Following CNN team’s footsteps to explore Hanoi’s icons

After ten days wandering around Hanoi, young CNN director Jane Sit and her team have depicted the icons of Hanoi through five authentic stories ranging from fashion, business, technology, social activities to environment.

CNN's producer Jane Sit during her filming in Hanoi.

The film crew from CNN, the US cable news network, has shot the last scenes for the 30-minute “Iconic Hanoi” program series, which is projected to be broadcast this November.

This is one of 15 films produced under an agreement between the Hanoi People’s Committee and CNN to enhance the Vietnamese capital’s recognition in the world.

Unlike around 90 million results on “iconic Hanoi” on Google search tools, the icons of Hanoi, in Jane’s eyes, were “bustle”, “coziness” and “inspiration", the three words that the young producer used to describe the city that she visited for the first time. It seems that the last one would be what the program is supposed to deliver.

However, the crew was also more or less astounded thorough the shooting process under “the burning heat” and “the crazy traffic” of Hanoi in the midst of scorching summer.

Hanoi is owing its particular features to the new generations who are pursuing their ideal and inspiration, Economic and Urban newspaper cited Jane as she compared her experiences in Hanoi to those in other countries during five years working as CNN’s producer.

To explore the ways that Hanoi is developing, Jane and her crew found typical stories from five characters.

They found sustainable development in one of the most vibrant Southeast Asian countries through the story of Vu Thao, a designer with her unique fashion brand.

Vu Thao spent years of studying the weaving and dying techniques of fabric of Vietnam’s northwestern ethnic minorities, which are made entirely from natural materials. The costumes sold at her KILOMET109 shop are created in the traditional ethnic ways but with fashionable and modern touches.  

Architect An Viet Dung was portrayed in another story of a former overseas student in Italy and Israel. He made the busy Hanoi friendlier with his “farming architecture”  of Koi Cafe combining an aquarium with reused wood pallets and the VAC library with the impressive green model of aquaponics.

There were also other notable pieces including the pioneer electric scooter Vinfast Klara, made-in-Vietnam Bphone and KOTO, a vocational school for neglected children.

For CNN, the Hanoi’s icon may be the spirit of the new generations, who are making efforts to preserve and promote cultural values as well as the original living environment of Hanoi and Vietnam while keeping up with the development of the city.