Điện Biên Phủ
| Điện Biên Phủ | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Basic data | |||
| Country: |
 Vietnam
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| Province : | Điện Biên | ||
| ISO 3166-2: VN : | VN-71 | ||
| Coordinates : | 21 ° 23 ′ N , 103 ° 1 ′ E | ||
| population | |||
| City residents : | 70,000 (2004) | ||
| Further information | |||
| Time zone : | UTC +7: 00 | ||
Điện Biên Phủ (pronunciation: [ ˀdi̯əʔn˧˩ ˀbi̯ən˧ fʊw˧˩˧ ]; chữ Hán: 奠邊府, spelling also Dien Bien Phu) is the capital of the province of Điện Biên in northwest Vietnam . The city is located in the 20 km long and 6 km wide Mường Thanh Valley, 35 km from the border with Laos .
Only about a third of the population consists of ethnic Vietnamese ( Kinh ), the majority being Thái , to a lesser extent Hmong , Si La and others.
During the French Indochina War , the valley basin was converted into a fortress by the French expeditionary force and was the site of the decisive French defeat in 1954 ( Battle of Điện Biên Phủ ). A large memorial and a French military cemetery still remind of the decisive battle today.
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