Dien Bien Province – the place that commemorates the great victory that "shook the world and resonated across continents" – boasts a special national historical site, ranking among the top 10 ranked historical sites nationwide. Over the years, alongside preservation efforts, specialized agencies have strived to exploit and develop the historical site's values into tourism products that are rich in historical characteristics, highly attractive, and competitive. This contributes to "awakening" Dien Bien's historical tourism potential, gradually transforming this historical land into one of the key tourism centers for historical, cultural, ecological, and spiritual tourism in the region.
The Dien Bien Phu battlefield complex comprises 45 component sites located in Dien Bien District, Tuan Giao District, and Dien Bien Phu City. It has become a source of national pride and a place for educating future generations of Vietnamese people about revolutionary traditions. Ms. Pham Thanh Thao, Deputy Director of the Provincial Relics Management Board, said: “The Dien Bien Phu Battlefield relics are identified as an important resource, a potential advantage, and a key product for tourism development not only in Dien Bien province and the Northwest region in particular, but also in the whole country in general. Recognizing the role and importance of the relics and to meet the increasingly high demands of tourists visiting Dien Bien, since its establishment, the Relics Management Board has always focused on implementing: arranging tour guides to welcome and guide all visiting groups at the relics; organizing photo exhibitions from within and outside the province; regularly inspecting and guiding to improve the knowledge and skills of the tour guide team; and implementing the display and promotion of the value of the General Vo Nguyen Giap Memorial Area in Muong Phang. In particular, we pay special attention to developing plans and organizing practical experience activities at the relics belonging to the Dien Bien Phu Battlefield relics.” Bien Phu, activities include: paying tribute to fallen heroes; pushing bicycle carts; cooking rice using a traditional Hoang Cam stove; listening to veterans' stories; experiencing being a tour guide; thematic Party activities, admitting new Party members and Youth Union members at historical sites...
During the period of 2020-2022, the Relic Management Board organized experiential activities for 2,717 students at the Dien Bien Phu Battlefield historical site. These experiential programs had a widespread impact; in particular, the "We Are Dien Bien Phu Soldiers" program left a lasting impression on students, not only supplementing their historical knowledge but also contributing to the education of patriotic traditions and national pride. This activity also provided students with practical experiences at the historical site, enhancing their awareness and responsibility in preserving, protecting, and promoting the value of the Dien Bien Phu Battlefield relics. Notably, the Relic Management Board organized an experiential activity of pushing a cargo bicycle at the A1 Hill historical site for foreign tourists, receiving positive and enthusiastic feedback from visitors.
With the desire to attract more and more visitors, the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum has developed additional products to enhance the visitor experience. This approach contributes to spreading and promoting the value of the artifacts and helps the museum's conservation work develop in a sustainable direction. During the recent National Day on September 2nd, in addition to viewing the artifacts, visitors had many more experiences with three outdoor photo check-in spots: taking photos with cargo bicycles and ammunition boxes, taking photos with brightly colored flower floats, and taking photos with traditional costumes of the ethnic groups of Northwest Vietnam. Many meaningful messages such as: "Dien Bien - where the battlefield blossoms," "Dien Bien - where memories return," and "Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum - come and be proud" were also incorporated at these check-in points, contributing to spreading the historical and cultural values to a wide audience of local people and tourists.
With many innovative activities such as: supplementing exhibition content and organizing thematic exhibitions, visitors can immerse themselves in the cultural and historical space, adding color to conservation activities and spreading the value of documents and artifacts to the public. This contributes to attracting a large number of visitors of all ages to the museum, spreading the value of historical and traditional culture to the local people and tourists.
The panoramic painting at the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum – one of the major works on the theme of war, opened nearly three years ago – is a new highlight for Dien Bien tourism. Through viewing the panoramic painting, even though the Dien Bien Phu victory is nearly 70 years old and some physical war relics have faded, visitors can still imagine and feel something of the Dien Bien Phu campaign – a battle full of hardship but also great heroism fought by our ancestors. Therefore, the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum strives to serve and enhance the experience so that visitors can fully appreciate the grandeur and significance of this special painting. Thanks to this, visitors have had even more memorable experiences... Mr. Hoang Trong Nghia, a tourist from Hanoi, shared: “I have been to Dien Bien Phu a few times before, but this is the first time I have brought my whole family to visit Dien Bien Phu, and the first time I have seen the panoramic painting reflecting the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. The painting helped me see the strength of our army and people, even though our country was facing such difficulties at that time, we still achieved a very glorious victory.”
In reality, the exploitation and development of tourism from historical sites still faces many difficulties, if not limitations. Specifically, the preservation, restoration, and promotion of the value of the Dien Bien Phu Battlefield historical site have not been effective or commensurate with the significance and value of the site, with only 9 out of 45 sites receiving investment for preservation, restoration, and value promotion. At these sites, the infrastructure is poor, and there are no standard service areas; Cultural experiences and services at historical sites remain monotonous, failing to provide tourists with authentic experiences and emotions about a historical victory of international significance, and not meeting the expectations of domestic and international visitors... To soon realize the goal of making tourism a key economic sector, with historical tourism as one of its three main focuses, much work remains to be done, requiring the joint efforts and mobilization of resources from specialized agencies, organizations, individuals, and businesses inside and outside the province...
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