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Điện Biên Phủ 城庯奠邊府 | |
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| Điện Biên Phủ City Thành phố Điện Biên Phủ | |
_v2.jpg)  Dien Bien Phu Victory Monument and a corner of Dien Bien Phu city | |
 Location in northern Vietnam | |
  Điện Biên Phủ Location of Điện Biên in Vietnam | |
| Coordinates:21°23′N103°1′E / 21.383°N 103.017°E /21.383; 103.017 | |
| Country |  Vietnam |
| Province | Điện Biên |
| Founded | |
| Area | |
| 308.18 km2 (118.99 sq mi) | |
| Population (December 31, 2022)[2] | |
| 84,672 | |
| • Density | 270/km2 (710/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 59,876 |
| • Ethnicities | KinhThaiH'Mong |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (Indochina Time) |
| Climate | Aw |
| Website | tpdienbienphu |
Điện Biên Phủ (Vietnamese:[ɗîənˀɓīənfû]ⓘ,chữ Hán:奠邊府) is a city in thenorthwestern region ofVietnam. It is the capital ofĐiện Biên Province. The city is best known for the decisiveBattle of Điện Biên Phủ, which occurred during theFirst Indochina War of independence against France. The region is a center of ethnicTai culture. In prior history, the city was formerly called Muang Thaeng.
Điện Biên Phủ lies inMường Thanh Valley, a 20 km (12 mi) long and 6 km (3.7 mi) wide basin sometimes described as "heart-shaped." It is on the western edge of Điện Biên Province, of which it is the capital, and is only about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the border withLaos.
Until the creation of the province in 2004, Điện Biên Phủ was part ofLai Châu Province. The Vietnamese government elevated Điện Biên Phủ to town status in 1992, and to city status in 2003.
Statistics on Điện Biên Phủ's population vary depending on definitions—figures are generally between 70,000 and 125,000. The city is growing quickly and was projected to have a population of 150,000 by 2020.[3]
According to statistics from the government, as of 2019, the city had a population of 80,366 people,[2] covering an area of 308.18 km2.
National Route 12 connects Điện Biên toLai Châu.Điện Biên Phủ Airport serves the city with air route toHanoi capital andHo Chi Minh City.
The 8th centuryThai locality ofMuang Then is believed to have been centered here.[citation needed]
Điện Biên Phủ was rather politically removed from central Vietnamese control until 1841. In this year, under theNguyễn dynasty, Điện Biên Phủ was directly incorporated into the Vietnamese political system when they established the town as an administrative district. This was partly done for more direct control of the region and to stop bandits who were exploiting the opium trade.[4]
In 1887, Điện Biên Phủ became a French protectorate. To ensure that the French would control the local opium trade, they appointed a sole administrator to supervise the trade and control the town. Other than a Hmong rebellion in 1918, the town was under French control until the Japanese occupied it during World War II. By earlyMay 1945, the Japanese occupied Điện Biên Phủ and planned to convert it into a large military and logistical base. However, with an airstrip barely being enlarged, Chinese nationalist troops took the town in August of the same year. Subsequently, the nationalist forces then gave way to returning French troops.[4]
In the 1950s, the town was known for its famous opium traffic, generating 500,000,000 French francs annually. It was also an extensive source of rice for theViệt Minh.[5]
The region was fortified in November 1953 by the French Union force in the biggest airborne operation of the 1946–1954First Indochina War,Operation Castor, to block Việt Minh transport routes and to set the stage to draw out Việt Minh forces.
The following year, the importantBattle of Điện Biên Phủ was fought between the Việt Minh (led by GeneralVõ Nguyên Giáp), and theFrench Union (led by GeneralHenri Navarre, successor to GeneralRaoul Salan). The siege of the French garrison lasted fifty-seven days, from 17:30, 13 March to 17:30, 7 May 1954. The southern outpost or fire base of "Camp Isabelle" did not follow thecease-fire order and fought until 01:00 the following day. The long-scheduledGeneva Meeting's Indochina conference involving the United States, the UK, the French Union and theUSSR had already begun on 26 April 1954.[6][7]
The battle was significant beyond the valleys of Điện Biên Phủ. Giáp's victory ended major French involvement inIndochina and led to theGeneva accords which partitioned Vietnam intoNorth andSouth.
