12-Days Laos & China 2025 Day 5 : Luang Prabang To Xishuangbanna

Saturday, February 7, 2026

12-Days Laos & China 2025 Day 5 : Luang Prabang To Xishuangbanna

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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures

Laos & China 2025

Day 5 : Luang Prabang To Xishuangbanna

Laos-China 2025 Day 5: 8th December (Monday)

Small Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Laos & China.

Day 5 - From Luang Prabang to Xishuangbanna:

Downtown Hostel>songthaews>Luang Prabang Station>Laos-China HSR Train>Laos Boten Railway Station>China Mohan Railway Station>Jinghong City (Xishuangbanna)>Jinghong South Terminal>Didi Ride>Meilan Starlight Hotel>walk>Gaozhuang Night Market>Meilan Starlight Hotel.

This is page 5 of a 12-page blog. Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D4: Luang Prabang 02 | Go to Other Days | D6: Xishuangbana 02 >

Route recommendations, here are some tips on travelling to and around Laos:

1. Traffic Directions!

Both Laos and China, are left-hand drive and vehicles drive on the right side of the road. So do bear this in mind when crossing the road OR when sitting at the front passenger seat. I made this mistake several times and boarded the car at the driver's side with the driver giving me a surprised look 😂.

2. Getting to and from Laos and China.

Several airlines serve Laos, but only if flying in from a neighbouring country, flying to Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Only Lao Airlines fly to Pakse from Bangkok, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap. Several international and regional airlines fly to major China cities.
We flew AirAsia from KLIA Terminal 2 to Vientiane's Wattay International Airport; buying tickets earlier to get cheaper fares. Considering the potential difficulties with luggage storage during the later train journey in Laos, we also packed light (20kg checked-in luggage for two people). Together with carry-on luggage, we each had 17kg per person. Fare was MYR407 per pax.

From Luang Prabang, Laos to Jinhong City, X, China, we used the Laos-China HSR Train, using the LCR App and www.12306.cn to purchase the train tickets.

3. Getting from town to town in Laos and China.
For Laos, getting between towns can be by hired vans, express bus or the Laos-China train. One can buy the bus tickets at the Vientiane Northern Bus Terminal (which is about half an hour away from town) directly from the counter. To book the Laos-China HSR Train tickets, it is recommended to use the LCR App, the official app of the railway. Note that tickets can only be booked three days before the travel date. There is no necessity to book with a Laos, Thai, or China mobile phone number; one can use a personal e-mail address. There are several online sites selling the train ticket, but these are ticketing agents and could be charging higher prices or even overselling.

We booked our train tickets from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang to Xishuangbanna through the LCR App. For the Luang Prabang to Xishuangbanna leg, electronic train tickets need to be changed to physical paper tickets at the Luang Prabang Train Station (at a counter of the ticketing office, so arrive earlier to do this).

For China, getting between major cities is easy using the China HSR trains (for us, it's from Pu'er City to Kunming). Tickets can be booked via www.12306.cn OR Trip.com; electronic tickets need to be changed to physical paper tickets. Passengers are required to disembark (with their luggage) for immigration and customs checking at both the a and c, i.e. two times as these two border checkpoints are not in a single building, and are far apart in their respective countries.
For travel between cities not served by the trains, we pre-booked a private driver contacted through WeChat - from Jinghong, Xishuangbanna to Jingmai Mountains (Wengji Village & Nougan Village) to Pu'er City).

4. Getting around towns and cities in Laos and China.
For Laos, for short distances, one can use tuk-tuks or songthaews, which can be found at most street corners. For longer distances to the outskirts, install InDrive or LOCA. For InDrive, one can negotiate to an agreeable price, but it may be difficult to hail a ride from the outskirts (as we experienced). LOCA seems to be a better bet, but as you must be able to receive the SMS verification code, it's highly recommended to get a local Laos SIM card upon arrival for reliable service and to easily receive that SMS. Pay for LOCA rides with Cash, Credit/Debit Card (Visa/Mastercard). Or with LOCA PAY, with automatic deductions for card payments after binding your card in the app. While card payments are convenient and offer instant e-receipts, a small fee (around 4% + 6,000 LAK) may apply, making cash payment preferred.
In China, install the Didi ride-hailing app, which is extremely convenient to use, especially in major cities, and English can be selected as the preferred language. Just type in the destinations in English, and a list comes out for selection. There is a need to bind the app to a credit/debit card. Rides are relatively cheap, as most riders use e-vehicles.
Note: Touch 'n Go e-Wallet doesn't seem to work in Laos. It works well in China and Thailand.

