Mường Thanh Valley
Located in the Điện Biên Province of Northwestern Vietnam, the Mường Thanh valley lies at the crossroads of many different modern political boundaries.
The valley runs north-south and is situated in the western portion of the Điện Biên Province,[1] approximately 16 km from the border with Laos.
The Thai, along with other ethnic groups that inhabit the Điện Biên Province, are largely independent and follow their own series of customs and traditions.
The Thai, among other non-Chinese minority ethnic groups in Vietnam such as the Tay, Nùng, Hmong, Muong, Cham, Khmer, Kohor, E De, Bahnar, and Jarai, have their own languages and writing systems.
The gourd then became a mountain, which stands today in Tau Pung Commune in the middle of the Mường Thanh Valley.
[3] The valley was associated with Muang Then, a legendary land where the Tai peoples first settled after migrating southward from Yunnan around the time of the Kingdom of Nanzhao under their leader Khun Borom.
In the 15th century, the troops of Vietnamese Emperor Lê Lợi allied with the indigenous inhabitants to expel the Chinese Ming invaders.
The Thai vigorously fought the Phe invaders and finally defeated them in 1751 with help from a peasant leader from Son Nam named Hoang Cong Chat.
[4] Until French rule began, the inhabitants of the Mường Thanh Valley and many of Vietnam's other highland minority groups were quite isolated from the major lowland populations.
The Vietnamese government is now working to further develop the region's tourist infrastructure and appeal by promoting the diversity of local culture.
[1] The First Indochina War began on December 19, 1946 as a battle between the French trying to regain their colonial claims in Vietnam and the Viet Minh attempting to gain control of the area.
Due to its proximity to supply routes from China, the Mường Thanh Valley region was vital to the survival and support of the Viet Minh.
Thus, in November 1953, French forces occupied the town of Dien Bien Phu and used their nearby military post at Lai Châu for reinforcement.
If the Vietnamese army could successfully attack a French-held zone leading up to the talks that were scheduled for April and May 1954, they felt that they would have enough leverage to broker an acceptable peace agreement.
