The flower of the symbolic flower of Northwestern mountains and forests, blooming only once a year in every March. With the pure and pristine beauty like the beauty of mountainous girls will make visitors fall in love, lost in the land of flowers. On the road of Dien Bien Phu city, the historical sites of Dien Bien Phu everywhere we see flowers in full bloom, blooming flowers spread out a white color to highlight a beautiful picture of the Northwest mountains every March.

On this occasion, visitors to Dien Bien will see Ban flowers in full bloom, starting from Highway 6A (Tuan Giao district, Dien Bien province) you will see Ban forests blooming. Ban flowers bloom white on the edge of the forest, cliffs and from a distance, the pure white forest boards make us feel like floating clouds, roaming around deep valleys and cliffs. Ban flowers are hidden on the steep pass roads, by the clear water stream, or looming behind the terraces of the local people.

In particular, in this season we walk on the streets, historic sites such as Nguyen Huu Tho Street, Dien Bien Phu Victory Monument, the road leading to Dien Bien Phu city or Hill A1... you will be extremely excited to have beautiful pictures, a few petals on their shoulders, feel the gentle scent of Ban flowers in the wind. The name Ban flower is Thai ethnic language, meaning Sweet flower, which is both noun and adjective. Ban flower season lasts until the end of April and is often associated with many festivals of ethnic minorities in the Northwest.

Mr. Mao Van Et (currently residing in residential group No.6, Thanh Truong ward, Dien Bien Phu city, Dien Bien province), who was awarded the title of "folk artist" for the first time in Dien Bien province, sadly told us the legend of Ban flower. In the lore of Thai ethnic minority people, the flower is named after a beautiful woman named Ban, who is in love with a strong man named Khum. As the tale goes, once upon a time, in the northwest region lived beautiful and gentle Ban. Many men in the village wanted to marry her. But she fell in love with a poor hard-working man named Khum. However, Ban’s parents prohibited the lovers to meet and forced her to marry a rich man instead. Ban snuck into Khum’s village to meet him but she could not find him at his house. She left her scarf at his staircase as a sign that she had been there and rushed to search for him. She wandered from mountain to mountain and called to him, before collapsing exhausted under some trees. When Khum returned from working in the fields, he found Ban’s scarf at this house and sensed something bad had happened to her. He searched for her from forest to forest, before he perished of exhaustion and turned into a lonely bird, flying about looking for his lover. Where Ban died a tree grew, which bloomed with white flowers in spring. People heard birds twittering like Khum calling for his girlfriend and named the tree after the woman to remember their beautiful but tragic love.

For a long time, when it comes to the Northwest, many people immediately think of a cultural area with characteristic Ban flowers; Dien Bien Phu is a city of that simple flower, as pure as the life of thousands of ethnic groups in the Northwest...

Dienbien.gov.vn