Dien Bien Phu is surrounded by mountains and lies in the Muong Thanh valley, a 20-km long and 6-km wide heart-shaped basin. The Nam Rom River runs across the valley, which is why the Dien Bien Phu valley is so fertile. After 1953, French expeditionary corps occupied Dien Bien Phu and set up a group of fortresses equipped with many state-of-the-art weapons.
The Dien Bien Phu victory created a great echo in the world. The heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people's army against the French expeditionary corps lasted for 56 days in 1954. General de Castries and his entire command were taken alive and 16,000 enemy troops were put out of action.

Much of the Viet Minh's brilliant strategy was planned in a 320 meter-long tunnel, dug into a small hill, some 30 km east of Dien Bien Phu. Some huts where planning sessions were held are clustered near the mouth of the tunnel, which is now overgrown with moss. A group of Thai women carrying baskets of maize drift past; war seems very far away. General Giap has been back many times to revisit this site, and many of the visitors, both foreign and Vietnamese, are veterans of the battle for Dien Bien Phu.

Dien Bien Phu is located in Muong Thanh Valley, and ethnic Thai and H'mong people account for approximately two-thirds of the valley's 60,000 residents. Pa Khoang Lake is actually a man-made water reservoir, crucial for the irrigation of the valley below. It is also the site of Dien Bien Phu's only tourist resort - a newly built hotel that resembles a Swiss castle.

On weekends, the 21 km road from Pa Khoang Lake to Dien Bien Phu is busy, as the town's residents flock here for day trips.

The resort is a sign of things to come as Dien Bien Phu's history continues to draw tourists.

Unlike many of the tourists who come here, Dien Bien Phu's residents are not looking back. The town is alive with colour, as the Vietnamese, Thai and Hmong residents go about their daily affairs like carrying their wares into town, shopping in the crowded market, and holding xoe dancing parties in their stilt houses.

These people, whose cultures are as different as their clothing styles, share the same warmth and hospitality for visitors. Dien Bien Phu is a historic site and the natural scenery is stunning. But it is the town's forward looking people who make a trip to Dien Bien Phu truly memorable.