Luang Pra­bang is an out­stand­ing exam­ple of the fusion of tra­di­tion­al archi­tec­ture and Lao urban struc­tures with those built by the Euro­pean colo­nial author­i­ties in the 19th and 20th cen­turies. Its unique, remark­ably well-pre­served town­scape illus­trates a key stage in the blend­ing of these two dis­tinct cul­tur­al tra­di­tions.