Dien Bien Phu Museum: A place to preserve historical values ​​"famous in five continents"

Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum is located on Vo Nguyen Giap Street, Muong Thanh Ward, Dien Bien Phu City, Dien Bien Province.

This is a cultural work, preserving thousands of documents and artifacts associated with the Dien Bien Phu Victory "famous throughout the five continents, shaking the earth."

Built in 2012, inaugurated and put into operation in 2014, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, the museum is a modern architectural structure, its exterior is designed in the shape of a bamboo hat covered with camouflage net of the Dien Bien soldiers of the past.

The exhibition area is located on the first floor of the museum, covering an area of ​​1,250 square meters with nearly 1,000 documents, artifacts, photos, and maps, and is considered a modern and advanced exhibition space.

The highlight of the museum is the panoramic painting of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, the largest painting in Southeast Asia and one of the three largest paintings in the world.

The painting is painted in oil on canvas, 20.5m high, 132m long, 42m in diameter.

The painting features 4,500 figures and a mountain landscape. The adjacent dome depicts clouds and sky, while the lower part of the painting is lined with specimens.

The painting is the result of the creative work of a group of nearly 200 artists, along with architects, musicians, technical experts... painstakingly researching historical documents, fully and seamlessly depicting the typical battles of the Dien Bien Phu Victory.

In addition, the painting is also a skillful combination of the art of installation, displaying artifacts, shaping, sculpture... which are seamlessly connected between the mural and the foot of the painting according to the development of the battle, giving viewers a complete, intuitive, and vivid perspective, arranged in 4 segments: "The whole people go to battle," "The majestic prelude," "The historical confrontation" and "The triumphant song of victory" combined with majestic music.

Towards the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7, 1954 - May 7, 2024), towards the opening of the National Tourism Year - Dien Bien 2024, these days, Dien Bien province has welcomed thousands of domestic and foreign visitors to visit and relax.

One of the "red addresses" that tourists cannot miss when coming to this historic land is the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum.

Hoang Van Anh, a student of the Faculty of Tourism, Hai Phong University, said that through the history subject, she had read and heard a lot about the fierce battles of our army and people in the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory. Today, seeing with her own eyes the panoramic picture, vividly, completely and seamlessly recreating the typical battles according to the developments of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, she imagined herself living in the heroic atmosphere of her ancestors in the past. She felt more deeply about the resounding victory of the previous generation, and understood more about the losses and sacrifices of her ancestors so that we could have a peaceful life today.

Directly viewing historical artifacts and hearing many stories about the old battle, all visitors were moved and emotional. Mr. Huynh Minh Nhat from Ho Chi Minh City said that coming to Dien Bien, visiting historical sites, hearing and seeing all the fierce battles of soldiers on the battlefield in the past, he was very moved and proud of the previous generation of fathers and brothers. They lived and fought, sacrificing their youth to regain the country so that today's generation can live in peace.

Not only collecting, preserving and promoting the value of documents and artifacts, the tour guide team at the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum always innovates their thinking and professional activities, improving the quality of service in a professional manner, attracting domestic and international visitors.

Ms. Luong Thi Hong Luong, a tour guide at the museum, shared that she felt very proud to stand before visitors to convey the historical values ​​of the Victory that “resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world” as well as to promote the image of the land and people of Dien Bien province. Towards the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, Ms. Luong and her colleagues at the museum have participated in training courses on tourism services and skills to grasp tourists’ psychology to better serve the needs of sightseeing, research and study of visitors when coming to this address.

Ms. Vu Thi Tuyet Nga, Director of the Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum, said that in order to serve visitors attentively, the unit has mobilized all human resources, ready to work overtime to meet the maximum needs of visitors.

In addition to professional work, the museum also carries out the task of collecting, inventorying, and preserving war artifacts to supplement documents, artifacts, and vivid stories; from there, tour guides and narrators can build stories to convey to visitors in the best and most vivid way.

This is also an effective activity, contributing to promoting the tradition of fighting against foreign invaders not only to generations of Vietnamese people but also to peace-loving public around the world.

The Dien Bien Phu Historical Victory Museum is not only a treasure trove of authentic and vivid images of the most important victory of our army and people during the resistance war against France, but it is also a red address, a highlight attracting domestic and international tourists when coming to Dien Bien.