According to Finance Sina, the collection of essays and research was honored at the 2025 ASEAN-China Book Impact Report ceremony held in Nanning last weekend. The award was jointly organized and judged by the ASEAN-China Cultural Book Week Committee, Guangxi Publishing Group, and the Baidu portal. The evaluation criteria were based on book statistics in China, including the number of books published, reader feedback, and media reviews.

Representatives of the organizing committee commented that "Hanoi's people, a time of food and drink" offers readers a vivid picture of the changes in Hanoi's, and Vietnam's in general, culinary culture. The work combines knowledge with the author's warm feelings about national culture.

The book, published in Vietnam by Chibooks in 2021, records the author's memories, discoveries, and research on cuisine in the 20th century. The translation was completed and published in Chinese by Guangxi Science and Technology Publishing House late last year.

The author, 78-year-old Vu The Long, is a researcher of paleontology, anthropology, and cultural history. He was formerly the head of the Human and Environment Research Department at the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

Vu The Long's collection of essays and research. Photo: Chibooks

Vu The Long's collection of essays and research. Photo: Chibooks

In addition to Vu The Long's book, 14 books by other Southeast Asian authors were included in the list. The ASEAN-China Cultural Book Week took place from 3/7 to 6/7 in Nanning, aiming to promote mutual understanding and learning between ASEAN and China.

Translator Nguyen Le Chi, owner of the Chibooks brand, said that following Vu The Long's work, she plans to introduce a series of books by other Vietnamese authors to Chinese audiences. These include "Vietnam's leisurely attire," "A thousand years of Vietnamese tea" (by Do Quang Tuan Hoang), "Coming to Hue for a meal," "Hue's ancient stories and old citadel," "By the O Lau River" (by Phi Tan), "Story of the Dish," "Saigon wanders with nostalgia," and "Nha Trang in its most beautiful season" (by Dao Thi Thanh Tuyen). "Vietnam's leisurely attire" is expected to be fully translated into Chinese in August and published in China next year.

Hue Nguyen