From local culture to typical tourism products
First held in 2014, the Ban Flower Festival has gone through an impressive development journey, from a local cultural event to a typical tourism product, attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists.
This year, the 8th Ban Flower Festival and the Ethnic Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival of Dien Bien province will take place from March 13-16 in Dien Bien Phu city and Dien Bien district. In particular, choosing to organize it from March 13 every year, coinciding with the opening day of the historic Dien Bien Phu Campaign, further adds special significance to the festival.
Few people know that the Ban Hoa Festival has a long history and carries the spiritual and religious cultural elements of the Thai ethnic group. The festival not only takes place in Dien Bien but is also present in many localities such as Son La, Lai Chau, Yen Bai...
The ancient Ban Flower Festival is also associated with the Xen Muong Festival or Cau muson Festival, held on the occasion of the 2nd lunar month every year, when ban flowers begin to bloom white all over the hillsides. This is an opportunity for people to express their respect and gratitude to their ancestors and the gods of the mountains and rivers, praying for favorable weather, good crops...
For the Thai ethnic group, Ban Flower Festival is also associated with the legend of Ban women or "White Ban Flower Results". That is the story of a beautiful, virtuous and loyal Thai girl. After many difficulties in love, she transformed into a white Ban flower, giving off a fragrant aroma.
Things that appear for the first time
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Chuyen - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dien Bien, the Ban Flower Festival in 2025 will mark with many new activities. For the first time, Dien Bien province organized a Contest to introduce culture and tourism of districts, towns and cities, to honor and promote the unique cultural beauty of each locality.
In particular, the " Presstrip" program will be implemented, inviting famous Tiktokers and YouTubers to participate in the experience and share memorable moments about the culture, people and landscapes of Dien Bien. The program is expected to take place from October 10-16, at many locations in the province.
Another highlight is the opening ceremony held for the first time at Dien Bien Provincial Stadium, instead of 7.5 Square as in previous years. This change is to ensure a spacious and convenient space for a large number of people and tourists to attend.
According to the Organizing Committee, with a larger scale than in previous years, the Festival and Festival will have many activities, staged with high artistic quality, expressing the tangible and intangible cultural values and unique tourism products of Dien Bien - Tay Bac. The highlight of the Festival is the opening art program with the theme "Dien Bien - Sac Ban den sang", consisting of 3 chapters, which will be held on the evening of March 14.
Within the framework of the festival, there will be many activities such as: Hoa Ban Beauty Contest; street parade; highland cultural space; bicycle and bullet pushing competition; live show performance and introduction of legends, history and unique folk dances, Thai ethnic folk culture "U Va Heritage"...
