Tour guide: If you are chartering a car, the driver is generally experienced and can also serve as a tour guide to tell the characteristics and history of each temple, and can also take you to some distinctive shooting points. ○ If you are invited to a professional Chinese tour guide, you can also bargain for 20-25 US dollars per day. However, the tour guide's itinerary and time are strictly arranged (7:30-12:00 am, 14:30-18:30 pm).

Books: There are many travel guides introducing Angkor. Lonelypla is very helpful for arranging the itinerary. The Chinese book is "May Floating in Cambodia" written by Carmen, but after all, it was published a few years ago, and many situations have changed. You can buy very cheap pirated or used Lonelypla in the market in Angkor, and there are many exquisite books, about 4-6 US dollars per book.

In Angkor, you will encounter many children begging. Before departure, you can prepare some stationery, snacks (such as candies) or bring them unused disposable toiletries from star-rated hotels to give them.

When entering temples and other places, do not wear slippers, shorts, short skirts, sleeveless tops, etc. The shoes should be light and suitable for walking, and should not wear newly bought shoes or high heels.

Angkor Thom, also known as Great Angkor, is the longest capital of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th centuries. The capital of Angkor covers an area of ​​9 square kilometers, and includes a series of ancient capitals established by various dynasties: the sky palace rebuilt by Suryavarmo I, and the Bapuan Temple established by Udayadityavarmanii.

The Bayon Temple (Bayon), Elephant Group Platform and the Hokkien Terrace established by Jayavarman VII. From the 9th to the 15th century, the Angkor Dynasty built Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat and surrounding temple groups under the "God King Thought" of the unity of politics and religion.

In the early 9th century AD, Khmer king Jayavarmanii unified the Cambodia region and declared independence from Java. He established the capital in Hajiralaya, north of Tonle Sak, that is, in the current Rolos ruins group (Rola) area.

Nayavarma II proclaimed himself the "King of the Universe". He believed in Brahmanism and worshiped Shiva, laying the foundation for religious consciousness for the Angkor Dynasty. The "God King Thought" of the unity of politics and religion in Nayavarma II was passed down for a hundred years in the Angkor Dynasty.

After Indravarmani ascended the throne, the first local temple in Haliharoloye, was built in preahko, which was completed in 880. It was an early small ancestral temple building, named after the name of a divine cow lying in front of the temple. Indravarmani also built a national temple, Bakong, which worshiped Shiva, and was the first mountain-shaped temple in the Khmer.

At the end of the 9th century AD, Yasovarmani began to make every effort to build the capital Yasodharapura, which is the current Angkor area. He ordered the construction of the Eastbaray Lake, and the national temple Bakheng Temple on Mount Bakhen, which symbolizes Mount Sumeru, the center of the Indian mythical world.

There are ditches around, which symbolize the Aral Sea around Mount Sumeru. In addition, Yesovarman I also built many Hindu temples and monasteries. In 1967, yajnyavahara, the courtier of Rajendravarmanii, built a banteaysrei in the northeast of Angkor. It mainly worships the Brahman Lord Shiva.

It carved exquisite reliefs with rare red sandstone, which is considered to be the highest level of Angkor carving art.

Over the past century, temples of all sizes competed to build. In the 11th century, Udayadityavarmanii built the kingdom temple of Bapuan, dedicated to Shiva, which was also a large Mount Sumeru temple. Udoyeidavarmanii dug the westbaray on the west side to replace the gradually drying Dongda artificial lake.

Angkoranii, the most important temple building in the Angkor region, was built between 1113 and 1150.

Breaking the traditional design, Angkor Wat is a Mount Sumeru temple dedicated to God Vishnu, and it is also the national temple at that time. It is composed of five pagodas and three-story corridors. There are trenches outside as the Aral Sea, and the wall relief myths and the personal royal life of Sujavarmo II.

The building covers a vast area, is magnificent, with vivid and natural carvings on the walls. It is a representative work of Khmer classical art and is the world's largest religious building.

After Suyavarman II passed away, the Kingdom of Angkor fell into civil strife, and then the foreign enemy invaded Cham City. The capital Yasudra Pra. The Nayavarman VII, who was still a prince at that time, expelled Chammen and ascended the throne in 1181. During the more than thirty years of reign, the empire reached its peak.

