Communist Party sets out to define 'Vietnamese identity'

What is the 'Vietnamese identity'? The Communist Party's ruling Central Committee is discussing the subject behind closed doors in Hanoi this week.

There is a lot more to it than the tourist view of conical hats, emerald green rice paddies and hot French baguettes. Urban elites may tell you it is Honda Dream motorcycles, mobile phones and watching the World Cup on a big-screen television.

Vietnam is a young, aggressive nation whose recent history means identity and cultural values can be tricky to define.

A staggering 60 per cent of Vietnam's 78 million people are believed to be aged under 30 and, while still deeply nationalistic, its long legacy of war perhaps means less than it did a few years ago.

The hard-boiled Communist Party cadres who still fill the government offices and police posts provide one view. The hard-working peasant women who toil season after season in rice paddies provide another.

And their husbands, who often prefer to toil at the bar of the local bia hoi - fresh beer - stall, add a different shade to the social brew.

Travel up to the mountains of the far north and west and it is even more elusive.