In the city of Luang Prabang stands Wat Xieng Thong, the Temple of the Golden City, home to the grand sim, or central shrine hall, of this celebrated Laotian monastery. Built in the traditional Luang Prabang style, the structure's sweeping roofline descends in overlapping tiers almost to the ground, and its rear wall carries the famous tree of life rendered in coloured glass mosaic against a red ground. Founded in the sixteenth century near the confluence of the Nam Khan and the Mekong, the temple served the royal house for four centuries and remains the most revered monastery in the former capital. Filmed in 4K, this episode examines its gilded doors, murals and funerary chapel in close detail.
