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Article: UNESCO's lifeline for Laos. (World Heritage Site Luang Prabang, Laos)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- April 1, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 History Today Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A welcome blow for conservation has just been struck in South East Asia as Luang Prabang, Laos' former royal capital, becomes the latest addition to UNESCO's list of protected World Heritage Sites.
This means, amongst other things, that a total of thirty-four Wats (monasteries), and 111 civil buildings have been listed for preservation. In Luang Prabang these ancient Wats, dating back to the sixteenth century, exist alongside aristocratic buildings and more modest dwellings. Many are in the older part of the city, which occupies a peninsula dominated by Phousi Hill and runs parallel to the Mekong River - still the main transportation artery in this mountainous and ...