Luang Prabang and China now connected

A new bus service will be introduced next month linking Luang Prabang in Laos and Jinghong in Xishuangbanna in China's southern Yunnan Province. Luang Prabang can easily be reached from Thailand. Also, Bangkok Airways offers service to Luang Prabang, a beautiful little town with colonial style.

The service to be launched March 1 is a joint effort between Laos' Thongdee Koonruan Transportation and Xishuangbanna Kunnan, both private companies that will operate the route under a concession. There will be one service either way daily.

The Xishuangbanna region is also known as Sipsong Panna or the Land of Twelve Thousand Rice Fields.

Separately, a second bridge linking Thailand and Laos is expected to open later this year. It will link Thailand's Mukdahan Province with Champasak in Laos.

Built with Japanese assistance, the new bridge is expected to facilitate road travel between the two neighbours and to other countries viz. Cambodia and Vietnam.