Travel through the land of Bauhinia flowers

Coming to Dien Bien in March, the Ban flowers bloom brilliantly all over the space. Coming to see Dien Bien “full of mountains in the eyes, flowers in the mist” makes us appreciate and be proud of the heroic history of the nation even more.

Travel through the land of Bauhinia flowers Opening of National Tourism Year - Dien Bien and Ban Flower Festival 2024. Photo: Mai Giap

On the journey back to the source associated with the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory, if lucky, visitors will be immersed in the space of the Ban Flower Festival - a festival associated with the beautiful image of the land and people of this Northwest region. This year's festival is part of a series of special events, associated with the opening of the National Tourism Year 2024 - Dien Bien, so it is even more vibrant and colorful. The most prominent is probably the art program reflecting the most typical characteristics of regional culture; promoting the potential for tourism development of the whole country with the connection between regions and with the cultural identity of the ethnic groups of Dien Bien - Northwest; at the same time, sending to friends, domestic and international tourists a warm invitation "Return to the Ban Flower Land". In addition, this is also the first time Dien Bien province has organized a live show and introduced legends, history, unique folk dances, and folk culture of the Thai ethnic group. The live show not only brings unique performances, but also a special and interesting perspective on the history, culture and land of Dien Bien, Northwest. In addition, coming to the Ban Flower Festival is also an opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in the space of Thai xoe dances and Mong panpipes - the intangible cultural heritages typical of the Thai and Mong ethnic groups who have gathered on this land for generations, created and passed down to this day.

After immersing yourself in the colorful cultural space of the Ban Flower Festival, visitors should explore Dien Bien Phu City - the "heart" of Dien Bien. Coming to Dien Bien Phu in March - the historic moment when our army opened fire to attack the powerful French colonial stronghold 70 years ago - to feel the heroic atmosphere filling the eyes and tightening the hearts of the people who lived and fought on this land. Having gone through difficult years, Dien Bien Phu is now like a picture of high mountains and peaceful white clouds that hold back visitors who have the opportunity to return. It is "a city in the valley of flowers... white Ban flowers blooming waiting for someone forever on the roadside". Walking through every street corner, letting your soul follow each fragile petal like a bright spot, letting that peaceful atmosphere lead you towards the pure white light and warm pink. Along the banks of Nam Rom, the early season sun is shining brightly, each Ban tree is a "pillar of light" gathered together to breathe new life into the land that was once red with war. 70 years have passed since the historic confrontation that created the glorious victory, Dien Bien Phu City is now green with life. Bomb craters have replaced the streets; and barbed wire on the trenches now only lies there as witnesses of a time of fire and war. The blood of his father has seeped into every inch of the soil to nurture the crops on Muong Thanh field this spring...

Mentioning Dien Bien is to recall the glorious historical past. That past still exists today with a system of extremely valuable relics, with many prominent names such as A1 hill, Doc Lap hill, Hong Cum stronghold, Him Lam, Muong Thanh bridge, Dien Bien Phu stronghold command bunker (De Castries bunker), victory monument, artillery pulling monument, Dien Bien Phu campaign command post... have become and are becoming destinations attracting a large number of tourists on the journey to the roots of the Vietnamese people. Up to now, Dien Bien province has 33 ranked relics (1 special national relic; 14 national relics; 18 provincial relics). In particular, the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum, with the largest Panorama painting completed by more than 200 artists in nearly 3 years, with a total area of 3,225m2 and more than 4,500 characters, will certainly be a destination not to be missed by tourists. In addition, with a community of 19 ethnic groups living together for generations, a very unique culture has been built up in terms of language, customs, and practices... Thanks to that, Dien Bien province currently has 18 cultural heritages listed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the list of national intangible cultural heritages (of which 2 heritages were listed by UNESCO in the List of representative intangible cultural heritages of humanity, namely the Xoe Thai art heritage and the Then practice heritage of the Tay, Nung, and Thai people in Vietnam).

Dien Bien has mountains following mountains, creating a majestic natural picture, also bringing many interesting experiences. It is a cave system that has both scientific value (geological value); rich aesthetic value; and historical and religious value. In particular, many caves have been ranked as national relics, such as Pa Thom, Chua Ta, Kho Chua La caves; or Tham Khen, Xa Nhe, Muong Tinh, Tham Khuong caves... which have long been attractive destinations for tourists. In particular, to increase the experience for tourists, the province focuses on exploiting river tourism types, such as sightseeing, sightseeing of the hydroelectric reservoir, tourism on the Da River, hot mineral resort tourism with some famous tourist destinations U Va, Hua Pe... In addition, in recent years, Dien Bien province has also paid attention to investing in many entertainment activities and tourism services. Up to now, there have been 15 entertainment spots such as Dao Vien Son, Tang Quai Park, Tang Quai Lau, Tang Quai Bin (Muong Ang district), Pha Din Pass, Pu Pha Din (Tuan Giao district), Rose Valley (Dien Bien district), Noong U Lake, Phu Long peak (Dien Bien Dong district)... These entertainment spots have brought tourists many interesting experiences, contributing to making Dien Bien an increasingly attractive destination.

Travel through the land of Bauhinia flowers The beauty of the Bauhinia flowers attracts tourists. Photo: TH

With a glorious historical past associated with a valuable relic system; along with a unique cultural treasure and beautiful natural landscape, Dien Bien has abundant tourism resources to develop a key economic sector. To realize this goal, Dien Bien province has been focusing on investing in developing infrastructure associated with tourism development. In particular, in recent years, Dien Bien has attracted many large investors and corporations such as Vingroup, Sun Group, Hai Phat, Flamingo... to survey, sign investment agreements and deploy the construction of urban areas, commercial centers, resorts, and hotels in the area. In the 2021-2023 period alone, the province has mobilized over 5,000 billion VND from economic sectors to invest in many commercial, tourism, service, hotel, and entertainment projects. Typically, the Dien Bien Phu City Commercial Center and Commercial Housing; New urban residential area north of Hoang Van Thai - Khe Chit street, Dien Bien Phu city; Muong Thanh market and commercial services; commercial, service, entertainment area along Nam Rom river; Muong Thanh Dien Bien Hotel...

In addition, to attract tourists, Dien Bien also promotes the promotion of Dien Bien land and people. Organize famtrip groups to survey and develop new tourism products and services. Strengthen administrative reform to create favorable conditions for tourism units and businesses to operate effectively... With great efforts and many suitable and effective solutions, Dien Bien is increasingly becoming an attractive destination for tourists. In 2023 alone, Dien Bien province is expected to welcome over 1 million tourists, an increase of 23% compared to 2022; total revenue from tourism activities is estimated at over 1,750 billion VND, an increase of 26.7% compared to 2022. The average number of days of stay of tourists is estimated at 2.6 days.

The year 2024 is associated with the 70th anniversary of the historic Dien Bien Phu victory, a major political event of special significance not only for the Party Committee, government and people of Dien Bien province, but also for the whole country. Dien Bien province considers this an opportunity to create a breakthrough, aiming to develop tourism into a spearhead economic sector. From there, it will create momentum for growth and economic restructuring, contributing to building Dien Bien into an attractive tourist destination in the northern midland and mountainous region.

Tran Hang

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