VacationSelector
The Anshun Bridge over the Jin River, Chengdu
ChengduThe Anshun Bridge over the Jin River
Wat Xieng Thong temple, Luang Prabang
Luang PrabangWat Xieng Thong temple

Photos: Chengdu by TurnOnTheNight, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Luang Prabang by Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.

Chengdu or Luang Prabang?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Chengdu for

  • nightlife
  • day trips
  • food and drink

What lies behind each score is written up on Chengdu’s own page.

Choose Luang Prabang for

  • beaches
  • culture and sights
  • wellness

What lies behind each score is written up on Luang Prabang’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Chengdu 5, Luang Prabang 14: Luang Prabang leads by 9 points.
Food & drink. Chengdu 86, Luang Prabang 42: Chengdu leads by 44 points.
Culture & sights. Chengdu 60, Luang Prabang 65: Luang Prabang leads by 5 points.
Nightlife. Chengdu 68, Luang Prabang 8: Chengdu leads by 60 points.
Nature & outdoors. Chengdu and Luang Prabang are level on 68.
Day trips. Chengdu 80, Luang Prabang 35: Chengdu leads by 45 points.
Good for families. Chengdu 65, Luang Prabang 38: Chengdu leads by 27 points.
Getting around. Chengdu 74, Luang Prabang 50: Chengdu leads by 24 points.
Shopping & style. Chengdu 64, Luang Prabang 38: Chengdu leads by 26 points.
Affordability. Chengdu and Luang Prabang are level on 80.
Live music & performing arts. Chengdu 50, Luang Prabang 18: Chengdu leads by 32 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Chengdu 58, Luang Prabang 60: Luang Prabang leads by 2 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Chengdu and Luang Prabang.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Chengdu
Best match
63match

Wins on nightlife and day trips with your weighting.

Luang Prabang
43match

Wins on beaches and culture and sights with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Chengdu in July

31 °Cdaytime high
23 °Cnight-time low
177 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
14 hdaylight a day

Luang Prabang in July

33 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
250 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
13 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

0100200300400JFMAMJJASOND
ChengduLuang Prabang

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Chengdu: 1991-2020 normals, Chengdu (4.5 km from centre). Luang Prabang: 1991-2020 normals, Luang-Prabang (0.8 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureChengduLuang Prabang
Official languagePutonghuaLao
CurrencyYuan Renminbi (CNY)Lao Kip (LAK)
SocketsACI220 V, 50 HzABCEF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+8UTC+7
Emergency numberPolice 110, ambulance 120, fire 119Police 191, ambulance 195, fire 190
Elevation500 m305 m
Main airportChengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU)16 km from centre77 non-stop destinationsLuang Phabang International Airport (LPQ)4 km from centre7 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year6 days-

By the numbers

MeasureChengduLuang Prabang
City population20,937,75753,792
People per km²1,456-
Museums within 10 km100
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Chengdu or Luang Prabang somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.