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 | Destinations >> Highlands :> Highlands - Dien Bien Phu :> Geographical Characteristics Dien Bien is a mountainous border province in the Northwest of Vietnam. Extremely mountainous, Dien Bien province is one of the newest provinces in Vietnam. It is adjacent to the new Lai Chau province in the North, Son La province in the East and Northeast, China in the Northwest, and Laos in the Southwest with the 360 kilometers border long. The provincial capital, Dien Bien Phu is best known for the battle of Dien Bien Phu which pretty much marked the end of the beginning of the end for the French involvement in Vietnam. Dien Bien has a complex terrain, constituted by high mountain chain, valleys between the high mountains, small rivers and streams distributed at all area of the province.
Dien Bien has a high mountain tropical weather with two distinguished seasons: rainy season from the beginning of April to the end of October, and dry season from November to March in which December and January is the driest months. Yearly average temperature is 21 – 23°C. Attractions include visits to the historically important site of Dien Bien Phu; journeys through the rugged interior of Tuan Giao or stopovers in the undeniably beautiful Lai Chau -- all giving you ample reason for spending more time exploring the province. :> Dien Bien Phu, Battle of Dien Bien Phu, in the heart-shaped Muong Thanh Valley near the Lao border, is in one of the remotest parts of Vietnam. The valley is surrounded by steep, heavily forested hills and the area is inhabited by hill tribes, notably the Tai and H'mong. Dien Bien Phu was the site of that rarest of Vietnamese military events, decisive battle between the French and the Vietnamese Communist forces called the Vietminh in 1954 that led to the division of Vietnam into two parts. The defeat fo the French in the battle led to the end of the First Indochina War (1946 -1954) and any chance of French re-establishing colonial control in Indochina. The French reinforced their garrison at Dien Bien Phu in November 1953 to prevent the Vietminh from gaining control of northern Laos and the middle and lower Mekong River Valley. The outpost was strategically linked to the cities of Hanoi and Luang Prabang, then the royal capital of Laos. The Vietminh, led by General Vo Nguyen Giap, began besieging the French at Dien Bien Phu on March 13, 1954. After months of fighting, with the French forces supplied only by air, the base was overrun by the Vietminh on May 7, 1954. The battle, as well as the international peace conference that began the next day in Geneva, brought the war to an end on July 20, 1954. As a result of the conference, the French relinquished control of all of Vietnam north of the 17th parallel to a new Communist government led by Ho Chi Minh. The country was also partitioned into the separate states of North and South Vietnam. Now little remains of the battlefield itself -- the encampments, dugouts, trenches and battlelines that once covered the terrain have long since been erased and baring a few historically prominent sites and the odd rusted tank the past lingers on only in the museums and monuments built around the town.
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