5. Immigration & Customs Requirements

For Laos, Malaysians are allowed to enter Laos without a visa for a maximum stay of 30 days per visit. For China, Malaysians can enter, exit, or transit the country without a visa for up to 30 days per visit, with a maximum cumulative stay of 90 days within any 180 days. Permitted purposes include tourism, business, family visits, exchanges, private affairs, medical treatment, and international transportation (such as airline crew duties). The travel passport must be valid throughout the whole period of stay or 180 days from the day of first entry.
Click here for who can apply for Lao eVisa and eVisa application form. This visa allows for a stay of up to 30 days and can be extended once. Alternatively, travelers can apply for a tourist visa at a Lao embassy or consulate before arrival, permitting a stay of up to 60 days with the option of extension. Click here for China visa-free policy for other countries, and here for China Visa application.
Click here for Laos e-Arrival Card & e-Departure Card submission, and here for the China Arrival Card for PC and here for the China China Arrival Card for phones. Do note of some scams regarding these online forms. OR one can fill in paper forms, which are available at the train stations or during the flight.

6. Places & Things of Interests

There were many scenic places, interesting attractions, but one should not miss the following (Note: click on the GPS coordinates below for a directional map to the respective places):
a. Gaozhuang/Ganbai Night Market (赶摆街夜市) (GPS: 22.00615, 100.81943), Jinghong City & within it:
i. Dajinta Temple (大金塔寺) (GPS: 22.00716, 100.81951).
ii. Gaozhuang Xishuangjing Pagoda (b) (GPS: 22.00792, 100.81943).
iii. Kongque Plaza (GPS: 22.00477, 100.82463).
iv. Holy Monkey Hanuman (GPS: 22.00267, 100.82398).
v. Meigonghe Liuguo Market (Mekong River Six States Floating Market) (湄公河·六国水上市场) (GPS: 22.00574, 100.82099).

7. Food

a. Breakfast

- Inclusive breakfast (Western Breakfast or Lao Noodles) at Downtown Hostel (GPS: 19.88823, 102.13142).

b. Lunch

Instant cup noodles on board the Laos-China HSR Train.

c. Dinner

Yunnan Wild Mushroom Hotpot Video (Yunnan’s Wild Mushrooms Secrets) at the Fresh Mushroom Restaurant (GPS: 22.00866, 100.81597) in Jinghong City.

8. Accommodations

First of two nights in Jinghong City at the Meilan Starlight Hotel (GPS: 22.00926, 100.81204) at MYR285 for two 2-pax rooms for two nights (without breakfast) booked via Traveloka.com (Breakfast included); i.e. MYR102 per room per night.

9. Communicating with Each Other

When travelling in a group, it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one gets lost from the rest.
In Laos, several telco companies have stores at the arrival hall of the Wattay International Airport. At the stores, Unitel 5-G Physical Sim Cards are available, and we got a 5-Day 20GB card for 80,000 Kips (USD3.70 / RM15).
Before we left, we purchased online the Happy China Sim Card and got the 8-Day 8GB and 16GB cards for RM25.29 and RM40.03 respectively. The cards were only inserted when we entered China.
For China domestic flights, international flights from China, and connecting flights with China legs, allowed power banks are to be of China 3C-certified powerbanks, with a capacity of no more than 20,000Mah and to be taken out of the cabin luggage space and put in the seat pockets. The power-banks have to be switched off and cannot be used during the flight. Click here for more power-bank restrictions. It would be a good idea to rent a power bank in China.

10. Communicating with Locals

Except for those in the travel industry, for both Laos and China, most locals speak their own language (i.e. Lao, and in China - Mandarin, or the local Yunnan languages, like Dai, Naxi, Yi, and Bai, etc. As Laos was a former French protectorate, many older locals and tourist guides speak French. To get by, it will be good to speak some rudimentary Lao, or some basic Mandarin.

