They were both popular actresses during their prime and now both have been degraded to motherly/mother-in-law type roles over and over. Who do you think is more versatile and handles diverse roles better?
Liu Xue Hua seems more gentle to me, but she seems to handle "strong" roles pretty well. Pan Hong, I've yet to see in a "soft" role although my mom said she did a lot when she was young. I personally prefer Liu Xue Hua just because Pan Hong has been typecasted WAYYY too many times.