Ban Flower Festival 2024.
The Ban Flower Festival is not only a symbolic cultural event of the Northwest region but also an opportunity to introduce and promote the natural beauty and people of Dien Bien to both domestic and international visitors. With the theme of honoring the Ban Flower - an iconic bloom of the Northwestern mountains - the festival contributes to building and promoting Dien Bien’s tourism brand, affirming the position of this culturally rich land.
In 2025, the Ban Flower Festival will be held concurrently with the 8th Dien Bien Provincial Festival of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, creating a series of vibrant cultural activities from January to May. The main events will take place from March 13 to March 16.
The Ban Flower Festival 2025 promises to offer a diverse and exciting program. The incense offering ceremony will take place at 4:00 PM on March 14 at the Dien Bien Phu Battlefield Martyrs' Temple. The opening ceremony will be held on the same evening (from 7:30 PM to 9:45 PM) at 7-5 Square or the Provincial Stadium and will be broadcast live on Vietnam Television, Dien Bien Radio and Television, and rebroadcast by several local television stations.
Throughout the festival, numerous cultural, sports, and tourism activities will be held at the Dien Bien Phu Central Historical Site and the Dien Bien Phu Cultural Exchange and Tourism Information Center. Artistic programs include folk singing, traditional dance, and ethnic musical performances, as well as reenactments of festivals and traditional cultural rituals. In addition, folk sports such as "tung con" (throwing a sacred ball), crossbow shooting, pounding sticky rice cakes, tug-of-war, pushing ammunition-laden bicycles, and artillery-pulling competitions will offer unique experiences for visitors.
Tourists participated in the experience of pushing a bicycle.
A special highlight of this year’s festival is the live performance program "The Legend of U Va" held at U Va village, Noong Luong Commune, Dien Bien District, from March 13 to March 16, reenacting the legends and history of Dien Bien. Additionally, on the evening of March 15, the street parade under the theme "Sac Mau Dien Bien" (Colors of Dien Bien) will showcase a dazzling display of ethnic cultural diversity. The "Ban Flower Beauty 2025" contest will also take place in March, with the final round scheduled for the evening of March 16.
Contestant Nguyen Thi Phuong Uyen was crowned Miss Hoa Ban 2023.
Alongside the main events, various traditional festivals and sports competitions will be held throughout early 2025, creating a lively atmosphere across the province. Notable events include the 10th Swallow Tail Boat Race Festival and the 5th National Paragliding Club Championship from January 3 to January 5, the Cherry Blossom Festival in January, the Buffalo Fighting Festival, Spring Festival, Goat Fighting Festival, and Mong Flute Performance Competition in January and February, the Ban Phu Citadel Festival in March, and the Lao ethnic group’s Water Splashing Festival (Bun Huot Nam) in April. Additionally, the National Championships for Stick Pushing and Tug-of-War will also be held in Dien Bien in March 2025.
The 10th Swallowtail Boat Racing Festival, the 5th National Paragliding Club Championship, and the 1st Jet Surfing Tournament have many rich and attractive contents and activities. In the photo: Athletes perform surfing for tourists and people to watch.
The Ban Flower Festival is not only a cultural event but also a crucial driver of economic and social development in Dien Bien Province. This event contributes to enhancing the province’s position on the tourism map of Vietnam and the world, while also attracting visitors to explore the natural beauty, history, and people of the region.
Ban flower is an idyllic flower in the Northwest highlands, associated with many traditional cultures of the Northwest ethnic groups.
With meticulous planning, a rich array of activities, and profound cultural significance, the Ban Flower Festival 2025 promises to offer unforgettable experiences for visitors while reinforcing the enduring vitality of Dien Bien’s ethnic culture in the era of integration and sustainable development./.
Dien Bien
