Location: Located in and around the 20km-long valley of Dien Bien Phu.

Characteristics: After the victorious battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, almost all historical sites of this battle lying to the east of the Muong Thanh Field have been preserved intact.

The Following is a list of recommended places to visit in Dien Bien

1. The Museum of Dien Bien Phu victorious battle: the museum displays a lot of documents and objects relating to the 55-day arduous battle of Vietnamese soldiers and people to make the glorious victory of the whole nation in the spring of 1954. The museum exhibits its objects both indoors and outdoors.

2. The cemeteries in Hill A1 (644 tombs) and Doc Lap Hill (2432 tombs): This is the resting place of Vietnamese soldiers who sacrificed heroically in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. In Hill A1 lie the tombs of heroic martyrs such as To Vinh Dien, Be Van Dan, Phan Dinh Giot and Tran Can.

3. Hill A1: This height stands block the way to the northeast sub-section. It has a significant role, controlling the whole battle of Dien Bien Phu. During 36 nights and days, the fierce battle claimed the lives of 2516 Vietnamese soldiers. Only until the night of May 6th, 1954 did Vietnamese soldiers win this decisive battle.

4. Muong Thanh Airfield: This was the stronghold 206 and the central airport of the entrenched camp of Dien Bien Phu. Currently this airport is renamed Dien Bien Phu and becomes one of the destinations in the flight system of the Vietnam Civil Aviation.

5. The Command bunker of the Dien Bien Phu entrenched camp: De Castries worked inside the bunker. The original shape and size, structure and arrangement of the bunker are kept intact.

6. Lam Him: On March 13th, 1954, Vietnamese troops fought the first battle in Him Lam Hill, which is situated to the northwest of the valley.

7. Doc Lap Hill Vietnamese troops liberated the hill on March 15th, 1954.

8. Hills C, D and E are well preserved: From afar, one can easily recognize the name of these hills. Atop D1 Hill stands the newly-erected Statue of Dien Bien Phu Victory.

9. The Command post of the Vietnamese soldiers from January 21st to May 8th, 1954: It is situated in a primitive forest in Muong Phang Commune. Here one will find the hut where General Vo Nguyen Giap worked and other huts for information and military operation discussion.

Hill A1

Location: Hill A1 is situated in Muong Thanh Ward, Dien Bien Phu City, Dien Bien Province.

Characteristics: Hill A1 was the strongest post of all the 49 strongholds in Dien Bien Phu fortified entrenched camp.

Hill A1 had three defense lines. The first one, stretching from the Cay Da blockhouse, protected the way to the hilltop. Currently this is the main road leading to the top of Hill A1. The second line was for counter-offensive assaults and the last one was a kind of underground bunker atop the hill. There were trenches connecting these three lines. Unaware of the underground bunker atop the hill, Vietnamese troops assaulted from the dried stream. To occupy one third of the hill, Vietnamese troops lost 2516 troops and discovered the bunker thanks to enemy’s flare.

Tactical method was changed. Despite numerous difficulties, Vietnamese troops dug a tunnel to destroy the bunker with explosive. After 16 days and nights, Vietnamese troops found a brick foundation, which was left from some construction built by French troops in 1940. Considering that was the bunker wall, Vietnamese troops brought 970kg of explosive there and detonated them at 20h30pm on May 6th, 1954. The pressure of the explosion made the ears of the French captain in charge of the bunker bleed. He thought that was a new kind of weapon used by Vietnamese troops and surrendered. The explosion left an enormous hole like a crater, which is rather afar from the top of Hill A1. This hole now serves as a tourist attraction.

Museum of Dien Bien Phu Victory

Location: Museum of Dien Bien Phu Victory lies opposite the cemetery of Vietnamese martyrs in Hill A1, the center of Dien Bien Phu City.

Characteristics: The museum was built in 1984 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory.

By the end of 2003, the museum was upgraded and its exhibition sections reorganized. To date, the museum has five exhibition sections, featuring 274 items and 122 pictures, many of which are newly added, about the 8-year resistance against the French colonialists. The five sections have the following contents:

- The strategic location of Dien Bien Phu

- The enemy’s scheme at Dien Bien Phu

- The Party’s guideline regarding preparations for the Dien Bien Phu Campaign

- Impacts of Dien Bien Phu domestically and internationally

- Present-day Dien Bien Phu

The museum opens for tourists inside and outside Vietnam. The outdoor sections of the museum were finished in service of the Year for Tourism in Dien Bien – 2004

Statue of Dien Bien Phu Victory

Location The statue of Dien Bien Phu Victory is situated atop Hill D1, Dien Bien Phu City.

Characteristics: It is inaugurated in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7th, 1954 - May 7th, 2004).

The statue of Dien Bien Phu Victory represents the images of three Dien Bien soldiers, standing atop De Castries’s bunker, looking at three directions. One of them holds a rifle, one a flag and one holding a child with a bunch of flower. The words “Resolutely fight to win” are put in the flag under the suggestion of General Vo Nguyen Giap.

The statue is made out of bronze by the Doan Ket Bronze Casting Company (Y Yen District, Nam Dinh Province). Nguyen Trong Hanh is the direct supervisor. The casting process of the 12 parts of the statue lasted 153 days until February 19th, 2004. The statue is 12.6m high (excluding the concrete pedestal, which is 3.6m high, 8m wide and 10m long). Its biggest part weighs 40 tons, the lightest 6 tons. The flag itself weighs 12 tons. The weight of bronze is 180 tons, which is equivalent to 220 tons of raw bronze material. All together, the statue weighs 360 tons.

In the morning of February 23rd, 2004, the convoy including 12 trucks of the Transport Service Company No. 2, the Heroic Unit of the Ministry of Transport, took the statue to Dien Bien Phu City. The transport faced numerous difficulties through the 600km road from Nam Dinh to Dien Bien. At noon of March 12th, 2004, the statue safely reached Dien Bien Phu. In the afternoon of April 12th, 2004, the staff of the Central Fine Arts Company finished the installation of the statue after 45 days of hard working.