Điện Biên Phủ apparently recovered quickly after the siege. WhenWilfred Burchett visited the area in 1962, he found a 5,000-acre state-owned farm growing coffee, cotton, rice, and sugar cane on land that had once been a battleground. For example, the airstrip at Isabelle was now a rice field, and most of the approach trenches used by the Việt Minh had been filled in. The farm manager told him that 1,500 soldiers from 176th regiment arrived in 1958 to cultivate the area, followed by 1,200 volunteers from theRed River Delta, of which 900 were women. During their first season there, they cleared away the leftover land mines and rushed to grow enough crops in time, to the exclusion of other activities. They did not have housing until after the first season; in the meantime, they sheltered with the localThái tribe, who also gave them extra seeds for growing rice. Burchett claimed he also saw a hospital with 60 beds, some pottery-making facilities, the remains of a French tank and various airplanes, two tombstones dedicated to the two soldiers who blew up said tank, a "modest" monument packed with more tombstones, and a "small museum" filled with homemade weapons used in the battle.[8]
| Climate data for Điện Biên Phủ | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 32.4 (90.3) | 35.0 (95.0) | 36.1 (97.0) | 39.0 (102.2) | 38.6 (101.5) | 38.6 (101.5) | 36.0 (96.8) | 36.0 (96.8) | 35.0 (95.0) | 35.7 (96.3) | 34.0 (93.2) | 31.6 (88.9) | 39.0 (102.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.8 (74.8) | 26.2 (79.2) | 29.0 (84.2) | 31.0 (87.8) | 31.7 (89.1) | 31.1 (88.0) | 30.4 (86.7) | 30.4 (86.7) | 30.5 (86.9) | 29.2 (84.6) | 26.7 (80.1) | 23.9 (75.0) | 28.6 (83.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.5 (61.7) | 18.3 (64.9) | 21.0 (69.8) | 23.8 (74.8) | 25.5 (77.9) | 26.3 (79.3) | 25.9 (78.6) | 25.6 (78.1) | 24.9 (76.8) | 22.9 (73.2) | 19.7 (67.5) | 16.5 (61.7) | 22.2 (72.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 12.5 (54.5) | 13.5 (56.3) | 15.8 (60.4) | 19.3 (66.7) | 21.7 (71.1) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.3 (73.9) | 23.0 (73.4) | 21.7 (71.1) | 19.4 (66.9) | 15.7 (60.3) | 12.4 (54.3) | 18.5 (65.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −1.3 (29.7) | 4.8 (40.6) | 5.3 (41.5) | 11.4 (52.5) | 14.8 (58.6) | 17.4 (63.3) | 18.7 (65.7) | 10.7 (51.3) | 14.2 (57.6) | 7.7 (45.9) | 4.0 (39.2) | 0.4 (32.7) | −1.3 (29.7) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 26.9 (1.06) | 26.4 (1.04) | 55.6 (2.19) | 115.1 (4.53) | 182.5 (7.19) | 253.5 (9.98) | 314.6 (12.39) | 316.6 (12.46) | 150.7 (5.93) | 59.4 (2.34) | 32.5 (1.28) | 26.1 (1.03) | 1,573.5 (61.95) |
| Average rainy days | 4.6 | 3.8 | 6.2 | 12.5 | 16.6 | 19.6 | 22.6 | 21.0 | 13.3 | 8.1 | 5.5 | 3.7 | 137.2 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 82.4 | 80.2 | 80.2 | 81.7 | 82.2 | 83.9 | 86.4 | 87.5 | 86.3 | 84.2 | 83.1 | 83.1 | 83.4 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 159.8 | 177.3 | 198.4 | 202.0 | 202.3 | 141.3 | 132.7 | 148.6 | 168.4 | 170.5 | 160.5 | 160.0 | 2,025.4 |
| Source: Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology[9] | |||||||||||||
21°23′N103°01′E / 21.383°N 103.017°E /21.383; 103.017
Places adjacent to Điện Biên Phủ | ||||||||||||||||
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Capital:Điện Biên Phủ | ||
| Điện Biên Phủ |  | |
| Mường Lay | ||
| Điện Biên | ||
| Điện Biên Đông | ||
| Mường Ảng | ||
| Mường Chà | ||
| Mường Nhé | ||
| Nậm Pồ | ||
| Tủa Chùa | ||
| Tuần Giáo | ||
| Điện Biên province |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Hòa Bình province | ||
| Lai Châu province | ||
| Lào Cai province | ||
| Sơn La province | ||
| Yên Bái province | ||
※ denotes provincial seat. | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