10. Weather

The average day temperature in Luang Prabang was 26°C and 12°C. The average day and night temperatures in Jinghong City were 27°C and 14°C.

Useful weather forecast sites for Laos and China is AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.

11. Navigation

Geo-tagging of places of interest was via FaceBook or Google Maps.

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PRELUDE

A day earlier, we had spent a full day at Luang Prabang and had visited some familiar places. We also attended an early morning receiving of alms by the monks, but were utterly disappointed by how commercialised it had become. Still, we did enjoy the city, which is now more vibrant but has lost some of its quiet, rustic charm.

Today, we board the LCR (Laos-China Railway) High-Speed Train again, crossing the border over to South-western Yunnan to Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna. I had been to Yunnan before, but to the North-western part in 2011. Yunnan is quite a diversified province with many tribal people and cultures, so we wonder what this part of our tour will hold for us? And it has been more than a decade since my last visit, the place must have changed a lot. Let's find out!
By the way, please bear with me, today's blog is a bit longer as this old man is like a young tot, happy with glee with a new toy!
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DAY 5: LUANG PRABANG TO XISHUANGBANNA

Small Group (Non-cycling) Tour of Laos & China.

Day 5 - From Luang Prabang to Xishuangbanna:

(Note the map shows road routes, instead of the railway route)

(Click here for the Laos-China Day 5: Luang Prabang to Xishuangbanna Route Map)

Most of the posts below are linked to my Facebook postings during the trip and are embedded here with some comments. (NOTE: Click on respective posts to link to the FB post to read more details. If you can't see the posts, please log out of your Facebook first. FB has recently changed its approach, and as such, all relevant links have now been inserted in the comments.)

Inclusive breakfast at Downtown Hostel, today I opted for the omelet set, which also came with a baguette. Other than the Western Set, there are also instant curry noodles and Lao Noodles to choose from.

Saying goodbye, Mr. Lan, our host at the Downtown Hostel. His place also offers laundry service at a very reasonable price per kg. We are leaving for the train station in a shared van ordered through him the previous day.

Got a bit worried as the van came late, having to go around the town to collect other passengers.

It's about a 20-minute drive to the Luang Prabang Railway Station, and passengers are advised to check in preferably an hour before and at the latest thirty-minutes before the train arrival. At the station, we will have to change our electronic tickets to physical paper tickets.

Fortunately, traffic was light along the streets of Luang Prabang.

The van dropped us at the car park on the departure side of the station. From here, to get up to the station level are a series of ramps, totaling about ten metres high.

The arrival side is at the back of the station, and at the same level as the station.

Electronic tickets need to be changed to physical paper tickets at the adjacent ticketing office outside the main station hall. Each of us needed to show our confirmed online booking and our passports for the paper tickets to be issued to us. The issued tickets have QR codes to be scanned for entry to the station platforms.
It is good to arrive earlier, in case there's a long queue to get these tickets.

10:00 am - Happily on board Laos-China HSR Train bound for Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna, China. The train journey of close to 500 km will take almost four and a half hours.

Leaving Luang Prabang and crossing over the Mekong River. Will be seeing the river again in China, where it is known as the Lancang River. With an estimated length of 4,909 km, it is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia.

Some scenery enroute, we are going through the less developed part of the country, and it's very green.

There is a cafeteria coach, and train staff also sell food/drinks from a pushcart.

We will be arriving at the border town of Boten soon.

Country-side is still sub-tropical, with some terraced paddies.

11:20am Laos time (12:20pm China Time) - Arrived at the Laos Boten Railway Station, the border checkpoint. We had to disembark with our luggage, scan through Lao Security & Customs, and re-board the train again, to our same seats.

WELCOME TO CHINA!!

12:55 pm - Less than 30 minutes later, we passed by China Immigration at Mohan and into China 😊. But it's another round of disembarking with our baggage, going through security and customs, and re-boarding the train.
It would have been great if both the Laos and China immigrations are housed in different sections of the same building, then we wouldn't have to lug our bags up and down two times.

