The festival, the first of its kind held in the province, opened with an art programme entitled ‘Travelling to the land of bauhinia flowers’ featuring performances from around 200 artists.

The artists brought to the stage songs and dances imbued with the indigenous culture of ethnic groups in Dien Bien and in the northwest region in general.

The Prime Minister-approved master plan on developing Dien Bien Phu-Pa Khoang national tourist site in Dien Bien province by 2020 with a vision to 2030 was announced at the opening ceremony.

The plan, which is part of efforts to boost tourism and socio-economic development in the province as well as the midlands and mountain areas of northern Vietnam, sets an objective of turning Dien Bien Phu-Pa Khoang into a tourism hotspot that meets the standards for a national tourism area by 2020.

Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that the master plan set a significant guideline for the development of Dien Bien’s tourism.

He asked the locality to mobilise all available resources to improve its infrastructure and create attractive tourism products in order to elevate Dien Bien to a national tourism hotspot.

The local authorities should focus on promoting the cultural values of ethnic minority groups and historical sites in the province, particularly Dien Bien Phu Battlefield Relics Complex, in order to connect the local tourism with Vietnamese people’s patriotism and revolutionary tradition, he said.

The opening ceremony concluded with a 15-minute firework display.

The three-day festival includes a wide range of activities, including a photo contest on bauhinia flowers, a display of traditional culture of Dien Bien, performances of folk dances and folk games, and an exchanges between Viet Nam’s eight north-western provinces and their neighbours from northern Laos and Thailand.

A workshop on developing tourism products, along with a cooking contest and a street parade, were also highlighted at the festival.