Last week, Viet Nam News asked their readers how Ha Noi should be branded. The following are some of your opinions.

Rodney Todd, British, UK

In the short term, I would brand Ha Noi as a city of warmth, with open friendly people. Perhaps I have been lucky but as I leave after my first visit here, these are the thoughts I will take away. Branding a city is a delicate, sophisticated business simply because of the range and age of people you are reaching out to. And Ha Noi is a developing city with, I am sure, short-term and long-term goals.

For me, your markets and food provide a distinct, recognisable and quantifiable image and with it, an introduction to the very people that make Ha Noi. Your street markets, particularly in the Old Quarter, serve the local people of Ha Noi well. They have a practical and historical dimension.

They give tourists an opportunity to shop, possibly to barter, but above all, they provide an insight into the Vietnamese way of life. Across the food spectrum, the markets provide a huge variety of fresh food from vegetables to meat and fish. And bowls of live fish are a wonderful spectacle for the squeamish.

But I like it. I like the colour of the street markets, the noise, the bustle, the ability to buy good food from a stall. And the food there and in the restaurants is distinct from Thai and Chinese. Vietnamese food for me is far more healthy – and in a strange way – more gentle, less fried!

I think your branding is there, in front of you. A good photographer will find a strong attractive image of colour and activity in your market stalls. They would be engaging poster images for advertising campaigns.

Of course, you need more space in and around the markets to accommodate the increasing tourist trade, and restricting the through-traffic would help. But your street markets and healthy food are marketable in their own right – and economically sustainable, if not profitable.

And the unique value in this? The Ha Noi people, like the lady by the lake who asked me on three separate occasions whether I wanted a donut and then found herself in my photograph much to our laughter. And the lady in the park, sitting on the bench opposite, slicing and shaping pineapple, chatting to us.

I will come back.

Asantha Sirimanne, Sri Lankan, Sri Lanka

Compared to other capital cities in Asia, including my own, Ha Noi has a traditional charm well in keeping with your 1,000-year-old heritage.

Even the growing and chaotic way people seem to drive on Ha Noi's roads is endearing in a certain kind of way.

But the city will change and change rapidly with the economic development you are experiencing, so to build a brand around traditions alone will be difficult.

However, you have two advantages that no other large city in Asia has. Ha Noi does not have too many skyscrapers yet and has not yet become a concrete jungle. The outer perimeters are just developing. So it can still be nudged in the right direction.

The most striking thing to me about Ha Noi is its lakes. These are not just artificial water bodies. They are living legends, with a rich cultural heritage dating back centuries. For example, the tortoise story.

You have a chance to build a brand around these lakes and be a green city of Asia, provided the development of Ha Noi is managed.

I am not saying that skyscrapers should not be allowed (some places like central London have done that). But since the city still has yet to be fully developed, there is a chance to make it a more eco-friendly green city if a thorough study is done and you use building codes creatively to promote greenery and a sense of tradition.

To preserve greenery and opens spaces, allowing tall buildings can be a useful device. You can build up and preserve more open spaces. You already have a unique architectural style of building, narrow and tall.

Your people also have a fondness for bonsai and flowers, all of which will help. City building regulations should specify that all commercial developments, including shopping malls, incorporate these into their plans.

Keeping your city green would not be difficult with the rainfall you get. In Dubai they spend millions of dollars watering the desert everyday to keep grass and flowers growing.

I was told by a friend about the hoa sua [a typical flower] of Ha Noi and the rich history and culture surrounding them. That shows the close affinity Ha Noi and its people have with nature. I am sure there is more that I do not know.

You have a 1,000-year-old heritage that has been close to nature. Modernity can mix with heritage – that could be a brand.

Since nature is timeless, you have the opportunity to develop a brand using the lakes and greenery. The "Lake City of Asia"; "Asia's greenest city"; "Ha Noi – closest to nature"; "A garden of lakes" and so on.

So you have several brand values and a natural heritage to build on. Lakes, tortoises, flowers and your own people who are friendly and nice. And I am sure there are more. These are things that struck me in just three or four days.

There is a sense of history here so you should also try to bring in traditional natural values. A kind of natural heritage if you will. If you can do that it will be an example to the world.

At the pace Ha Noi is growing and changing, in another 10 or 15 years it may be unrecognisable from today.

Vu Thuy Minh, Vietnamese, Ha Noi

I grew up considering Ha Noi somewhat "uncool". It lacks grand architectural structures like similarly aged cities. It lacks ancient buildings (most, if not all, historic buildings in Ha Noi have been restored), a beautiful town layout or in fact any comprehensive planning. It does not pretend to be a modern, hip, happening town like its younger brother Ho Chi Minh City. Because I had an inferior complex about the city, I did not understand why tourists would want to come here at all. Only after living a few years in Europe, Australia and after visiting other Asian cities did I understand the charm of Ha Noi. If anything, for me the allure lies in the intimacy of the town. It feels like one could build an intimate relationship with the city, a notion possibly lost in many large metropolises in Asia. The physical of the centre of town evokes feelings of accessibility and closeness, thus also personal affinity, in stark contrast to the model of spread-out mega-capital cities. The Old Quarter seems to be bustling and chaotic enough to exhaust you from the omnipresence of crowds, constant honking and aggressive shopowners. Yet around the corner one can find comfort in a perfectly quiet tea stall shaded by trees, in the tranquillity of a tucked away temple/pagoda, in the best noodle soup in Ha Noi. I love the discovery of those precious peaceful spots and moments.

Ryu Hashimoto, Japanese, Binh Duong

Big cities in the world have their unique images, such as London, which is the city in fog, or Venice, which is the city built on water, and so on.

Ha Noi has many lakes, which induce a feeling of mystery. Some lakes have legends, such as the giant turtle.

The people and the Government should make an effort to promote these legends. In addition to the above, people should explain why Ha Noi is called "Ha Noi". A few foreigners I've heard don't even know that Ho Chi Minh City is named after Uncle Ho.

Streets, districts, cities and provinces in Viet Nam have many legends. But many foreigners don't know about them. The Vietnamese Government should encourage people, especially the younger generation, to learn about the history of the city.

You Asked, published every Tuesday, gives you the opportunity to ask all the questions a visitor to Viet Nam or an expatriate living here long- term might have.

Your Say, published on Fridays, enables you to express your opinions about a topic or issue raised by the Editor.

Next week:

An increasing number of Vietnamese children and teenagers are being diagnosed with mental disorders. Nearly 1,000 children with mental illnesses are admitted to the HCM City Mental Hospital every month.

According to psychologists at the Social Sciences and Humanities University, some childhood mental disorders are the result of too much academic pressure being put on pupils.

HCM City Paediatric Hospitals No 1 and 2 admit 40-60 children who have attempted suicide annually. Thirty-five people, mostly youngsters, committed suicide in Vinh Long and Quang Tri provinces and Can Tho, Da Nang and Ha Noi cities between February 13-23. School violence is also on the increase.

-Source VNS-