Giant painting recreating Dien Bien Phu Victory

The giant painting at Dien Bien Phu Museum, Dien Bien province, recreates the 56 days and nights of May 1954. The work combines many art forms: painting, installation, sculpture, sound, and light.

The work was implemented in November 2019 by 200 young artists from all over the country, with a total cost of nearly 50 billion VND, constructed in a closed dome space 132 m long and over 9 m high. The dome has a total area of ​​2,500 m² of paintings and 700 m² of installation details, with a peaceful sky above the roof.

The entire painting is a tribute to the soldiers, heroes and martyrs in the Dien Bien Phu campaign, demonstrating the strength of solidarity, the tradition of indomitable struggle, and conveying the message of the nation's desire for peace.

The painting is divided into 4 sections, section 1 is the whole nation preparing for resistance, preparing logistics to serve the Dien Bien Phu campaign, including pulling artillery to the battlefield.

4,500 characters are depicted in oil on canvas.

Section 2, titled The Grand Prelude, recreates the first battle that opened the Dien Bien Phu campaign. In this battle, after only 5 hours, our army took control of Him Lam, killed and captured 500 French soldiers, and seized all their weapons. In this battle, many of our soldiers also died.

Section 3 is called The Historical Confrontation. It records the second attack between us and the French expeditionary army. This was a very fierce hand-to-hand battle. In a short time, our army fought while digging deep into the A1 hill and placed 960 kg of explosives.

Standing out in this passage is the image of hero Phan Dinh Giot using his body to cover the loophole.

The explosive shell that exploded on the evening of May 6, 1954 was vividly recreated with a column of smoke rising high into the sky, while in the sky were images of French planes bombing day and night, and our army's anti-aircraft guns still pointing their barrels toward the sky to prevent enemy supplies.

The installation art performed below the painting helps viewers "stand" in the real world.

The final segment is called Victory. On the afternoon of May 7, 1954, the Vietnamese People's Army's flag of determination to fight and win flew over the roof of the De Castries bunker, ending 56 days and nights of the campaign.

Surrendered French soldiers are escorted to detention after their defeat at Dien Bien Phu.

The panoramic picture of the Dien Bien Phu campaign carries the message of the aspiration for peace and the spirit of solidarity of the entire nation.

Artillery shells and trenches are reproduced in vivid colors.

The art gallery is strictly maintained according to many standards, visitors must remove their shoes on the first floor.

These days, Dien Bien province welcomes thousands of visitors. In January and February, the province welcomed 230,000 visitors, with tourism revenue of over 400 billion VND.