The 6th Ban Flower Festival kicks off on March 16, 2019 in Dien Bien city with an art performance.

The annual event, named after the most beautiful flower in the region, ban flower (Bauhinia), honors and preserves local culture and promotes tourism. This year’s festival is held in a larger scale as part of celebrations of 65 years of the Dien Bien Phu victory which ended the French colonial rule in Vietnam. Le Thi Ut traveled nearly 2,000 km from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to attend the festival said: “I cme here to learn more about our country’s history. I’m very proud of Dien Bien, its history, people, and traditions.”

The Ban Flower Festival has become a trademark of Dien Bien province’s tourism. The Government has approved a plan to develop the Dien Bien Phu-Pa Khoang national historical site until 2030 to help Dien Bien fully tap its tourism potential. 

“With stunning natural landscapes and cultural diversity, the northwestern region including Dien Bien province boasts huge potential to make tourism a key hard currency earner. More investments should be allocated to infrastructure development, tourist attractions, and cultural products,” Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam told the opening ceremony of the 2019 Ban Flower Festival. 

Ban flowers in the northwestern mountains.

The festival featured a street parade, a photo exhibition highlighting traditional culture of local ethnic groups, folk singing and dancing, a beauty contest, and the recreation of a typical mountain market session.

There was also a competition where participants pushed pack-bikes carrying food from the Dien Bien Phu Victory Monument to the Hill D relic site. This activity illustrated the Dien Bien Phu campaign against the French army in 1954.