Dien Bien Phu

Dien Bien Phu (Điện Biên Phủ, Chu nom 殿邊府) is a small town in northwestern Vietnam in the province of Điện Biên. It is best known as the site of the 1954 Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, fought between the Viet Minh (led by Hồ Chí Minh) and France. The battle is significant in that it ended major French involvement in Indochina, and led to the accords which partitioned Vietnam into North and South.

The town of Điện Biên Phủ itself has a population of around 125,000, although it was much smaller at the time of the battle. The majority of the population is not ethnically Vietnamese - rather, Thai ethnic groups form the largest segment. Ethnic Vietnamese make up around a third of the population, with the remainder being Hmong, Si La, or others.

Điện Biên Phủ lies in Muong Thanh valley, a 20-km-long and 6-km-wide basin sometimes described as "heart-shaped". It is the capital of Điện Biên Province, and has traditionally been considered remote. It is only around 35 kilometers from the border with Laos.