A photo exhibition capturing 101 memorable moments in the remarkable life of military General Vo Nguyen Giap, taken by Vietnam News Agency photojournalist Tran Tuan, was opened to the public at the Dien Bien Centre of Culture, Dien Bien province, on Aug. 5.

The exhibition was expected to attract hundreds of people, including ex-soldiers, military officers and compatriots of various ethnic origins in Dien Bien province.

The 101 photos were a gift from Tran Tuan to express his admiration to the General and also to congratulate him on his upcoming 101st birthday. Tuan had personally spent 35 years accompanying the General in all his working trips.

Tuan said, “These 101 pieces of work are the most simplistic photos about a person I have always admired. I would like to offer this photo album to Dien Bien province, recording the moments of a model Vietnamese who has always been dynamic in all social activities, in both war time and peace time, with family and friends, with fellow comrades and companions, on national and international ground.”

The photographer noted that with the photos, the people of the heroic Dien Bien Phu province would always remember the image of the General whose name has been permanently associated with this geographic location in national and international history.

Amongst the visitors, a former soldier in the battle of Dien Bien, Nguyen Sinh Dung, who is now 80 years old, shared his memories. “In 1953, I met the General while participating in the construction of a fortress for the battle in Muong Phang. Looking at these photos reminds us of our lives during war and during the battle of Dien Bien. These photos are a piece of art which Tran Tuan must have worked very hard to capture. We are very happy and very proud of these photos, especially when the photographer chose to leave this precious album to the people of Dien Bien, so that we could frequently contemplate the image of the General.”

This is the fifth exhibition after those in the capital Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City , Da Nang and Dong Hoi-Quang Binh, which is the birth place of the General.

Within the 101 photos of Tran Tuan, visitors pay a particular interest to those taken during the trip of the General to Dien Bien to visit the old battlefield and to meet with compatriots in the province.

The organisational board of the exhibition in Dien Bien said the historic photo exhibition would be shown until August 8 at the Centre of Culture. It will be moved to the museum of history of Dien Bien Phu , to be displayed and preserved./.