In the first days of the year, we went to Dien Bien - a land that converges the quintessence of the Northwest region with majestic nature, heroic history and unique culture.
The journey is even more meaningful when Dien Bien province hosts the National Tourism Year 2024, which is also the year to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory...
 |
| Tourists experience Pha Din Pass. (Photo: Trung Kien) |
A poetic stop
Known as one of the Four Great Passes of the Northwest, Pha Din Pass is located at an altitude of more than 1,000m above sea level and is truly a memorable experience for tourists coming to Dien Bien , especially those who want to be challenged and enjoy the feeling of conquering these adventurous winding roads.
Located on the majestic pass connecting Son La and Dien Bien provinces is a poetic stop called Pha Din Pass. About 100 km from Dien Bien Phu city, the tourist area was built in 2016 and is increasingly attracting visitors.
With a campus of 50 hectares, Pha Din Pass is divided into many spaces for visitors to enjoy, take pictures, eat and have fun.
Coming here, our group not only enjoyed the fresh air, but also admired the beauty of the flower valley filled with colors of buckwheat flowers, lavender, hydrangeas, and chrysanthemums... along with rows of green pine trees.
In addition, the tourist area also decorates unique and beautiful spaces such as pinwheel hills, windmills, swings, huts, stone steps, etc.
Pha Din's signature cuisine is memorable on chilly winter days with rustic grilled dishes such as skewered meat, meat-wrapped vegetables, grilled hill chicken, grilled stream fish... or the unique local dish of goat nam pia.
These natural landscapes and warm flavors help make the journey to Dien Bien Phu city less tiring and bring excitement to each of us in discovering new places.
 |
| Tourists take souvenir photos at the Victory Monument in Muong Phang Park. (Photo: Trung Kien) |
Relive the atmosphere of 1954
The heroic Dien Bien Phu victory of the past left the land of Dien Bien a complex of Dien Bien Phu battlefield relics with prominent relics such as Hill A1, Muong Thanh Bridge, Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Headquarters, De Castries Bunker, Dien Bien Phu Victory Monument, Him Lam Hill, Artillery Pulling Monument...
Towards the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory and National Tourism Year 2024, Dien Bien province has repaired and renovated many relic sites in this special relic complex compared to before.
At the important relic of Hill A1 - the place that marked the glorious victory of the Vietnamese army, structures such as the welcome gate, power lines, sound systems, trenches, bunkers, fences, reception houses, reliefs, signposts... were repaired, installed and repainted. Visiting this place is an emotional experience filled with pride, gratitude and respect for history.
Along with Hill A1, many locations such as De Castries Tunnel, Dien Bien Phu Campaign Command Headquarters, Victory Monument, Muong Thanh Bridge, etc. were also renovated with the view of preserving the original design and shape.
Meanwhile, the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum is now an indispensable destination for tourists coming here.
Ms. Vu Thi Tuyet Nga, Director of the Museum, said that in 2023, the Museum welcomed more than 150,000 visitors, along with the attraction of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Panorama painting - the largest painting in Southeast Asia, one of the three largest paintings in the world.
Divided into four sections (The whole people go to battle, The majestic prelude, The historic confrontation and The triumphant song to celebrate the victory), all images and events in the painting have been strung together and seamlessly connected according to the developments, giving viewers a complete, intuitive and vivid view of the Dien Bien Phu campaign.
| By the end of 2023, Dien Bien province has 33 ranked tangible cultural relics (one special national relic, 14 national relics and 18 provincial relics); 18 cultural heritages have been included in the list of national intangible cultural heritages by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, of which two heritages have been recognized by UNESCO as representative intangible cultural heritages of humanity (Thai Xoe art and Then practice of the Tay, Nung and Thai people in Vietnam). This is the potential and advantage of cultural tourism that Dien Bien province will pay attention to promoting in the coming time. |
Impressions of Muong Phang
Following the history of 70 years ago, we continued to visit the Dien Bien Phu Campaign Headquarters Relic Site - the most important headquarters of the campaign, about 30km from Dien Bien Phu city.
Located in the old forest at the foot of Pu Don mountain in Muong Phang commune, this is where the Dien Bien Phu campaign command was stationed for 105 days from January 31 to May 15, 1954.
This important command post was built along a small stream, with trenches and convenient barracks in front and behind, ensuring absolute secrecy and safety.
Here, General Vo Nguyen Giap and the Campaign Command issued directives and attack orders that were decisive to the victory of each battle, culminating in the general attack on the entire front on May 7, 1954. Our army destroyed and captured 16,200 enemies of the Dien Bien Phu stronghold, creating a victory that "resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world".
Currently, the historical relic site has undergone many restorations with a number of items such as stele, sign, tunnel, working hut of General Vo Nguyen Giap and Chief of Staff Hoang Van Thai, head of military advisory group Vi Quoc Thanh...
In addition, the Muong Phang Park Victory Monument contributes to affirming the determination to fight and win of our army and people in the great patriotic war.
This is the destination for everyone to have a general, objective and realistic view of the strength of a nation. The strength of the winners is not in modern weapons, equipment or solid bunkers, but in the strength of patriotism and peace-loving people.
On this trip to Muong Phang, we stopped at Che Can - where the historic Pu Huot peak is more than 1,700m above sea level. It was on this mountain peak that General Vo Nguyen Giap set up an observation post to monitor the battlefield developments in the Muong Thanh basin during the Dien Bien Phu campaign.
Che Can (originally from "Che Can" with the meaning of protecting the people from foreign invaders) is also one of the few villages from before 1954, still preserving many ancient Thai cultural values.
Currently, the local government has identified and implemented models to make Che Can a model village of community tourism, an ideal stopover for tourists when coming to Dien Bien.
Visitors coming here can explore and learn about the architecture of stilt houses, costumes, beliefs, festivals, traditional crafts such as brocade weaving, knitting, blacksmithing, carpentry, and musical instrument making of the Thai ethnic people...
There is also a bicycle service for tourists throughout the village, or experience riding a buffalo cart to explore tourist attractions around the village and harvest agricultural products.
In particular, during the exciting days of the 9th Swallow-tail Boat Racing Festival and the 4th National Paragliding Club Championship taking place in Muong Lay town, cherry blossom gardens in Dien Bien are also entering the blooming period, ready for the festival season from January 12-14.
This is the first year that the Cherry Blossom - Pa Khoang event has been upgraded to the Cherry Blossom - Dien Bien Phu Festival in 2024 during the National Tourism Year, promising to attract many domestic and foreign tourists.
Source
Comment (0)