About Luang Prabang of Laos

Luang Prabang is the former capital of Laos, or rather, of the Kingdom of Luang Prabang. Being nestled in the valley, surrounded by lush mountains, located on the banks of the Mekong River and its tributaries, this quiet and small town is 425 km away in the north from capital--Vientiane, which takes about 8 hours by bus or 35 minutes by air to reach. Before the establishment of the Lao People's Democratic Republic in 1975, Luang Prabang had always been the royal capital of the Kingdom of Laos,

This is a town reputed with long history. For centuries before Luang Prabang was founded, several Thai-Lao principalities flourished in the area around Luang Prabang, in the valleys of the Mekong. In 698AD, there was a city called Muang Sua in the area where Luang Prabang is located. From the 11th to the 14th Centuries, there was a city called Xieng Dong Xieng Thong in this area. From 1185 to 1191, Xieng Dong Xieng Thong came into a short period of suzerainty under Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII of Angkor Kingdom. In 1353, King Fa Ngum created the first Lao Kingdom, called Lane Xiang, meaning Kingdom of One Million Elephants. At this time, the city was known as Xaxa, later it was renamed Muang Xieng Thong, or Gold City District in 1357. After King Fa Ngum received from the Khmer sovereign a gift of a Sinhalese Buddha statue called Pha Bang, and from this image is derived the present name, Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is renowned as the cultural and religious center of Laos. Whole province has a total population of 365000, the city itself is a rather peaceful town of 16,000 habitants with a handful of interesting temples and old French houses. In 1995, UNESCO inscribed the town on to its World Heritage List, ensuring the preservation of a mixture of traditional Lao and French colonial architecture. The Unesco report listed 33 temples and 111 historic Lao-French buildings for specific restoration, it cited Luang Prabang as the best-preserved traditional town in Southeast Asia. Luang Prabang has its isolation to thank for enabling it to be so well-preserved, although it was once a trading outpost among the peoples of upper Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, southern China and Burma, there was little contact with non-Asian countries until the French arrived in the mid-19th century. The unique character and charm of Luang Parabang makes it one of the most popular tourist destination in the country, and the magnificent temples in Luang Prabang are considered as the most beautiful through even whole South East Asia.

There is no particularly grand view or spectacular tourism spots in or around Luang Prabang Town, but the relaxing atmosphere derived from friendly people, deeply-rooted Buddhism religion, refreshing natural scenery, harmonious combination of colonial and indigenous culture, and traditional way of local life is what actually worth travelers' stop.