The centre of the city consists of four main roads and is located on a peninsula at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong River. Luang Prabang is well known for its numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries. Every morning, hundreds of monks from the various monasteries walk through the streets collecting alms. One of the city's major landmarks is Mount Phou Si; a large steep hill which despite the constrained scale of the city, is 150 metres (490 ft) high; a steep staircase leads to Wat Chom Si shrine and an overlook of the city and the rivers.[19][20]
The city was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It had also been known by the ancient name of Xieng Thong.[21] It was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos, until the Pathet Lao takeover in 1975. The city is part of Luang Prabang District of Luang Prabang Province and is the capital and administrative centre of the province. It lies approximately 300 km (186 mi) north of the capital Vientiane. Currently, the population of the city as a whole is roughly 56,000 inhabitants with the UNESCO protected site being inhabited by around 24,000.[16][22][23]
^Ricklefs, M. C.; Lockhart, Bruce; Lau, Albert; Reyes, Portia; Aung-Thwin, Maitrii (19 November 2010). A New History of Southeast Asia. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN9781137015549. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
^Lockhart, Bruce M. (1 January 2002). "Review of Laos Culture and Society; The Politics of Ritual and Remembrance: Laos since 1975, Grant Evans; Theravadins, Colonialists and Commissars in Laos; Essai d'Anthropologie Politique Sur Le Laos Contemporain: Marché, Socialisme, Et Genies". Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. 33 (1): 180–184. doi:10.1017/s0022463402300080. JSTOR20072402.