Điện Biên province facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Điện Biên province
Tỉnh Điện Biên
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          Relic Battle of Điện Biên Phủ • View of the mountains on way from Điện Biên Phủ to Sơn La • Mường Lay skyline • Field in Điện Biên Phủ City • A Water stream in Mường Chà • Phadin Hotel • The local community center in Mường Chà
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Location of Điên Biên within Vietnam
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| Country |  Vietnam |
| Region | Northwest |
| Capital | Điên Biên Phủ |
| Subdivision | 1 city, 8 rural districts and one town |
| Government | |
| • Type | Province |
| • Body | Điện Biên Provincial People's Council |
| Area | |
| • Province | 9,541.25 km2 (3,683.90 sq mi) |
| Population
(2021)
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| • Province | 615,500 |
| • Density | 64.509/km2 (167.078/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 90,300 |
| Ethnic groups | |
| • Mông | 38.12% |
| • Thái | 35.69% |
| • Vietnamese | 17.38% |
| • Khơ Mú | 3.30% |
| • Dao | 1.11% |
| • Others | 4.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (ICT) |
| Area codes | 215 |
| ISO 3166 code | VN-71 |
Điện Biên is a province in the Northwest part of Vietnam. Its name means "stable frontier," which makes sense because it's located right on the border! It shares borders with other Vietnamese provinces like Lai Châu and Sơn La. It also borders China to the northwest and Laos to the west.
The province is quite large, covering about 9,541 square kilometers. As of 2019, around 598,856 people lived there.
Contents
History of Điện Biên Province
The name "Điện Biên" means "stable frontier." This name refers to its important location on the border between the old kingdoms of Lan Xang and Vietnam.
This area has a very long history. You can find ancient places like the Thẩm Khương and Thẩn Búa caves in Tuần Giáo. The first people to settle here were the Ai Lao or Tai people. They are the direct ancestors of the Lao people who live in Laos today. Even now, some village names use old Tai words, like "Mường" (meaning city) and "Tham" (meaning cave).
In the 800s and 900s, the Lự group in Mường Thanh were very advanced. They controlled a large area, including Sìn Hồ, Mường Lay, and Tuần Giáo.
Later, in the 1000s and 1100s, Tai people (who are different from the Thai people of Thailand) moved into the area. They came from Mường Ôm and Mường Ai. They took control of Mường Lò in Nghĩa Lộ and Mường Thanh in Điện Biên. Eventually, they ruled the entire region between these two places.
Climate in Điện Biên
Điện Biên province has a humid subtropical climate. This means it has hot, humid summers and mild winters. It also gets a lot of rain, especially during the summer months.
| Climate data for Điện Biên Phủ | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 32.4 (90.3) |
35.0 (95.0) |
36.1 (97.0) |
38.5 (101.3) |
38.6 (101.5) |
37.9 (100.2) |
36.0 (96.8) |
36.0 (96.8) |
35.0 (95.0) |
35.5 (95.9) |
34.0 (93.2) |
31.1 (88.0) |
38.6 (101.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.8 (74.8) |
26.2 (79.2) |
29.0 (84.2) |
31.0 (87.8) |
31.7 (89.1) |
31.1 (88.0) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.4 (86.7) |
30.5 (86.9) |
29.2 (84.6) |
26.7 (80.1) |
23.9 (75.0) |
28.6 (83.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.5 (61.7) |
18.3 (64.9) |
21.0 (69.8) |
23.8 (74.8) |
25.5 (77.9) |
26.3 (79.3) |
25.9 (78.6) |
25.6 (78.1) |
24.9 (76.8) |
22.9 (73.2) |
19.7 (67.5) |
16.5 (61.7) |
22.2 (72.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 12.5 (54.5) |
13.5 (56.3) |
15.8 (60.4) |
19.3 (66.7) |
21.7 (71.1) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.3 (73.9) |
23.0 (73.4) |
21.7 (71.1) |
19.4 (66.9) |
15.7 (60.3) |
12.4 (54.3) |
18.5 (65.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −1.3 (29.7) |
4.8 (40.6) |
5.3 (41.5) |
11.6 (52.9) |
14.8 (58.6) |
17.4 (63.3) |
18.7 (65.7) |
10.7 (51.3) |
14.2 (57.6) |
7.7 (45.9) |
4.0 (39.2) |
