting-flat cafes in Saigon.

Explaining this style, Thanh said it's the way customers sitting flat on the ground to enjoy coffee, other than sitting in the coffee shops with tables and chairs. Bet café is located in the heart of Saigon and it is just a meeting place of the adults and the play ground for kids. It is seen as a miniature society in which you can both participate in and act as an observer.

Vietnam: My voice, my video is a contest launched on January 4 – 23 by the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam for the people at the age of 15 – 30, ith the topic: "If you have 100 seconds to tell the world about the one and only thing about Vietnam, what would you say?" The organizers received 80 videos from 16 provinces. The three top videos are Peace (first prize), Bet Cafe Style (prizes) and Hanoi cafe (third prize).

Vietnamnet