Therefore, the Project on Preservation and Embellishment of the Center of the Điện Biên Phủ Stronghold Group is being deployed as a particularly important task to restore the French army’s most fortified headquarters fully, scientifically, and most vividly. Shouldering that responsibility, the Cultural Heritage Conservation One Member Limited Liability Company - the unit selected to conduct research and restore the relic of the project - is striving step by step to “revive history.”

From precious archives to determination for restoration

Assessed as a project of large scale, complex structure, and special importance, the Project on Preservation and Embellishment of the Center of the Điện Biên Phủ Stronghold Group has a research scope of about 10ha, with a total investment of over VND 250 billion from the Central and local budgets. The goal is to restore and embellish key items that once existed at the French army’s Command Center: De Castries’ bunker, artillery positions, military medical - logistics areas, aircraft and tank arrangement areas, barracks, field hospitals... At the same time, organizing supplementary displays, enhancing educational value, and exploiting historical tourism. However, reality poses many challenges. After more than 7 decades, most of the works in the area have almost no traces left.

Sharing the process of embarking on the project implementation, Nguyễn Văn Mạc, Director of the Cultural Heritage Conservation One Member Limited Liability Company, said: “Restoring a historical relic with an area of 10ha with almost nothing in hand is unprecedented in Vietnam. Fortunately, more than 10 years ago, when implementing the Panorama Painting project at the Điện Biên Phủ Victory Museum, the Cultural Heritage Conservation One Member Limited Liability Company conducted a large-scale ‘grand collection’ with over 10,000 artifacts, maps, photos, dossiers, military documents... from many sources in France and Vietnam. That massive volume of documents is now an important foundation for designing, cross-referencing, and reconstructing the space of the Stronghold Group Center most accurately.”

To “revive” history, during the implementation process, the Cultural Heritage Conservation One Member Limited Liability Company always coordinates closely with leading experts in history, military, architecture, and heritage conservation. All items, whether the command bunker, military medical station, or artillery position, must be proven by scientific documents, cross-referenced with historical witness accounts, and verified many times before approval. The project is expected to restore about 20 typical items. Specifically, De Castries’ Bunker (currently only 8 compartments remain) will be restored to 12 compartments out of the hundreds of defensive bunkers that once existed. The observation post area, water wells, tunnels, escape routes... are also detailedly reconstructed according to French documents. The Cultural Heritage Conservation One Member Limited Liability Company is also striving to research and build a scientific sightseeing route, connecting relic points logically.

According to Nguyễn Văn Mạc, a special feature of the project is the restoration of French military equipment. Thanks to the diligent collection process, currently, the Company has full original models of aircraft, tanks, transport trucks, ambulances... once used at the Điện Biên Phủ Battlefield. From these models, the unit will fabricate them using durable metal materials, helping visitors visualize the battlefield context truthfully from more than 70 years ago. The Company aims for visitors entering the central area to feel like they are returning to the time more than 70 years ago, witnessing the place once praised by the French army as an “impregnable fortress.”

Methodical and scientific implementation

According to the assessment of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this is one of the projects with a large workload and the deepest professional requirements in the province. Since the beginning of 2024, the province has established a Scientific Council, continuously organized workshops, and sought opinions from historical, architectural, and military experts to ensure absolute accuracy.

Lê Anh Đạo, Director of the Relic Management Board, emphasized: “Every item must have clear arguments and proving documents. Do not restore based on feeling but must follow historical science correctly.”

To date, the Feasibility Study Report dossier of the project is being finalized to be submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for appraisal in the first quarter of 2026; subsequently, it will be submitted to the provincial People’s Committee for approval in the second quarter of 2026. The preparation process is prolonged because the project involves a Special National Monument, must strictly comply with the regulations of the Law on Cultural Heritage, the Land Law, and seek opinions from Central ministries and branches. However, relevant parties determined to do it methodically and scientifically, instead of rushing, because this is a historic project.

Regarding the Cultural Heritage Conservation One Member Limited Liability Company, the unit is focusing on perfecting the restoration design, simulating all French military equipment, and arranging the function of each bunker compartment according to original drawings. The smallest details such as the direction of the bunker door, the place for communication machines, or artillery positions... are all meticulously reviewed. When completed, the command bunker space will clearly recreate the layout and function of each room; the field airport area will sketch the image of supply aircraft; the blockhouse fortification system will recall the defensive wall. The Center of the Điện Biên Phủ Stronghold Group is one of the 46 component relic sites of the Điện Biên Phủ Battlefield relic complex.

Along with the Điện Biên Phủ Victory Museum, Hill A1, Hill C1, Him Lam Hill... the Stronghold Group Center will create a complete historical tourism system, attracting domestic and foreign tourists. When the project is completed and put into use, it will be a historical space of the largest scale, helping people and tourists understand more deeply the strategic talent of our army, the people’s power, and the victory of epochal stature. Especially, the truthful recreation of military equipment, battlefields, and fortifications will turn this place into a vivid visual learning space for the young generation. At the same time, realizing the province’s resolution on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector.

With the efforts and determination of the Cultural Heritage Conservation One Member Limited Liability Company along with the close direction of the province and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, opportunities are opening up for Điện Biên to “revive” history most truthfully and completely. It is expected that the project’s technical dossier will be approved in January 2026; construction will commence in March 2026. A long road is still ahead, but it is believed that when the Project on Preservation and Embellishment of the Center of the Điện Biên Phủ Stronghold Group is completed, on the historical land of Điện Biên, every inch of soil, every trench, every trace will echo the story of the heroic victory.