Overview of the smallest mountainous town in Vietnam

    QUANG ĐẠT |

    Dien Bien - The beautiful Muong Lay town reflecting on the Da River reservoir is considered the smallest district-level administrative unit in Vietnam.

    Thi xa Muong Lay, tinh Dien Bien von la thu phu cua tinh Lai Chau cu (nay la Dien Bien va Lai Chau). Nam 2004, sau khi chia tach tinh, thi xa Muong Lay tro thanh don vi hanh chinh thuoc tinh Dien Bien. Anh: Quang Dat
    Muong Lay town, Dien Bien province was the capital of the old Lai Chau province (now Dien Bien and Lai Chau). In 2004, after splitting the province, Muong Lay town became an administrative unit of Dien Bien province. Photo: Quang Dat
    Cach trung tam TP Dien Bien Phu khoang 100km, voi dien tich tu nhien tren 11.266ha, thi xa Muong Lay chi chiem hon 1% dien tich tu nhien cua tinh Dien Bien.
    About 100km from the center of Dien Bien Phu city, with a natural area of over 11,266 hectares, Muong Lay town accounts for only over 1% of the natural area of Dien Bien province. Photo: Quang Dat
    Hien Muong Lay co 3 don vi hanh chinh truc thuoc, gom: xa Lay Nua, phuong Na Lay va phuong Song Da. Day la thi xa nho nhat tren ca nuoc.
    Currently, Muong Lay has 3 administrative units, including: Lay Nua commune, Na Lay ward and Song Da ward. This is the smallest town in the country. Photo: Quang Dat
    Thi xa co khoang 3.050 ho gia dinh voi tren 11.500 nhan khau (dan toc Thai chiem gan 70%). Muong Lay duoc menh danh la “cai noi cua nguoi Thai trang”, luu giu nhieu net van hoa truyen thong dac sac, da dang va mang dam ban sac rieng.
    The town has about 3,050 households with over 11,500 people (the Thai ethnic group accounts for nearly 70%). Muong Lay is known as the "cradle of the White Thai people", preserving many unique, diverse and unique traditional cultural features. Photo: Quang Dat
    Da co hon 4.000 ho dan phai di doi de nhuong cho cho long ho thuy dien, trong do co tren 2.000 ho dan duoc bo tri tai dinh cu tai cho theo hinh thuc di ven - di chuyen len cac trien doi cao hon xung quanh long ho thuy dien.
    More than 4,000 households have had to relocate to make way for the hydroelectric reservoir, of which over 2,000 households have been resettled on site in the form of relocation - moving to higher hillsides around the hydroelectric reservoir. Photo: Quang Dat
    Diem an tuong khi den Muong Lay chinh la hinh anh nhung khu nha san truyen thong duoc quy hoach ngan nap, thong thoang. Nhieu ngoi nha van giu duoc net kien truc co voi mai lop bang da tu nhien doc dao.
    The impressive point when coming to Muong Lay is the image of traditional stilt houses planned to be airy and airy. Many houses still retain ancient architecture with unique natural stone roofs. Photo: Quang Dat
    Ben canh do, Muong Lay con duoc thien nhien uu dai voi nui non trung diep va nhung canh rung bat ngan, dat ty le che phu rung tren 65% - cao nhat toan tinh Dien Bien.
    In addition, Muong Lay is also favored by nature with young mountains and vast forests, achieving a forest coverage rate of over 65% - the highest in Dien Bien province. Photo: Google Maps
    Thi xa nho nhat tren ca nuoc Muong Lay la noi tu thuy cua 3 dong song Da, song Nam Na va suoi Nam Lay.
    The smallest town in the country, Muong Lay, is the meeting place of the three rivers Da, Nam Na and Nam Lay. Photo: Quang Dat
    Khi man dem buong xuong, thi xa nho nhat Viet Nam tro nen lung linh huyen ao giua nui rung Tay Bac.
    As night falls, the smallest town in Vietnam becomes a magical sparkle in the Northwest mountains and forests. Photo: Quang Dat
    QUANG ĐẠT
    RELATED NEWS
    Ms. Lo Thi Mai (in white shirt) feels that nearly 10 years of studying and working in Hanoi are enough. Photo: Interviewee

    Leaving the city to start a business - a new trend among young people in mountainous areas

    |

    Dien Bien - In recent years, many young people in this mountainous province, after many years of struggling in big cities, have decided to leave the city and return to their hometown to start a business.

    Images of the 1990 flash flood in Muong Lay, Dien Bien

    |

    Dien Bien - Images of the historic flash flood in 1990 in Muong Lay Town were just displayed at the super-praying ceremony for victims on April 5.

    Live football Malaysia vs Laos at ASEAN Cup 2026.

    Live Football Malaysia vs Laos at ASEAN Cup 2026

    |

    Live football match Malaysia vs Laos in Group B ASEAN Cup 2026 at 8:00 PM on July 28.

    Tickets for the Vietnam - Singapore match are heating up. Photo: Huyen Linh

    Vietnam national team tickets have not cooled down, ticket scalpers double prices

    |

    The "black market" ticket price for the Vietnam - Singapore match is offered for sale 1.5 - 2 times the original ticket price.

    Candidates taking the 2026 high school graduation exam. Photo: Tuong Van

    Ministry of Education and Training informs about the roadmap for organizing high school graduation exams on computers

    |

    The Ministry of Education and Training has just submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval the Project on Organizing High School Graduation Exams on Computers for the period 2026-2036.

    Tricks to transform jewelry imported from abroad into domestically crafted products.

    Trick of "transforming" imported jewelry, showing signs of counterfeiting into domestic products

    |

    Many imported jewelry products with signs of counterfeiting major brands are turned into domestically crafted goods by sophisticated tricks.

    Chị Lò Thị Mai (áo trắng) cảm thấy gần 10 năm học tập và làm việc tại Hà Nội đã đủ. Ảnh: NVCC

    Leaving the city to start a business - a new trend among young people in mountainous areas

    QUANG ĐẠT |

    Dien Bien - In recent years, many young people in this mountainous province, after many years of struggling in big cities, have decided to leave the city and return to their hometown to start a business.

    Images of the 1990 flash flood in Muong Lay, Dien Bien

    QUANG ĐẠT |

    Dien Bien - Images of the historic flash flood in 1990 in Muong Lay Town were just displayed at the super-praying ceremony for victims on April 5.

    Những cây cầu "khủng" bắc qua thị xã nhỏ nhất nước. Ảnh: Văn Thành Chương

    Những cây cầu to bắc qua thị xã nhỏ nhất nước

    VĂN THÀNH CHƯƠNG |

    Thị xã Mường Lay, tỉnh Điện Biên là đơn vị hành chính nhỏ nhất trên cả nước với 2 phường và 1 xã. Thế nhưng, nơi đây lại có một vẻ đẹp rất độc đáo bởi những khu phố nhà sàn soi bóng xuống lòng hồ và tô điểm bởi những cây cầu thơ mộng.