Situated in the centre of northern Laos, Luang Prabang is a classified UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its outstanding cultural, historic and architectural values and its harmonious relationship between the natural and built-in environment.
In the 14th century, King Fa Ngum founded the first Lao Kingdom here in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang, infact, remained as the capital of Lane Xang until 1565 when the capital was moved to Vientiane. But this city remained to serve as the country’s spiritual and religious centre. In historical times, this town also suffered heavily during and after the World War II for this led to the city being occupied by several foreign countries such as Thailand, Imperial Japan, Free France and Nationalist China.
In April and May 1946 the French attempted to recapture Laos by trying to retake Luang Prabang. During the First Indochina War, the Viet Minh and Pathet Lao forces attempted to capture the city several times in 1953 and 1954 but were stopped. Luang Prabang remained the royal capital until 1975, when the Pathet Lao communist forces seized power with North Vietnamese support and dissolved the ancient monarchy.
Today this city lies some 300 km, north of the present capital city -Vientiane.