Dien Bien and the development journey

Returning to Dien Bien after many years away, Mrs. To Hoang Hoi (daughter of Mr. To Quang Khoan, who was assigned by General Vo Nguyen Giap to prepare and pack the explosives to attack Hill A1 during the Dien Bien Phu Campaign) was filled with tears and pride when she saw with her own eyes the new look and new vitality of Dien Bien. In her story with us, Mrs. Hoi sometimes had to stop to suppress the emotions that came flooding back with memories of the past.

Back then, in the 80s of the last century, when she was a 10-year-old girl, Mrs. Hoi often followed her father on the small trails in field C1, sugarcane field C2 and the immense corn fields on the banks of the Nam Rom River.

Her father was from Cao Bang and participated in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign from the first day until the day of total victory with many fierce and difficult battles. After the campaign, he volunteered to stay with his comrades to enter a new battle - the "battle for economic development on the battlefield" which was no less difficult.

Mrs. Hoi remembers the times she went with her father to visit the fields, to visit the farm workers; to listen to her father recount the battles... The stories her father told were detailed day by day, month by month, but the 10-year-old girl's memory only clearly remembered the detail that Uncle Ta Quoc Luat was the leader of a shock force of 5 soldiers who entered the French command post to capture General De Castries and the French command at the Dien Bien Phu base.

"Every time he told the story of Uncle Ta Quoc Luat planting the flag on the roof of the De Castries bunker at 5:30 p.m. on May 7, 1954, his eyes sparkled with joy, not filled with tears like when he told the story of his comrades' sacrifices," Mrs. Hoi recalled.

Returning to Dien Bien this time, Mrs. Hoi was surprised by the changes. Dien Bien Phu Airport is still here in the middle of the fields, but now it is more modern, bigger and more beautiful. And here, Muong Thanh Bridge still quietly connects the two banks of Nam Rom, but at night it sparkles brilliantly with hundreds of modern yellow, green, red, and purple lights...

Mrs. Hoi was moved: "Seeing with my own eyes the new constructions and seeing each relic meticulously cared for helps me understand more about the efforts and dedication of each person on the land of Dien Bien."

Sharing the same emotions and pride when witnessing the changes every day on the land where 71 years ago he fought with his comrades, in the historic days of May, although his strength was weaker, every afternoon, Mr. Bui Kim Dieu (former soldier of Division 312) still asked his children and grandchildren to help him walk to Him Lam Relic Site to light incense for his comrades who died in the opening battle of Dien Bien Phu Campaign (March 13, 1954).

Unlike previous years, on this occasion, Mr. Dieu secretly reported to his comrades: “The province has paid attention to investing in preserving and embellishing relic sites worthy of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. In Him Lam alone, there is a project of nearly 100 billion VND invested in making reliefs, incense houses, squares, incense trees at bunkers, and stone stele introducing the relics. In the campus, there is also a system of flower gardens, trees, outdoor electricity... so that day and night, the place where Hero Phan Dinh Giot and his comrades rest is always bright and sparkling.”

I met a soldier from Dien Bien who was sitting silently next to a stele recording the history of the battle. Looking at the stream of people moving away in front of him, Mr. Dieu shared: “Every time May comes, I miss my friend so much. The place where he lay down, the rice is now always full of grain and heavy with flowers. The fields, gardens, and fruit trees are green all year round, surrounding the roofs and schools. Dien Bien today has changed, with flowers blooming all year round. The people of Dien Bien always remember the dedication and sacrifice of those who heroically fell for this land!”

Chairman of Dien Bien Provincial People's Committee Le Thanh Do once shared: Under the leadership of the Party, the Government, Uncle Ho and the spirit of solidarity to overcome difficulties, in 2024, Dien Bien has risen to become a province with a fairly high economic growth rate (GRDP reached 8.51%) compared to other provinces in the region (ranked 6th out of 14 provinces in the region and ranked 18th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide).

In 2024, with the successful organization of national and regional political, cultural, sports and tourism events, Dien Bien tourism industry welcomed 1.85 million domestic and international visitors; total revenue from tourism activities of Dien Bien for the first time reached 3,300 billion VND.

Along with persistently implementing the goal of economic development, through different historical periods, Dien Bien has always paid attention to job creation and vocational training for workers, thanks to which the lives of ethnic people in the province have been constantly improved.

In the 2021-2024 period, Dien Bien has supported the construction of new houses for more than 6,000 poor households and policy families. In 2024 alone, Dien Bien will complete 5,000 houses for poor households in a lightning-fast campaign called "A million hearts for the poor of Dien Bien".

Thanks to the support and cooperation of all levels, sectors, philanthropists and the efforts of poor households, Dien Bien reduces the multidimensional poverty rate by about 4.06% each year. Currently, the poverty rate in the province is 21.66%.

National target programs such as: New rural construction program achieved positive results, with a total of 26/115 communes recognized as meeting standards; socio-economic development program for ethnic minority and mountainous areas completed 12/17 main targets, with outstanding results being the annual poverty reduction rate in ethnic minority areas reaching 5.83%...

Military and national defense work, border protection, border markers, maintaining territorial sovereignty, national border security and ensuring security and order are always well performed, creating a favorable environment to attract investment, promote socio-economic development and foreign affairs.

On the occasion of the 71st Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 2025), at the flag-raising ceremony and inauguration of the A Pa Chai Flagpole in the Sin Thau border commune, Muong Nhe district (where there is a landmark bordering the three countries of Vietnam, Laos and China), officers and soldiers of the armed forces and people of all ethnic groups in Dien Bien province were honored to report that Dien Bien has overcome many difficulties and obstacles; overcome geographical distance and overcome all time to build the locality to develop more and more, becoming a solid "stronghold" to protect the two wide and long borders.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dien-bien-va-hanh-trinh-phat-trien-post877795.html