More than 3 years ago, a Code of Conduct at public places, which also emphasizes communication standards, was issued by Hanoi People's Committee. In the draft Regulations on activities in the walking space around Hoan Kiem Lake and the surrounding areas, organizations and individuals are also required to take part in practicing a civilized lifestyle, etiquette at public places, cultured behaviors and polite dressing, while avoiding behaviors and words which are vulgar, uncultured, or incompatible with the fine customs, etc.

Finalizing the Regulations governing activities in the walking space: an urgent action

After the pilot period, the weekend walking space around Hoan Kiem Lake has been officially institutionalized, attracting tens of thousands of visitors on average every weekend, but slang or swear words can still be heard here occasionally, particularly from youngsters. Some individuals dressing in "lack of fabric" clothing, although only a minority, still become an eyesore for the people around. The saddest thing is that for many years, on New Year's Eve, “Sword Lake” pedestrian streets have witnessed people jostling, breaking branches, picking flowers, trampling on the plants decorated to celebrate the New Year. The surrounding roads have been full of rubbish like plastic bags and cups, which leaves a arduous all-night task for the sanitation workers.

The Regulations on activities in the walking space around Hoan Kiem Lake and surrounding areas are taken as a reminder that people need to have a civilized and polite manner, whether in the family or on walking streets. In Hanoi – the Capital of a thousand years of civilization, it is especially important to behave more carefully in public cultural spaces.

Promoting cultured behaviors is an urgent and long-term task, starting with the education and awareness of each person. In order to create a healthy public cultural space, it is necessary to build a cultural foundation with strong values, ethical standards and legal systems that are actively and strictly enforced.

Therefore, together with the issued Code of Conduct in public places, cultural specialists expect that the Regulations on activities in the walking space around Hoan Kiem Lake and surrounding areas will serves as a model of how to communicate and educate people about civilized behaviors, which could subsequently be replicated on the city-wide scale.