Passing Mengyaun and into China, we changed our Laos Unitel sim cards to the China Unicorn sim cards.
Often I was tempted to get an e-sim, but I am always worried if something goes wrong with my phone, one then can just get a cheap phone and swap over the physical sim card.
The signal strength in China is superb; even in tunnels, it's strong!

Arrived at the Jinghong South Terminal. Initially, I couldn't locate it on Google Maps, not realising that the train station shares the same building as the bus terminal.
From here, it was easy to hail a Didi Ride to our homestay, two apartments located on the 9th and 15th floors of the Meilan Starlight Hotel.

We were expecting Jinghong to be a quiet rustic place like Luang Prabang, but were surprised to see how modern the city is with many high-rise buildings of futuristic design. Our homestay is within one of those tall buildings.

Located in the far south of China's Yunnan province, Jinghong was the historic capital of the former Tai kingdom of Sipsongpanna. The town was founded as Chiang Hung, almost a millennium ago by the Tai king Phanya Coeng in 1180.

This part of Yunnan is also renowned for wild mushrooms, so it was natural that our first meal in Xishuangbanna was a Wild Mushrooms Hotpot at the Fresh Mushroom Restaurant（菌鲜生) with at least twenty types of mushrooms and fungi. Many mushrooms are poisonous, so the restaurants have to source their mushrooms carefully. Still, some of the mushrooms can get one 'high", and it's often advisable to sit around a while after eating. Also included as one of the hot pot dishes was the renowned Yunan Xuanwei Ham.

With time to spare, we walked around the neighbourhood shops to see what they had to offer. And were we surprised to see Phua Choo Kang boots in fashion, but now with a wider range of colours instead of the stock yellow.

Another stall displayed durians, and although I don't eat durians, I was proud to see that Malaysian durians commanded a premium price. The Chinese (Yunnan) durians were right in front, and behind them were Thai durians at double the price. And kept in a cooler, were Malaysian durians at ten times the price of local ones!

Further down the road was a street-side masseur offering shoulder and neck massage. A signboard advertised "10 minutes 20 yuan, 20minutes 30 yuan. Welcome to experience" 😊.

Finally, we reached our destination, the Gaozhuang / Ganbai Night Market, situated on the banks of the Lancang River.

"Located under the Jinghong Golden Pagoda, the night market blends religious architecture with local cultural elements, making it one of the largest and most distinctive night markets in the Golden Triangle region. As a franchise night market brand, it offers a rich experience, including food from Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and local specialties. From time to time, there are ethnic song and dance performances, and many photography shops that cater to visitors' desire to dress up in ethnic Dai attire."

Hmmmm, which Slug Snacks to eat?

Going tribal, there are many different ethnic tribes in Xishuangbanna, each with its distinct costume.

Ear digging anyone?
This is something one doesn't see every day; there's even a scope to show the process on telly😅!

A beautiful night scene of the Jinghong Golden Pagoda reflected onto the Lancang River.

Meeting the Queen.
There are many photography shops here that cater to visitors' desire to dress up in ethnic Dai attire. This one looks very elegant!

So does this princess.

I am truly enchanted by the princess 😍.

A hot-air balloon rises up and down periodically, reflecting onto the canal below. The nearby buildings seem to add to the celebration; they, too, are lit up in neon colourfully. Our apartment home-stay is one of those tall ones in the background.

Around the corner, another surprise awaits us .....
Crocodile heads and tails, anyone?

Nearer the Jinghong Golden Pagoda, a fashion show of elegant princesses and queens.

At another side stall, from a small machine, a lady was churning out these Santan (Coconut Milk) table candy, it's a creamy snack!

On the way back to the hotel, saw these Thumb Cucumbers at a roadside stall.

今天过得很愉快。晚安。

(That's "Jīntiānguò dé hěn yúkuài. Wǎn'ān." in Mandarin Chinese,

meaning "It's been a good day. Good night.")

(For more photos of Day 5, Click Here)

This is page 5 of a 12-page blog. Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D4: Luang Prabang 02 | Go to Other Days | D6: Xishuangbana 02 >

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