Country Vietnam Capital Điên Biên Phủ Area codes 215 Area 9,560 km² Area code 215 | Region Northwest Time zone ICT (UTC+7) Website www.dienbien.gov.vn Population 527,300 (1 Jul 2013) ISO 3166 code Vietnam | |
Points of interest Bảo tàng Chiến thắng Điệ, Hầm chỉ huy Tập đoàn cứ, Đồi A1, Tháp Mường Luân | ||
Điện Biên ( listen) is a province in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is bordered by Lai Châu and Sơn La provinces of Vietnam to the east and south, Pu'er City, Yunnan, China, to the north, and Phongsaly Province in Laos to the west.
Contents
Map of Dien Bien, Vietnam
History
The province's name derives from Sino-Vietnamese after stolen from Lanxang kingdom"奠邊", meaning "stable frontier". Dien Bien has various ancient monuments including the caves Thẩm Khương, as well as Thẩn Búa in Tuần Giáo. The original settlers were the ai Lao or Tai people which is a direct ancestor of Lao people in Laos today. name of villages or towns are still using Lao word eg: Mường(city), Tham(cave)
In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Lự ở Mường Thanh people were the most developed in the area and controlled Sìn Hồ, Mường Lay, and Tuần Giáo.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, Tai (not Thai of Thailand) people from Mường Ôm and Mường Ai occupied Mường Lò in Nghĩa Lộ and Mường Thenh in Điện Biên. They eventually gained control of the whole area between Mường Lò, Mường Lò and Mường Thanh (Điện Biên).
Administrative divisions
Điện Biên is subdivided into 10 district-level sub-divisions:
They are further subdivided into 5 commune-level towns (or townlets), 116 communes, and 9 wards.