0.4 (32.7) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 26.0 (1.02) |
30.3 (1.19) |
64.1 (2.52) |
133.8 (5.27) |
222.9 (8.78) |
305.3 (12.02) |
359.6 (14.16) |
324.8 (12.79) |
168.6 (6.64) |
71.7 (2.82) |
44.1 (1.74) |
26.0 (1.02) |
1,784.3 (70.25) |
| Average rainy days | 5.7 | 5.4 | 7.5 | 13.7 | 17.9 | 22.0 | 24.4 | 22.3 | 15.6 | 10.1 | 6.8 | 4.6 | 155.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 82.4 | 80.2 | 80.2 | 81.7 | 82.2 | 83.9 | 86.4 | 87.5 | 86.3 | 84.2 | 83.1 | 83.1 | 83.4 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 159.8 | 177.3 | 198.4 | 202.0 | 202.3 | 141.3 | 132.7 | 148.6 | 168.4 | 170.5 | 160.5 | 160.0 | 2,025.4 |
| Source: Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Pha Din | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 29.3 (84.7) |
31.8 (89.2) |
36.0 (96.8) |
36.5 (97.7) |
36.6 (97.9) |
35.5 (95.9) |
36.0 (96.8) |
29.9 (85.8) |
32.6 (90.7) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.2 (88.2) |
29.1 (84.4) |
36.6 (97.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17.2 (63.0) |
19.6 (67.3) |
22.7 (72.9) |
25.0 (77.0) |
25.2 (77.4) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.2 (75.6) |
24.5 (76.1) |
24.2 (75.6) |
22.4 (72.3) |
19.7 (67.5) |
17.1 (62.8) |
22.1 (71.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 12.5 (54.5) |
14.5 (58.1) |
17.7 (63.9) |
20.0 (68.0) |
20.7 (69.3) |
20.8 (69.4) |
20.6 (69.1) |
20.6 (69.1) |
20.0 (68.0) |
18.1 (64.6) |
15.2 (59.4) |
12.4 (54.3) |
17.7 (63.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 9.8 (49.6) |
11.3 (52.3) |
14.3 (57.7) |
16.6 (61.9) |
17.9 (64.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
18.7 (65.7) |
18.6 (65.5) |
17.7 (63.9) |
15.8 (60.4) |
12.7 (54.9) |
10.0 (50.0) |
15.2 (59.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −4.3 (24.3) |
0.1 (32.2) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
5.9 (42.6) |
11.0 (51.8) |
13.1 (55.6) |
14.0 (57.2) |
15.0 (59.0) |
10.9 (51.6) |
8.3 (46.9) |
4.2 (39.6) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 70.2 (2.76) |
73.5 (2.89) |
104.5 (4.11) |
213.4 (8.40) |
340.6 (13.41) |
381.4 (15.02) |
461.0 (18.15) |
451.9 (17.79) |
303.1 (11.93) |
201.3 (7.93) |
106.3 (4.19) |
65.7 (2.59) |
2,779.6 (109.43) |
| Average rainy days | 16.3 | 16.3 | 15.7 | 17.9 | 22.2 | 24.4 | 25.6 | 23.4 | 19.8 | 18.6 | 13.8 | 13.5 | 228.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 81.4 | 75.8 | 71.1 | 75.5 | 83.0 | 89.7 | 91.4 | 90.5 | 86.9 | 86.0 | 83.9 | 81.9 | 83.2 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 179.7 | 172.6 | 205.9 | 213.4 | 192.5 | 119.7 | 125.6 | 140.5 | 162.4 | 164.9 | 162.7 | 180.9 | 2,019.9 |
| Source: Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology | |||||||||||||
How Điện Biên is Divided
Điện Biên province is split into 10 smaller areas called district-level sub-divisions. Think of them like smaller regions within the province.
These 10 areas include:
- One main city: Điện Biên Phủ city
- One town: Mường Lay town
- Eight rural districts:
- Điện Biên District
- Điện Biên Đông District
- Mường Ảng District
- Mường Chà District
- Mường Nhé District
- Nậm Pồ District
- Tủa Chùa District
- Tuần Giáo District
These districts are further divided into even smaller parts. These include five commune-level towns (which are like small towns), 116 rural communes (like villages or small communities), and nine wards (which are areas within a city).
| Second Tier subdivisions |
Area (km²) |
Third Tier subdivisions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward | Township | Commune | ||
| Điện Biên Phủ city | 64.27 | 7 | 2 | |
| Mường Lay town | 114.03 | 2 | 1 | |
| Điện Biên District | 1639.85 | 25 | ||
| Điện Biên Đông District | 1206.39 | 1 | 13 | |
| Mường Ảng District | 443.52 | 1 | 9 | |
| Mường Chà District | 1199.42 | 1 | 11 | |
| Mường Nhé District | 1573.73 | 11 | ||
| Nậm Pồ District | 1498.00 | 15 | ||
| Tủa Chùa District | 679.41 | 1 | 11 | |
| Tuần Giáo District | 1136.29 | 1 | 18 | |
Places to See in Điện Biên
- Mường Thanh Valley
See also
In Spanish: Provincia de Điện Biên para niños