He built a large-scale construction in the ruined capital to rebuild Angkorthom. Given the painful experience of the previous invasion of the occupian city, Rajjavamo VII built the walls of Angkor Thom particularly high and thick. A moat was built outside the city. The most famous of the Bayon Temple in the center is the 54 four-faced Buddha statues carved based on the face of Rajjavamo VII.

It is also the origin of the "Smiling Khmer". The reliefs on the temple wall not only show the magnificent scenes of the battle between Rajjavra VII and Champa, but also depict the life scenes of ordinary people in the city.

Because Najavarma VII believed in Buddhism, the faith in Angkor began to transform from Hinduism to Buddhism, and the special style of Hinduism and Buddhism coexisted in Bayon Temple. In addition, Najavarma VII also built a large number of temples such as Taprohm and Tasom Temple, and also built many hospitals and hostels.

Zhou Daguan, a native of the Yuan Dynasty of China, went to Zhenla (i.e. Angkor) in the first year of Yuanzhen (1295) of Emperor Chengzong of Yuan Dynasty. After returning to the country, he created the "Zhenla Temporary Records" in the form of a travelogue.

When Zhou Daguan stayed in Angkor, during the reign of Indravarmaniii, the article recorded the city and life of Angkor at that time, such as city walls, religion, justice, bureaucracy, agriculture, slaves, animals and plants, bathing, clothing, utensils, commerce, trade, firewood, rice, oil and salt, etc.

Although the national strength of the Angkor dynasty had gradually declined, Zhou Daguan still recorded a passage describing the king's luxurious style: "When the army and horses came out, the flags and drums were music behind him. The palace maids had three or five hundred, with flower buns and huge candles in their hands, forming a team, even though the sun was still shining on candles. There were also palace maids who held gold and silver utensils and cultural instruments in the interior. The systems were very different, and I didn't know what they were used for.

There were also palace maids who held a rolling gun and a plaque as an internal soldier, forming a team. There were also sheep carts and horses, all decorated with gold. The ministers and relatives all rode elephants in front of them. Looking at the number of red-coloured umbrellas, there were countless. Secondly, the wife and concubines of the king, whether sedan or chariot, or horse or elephant, had more than a hundred gold-coloured umbrellas.

The king of the country stood on the elephant and held a treasure trotter. The elephant's teeth were also covered with gold. The golden white cool umbrella was sold. There were more than twenty handles, and the handles of the umbrella were made of gold. There were many images surrounded by clusters, and there were also military horses to protect it. If you travel nearby, you would only use a golden sedan chair, and you would carry it with a palace maid. In general, you would welcome a small golden pagoda, and the golden Buddha was in front of it. Those who observe should kneel down to bow, which was called the Three Stops.

Starting from the mid-13th century, the national strength of the Angkor Dynasty gradually declined. In 1431, Siam occupied the Angkor area and destroyed many buildings and irrigation facilities. The royal family was forced to move away from Angkor, and the entire area was almost completely abandoned except for Angkor Wat, which was used as a Buddhist holy land.

Archaeologists have put forward several reasons for the desolation of Angkor area: most scholars believe that the most direct reason for the desolation of Angkor was the battle with Siam for years. In the 13th century, Siam gradually invaded the Angkor area, and after Siam occupied Angkor in 1431, it destroyed urban construction.

After the irrigation system was destroyed, the fields on which they lived could not be cultivated, so the Angkor royal family moved the capital to Phnom Penh. Some of the Angkor people moved to the capital of Siam, and some moved to Phnom Penh with the royal family. The abandoned Angkor gradually withered.

Some scholars believe that since the Angkor people's beliefs changed from Hinduism to Hinayana Buddhism, Buddhist doctrines deny worship of royal personalities, which destroyed the original grassroots people's respect for the "God King" and the shackles of royal power on the people gradually loosened.

Years of war with Siam have made the royal family increasingly neglected the construction of public works. Once the irrigation system of rice fields in Angkor area is not well maintained, the production of food will not be enough to cope with the huge population, and the economic scale will also decrease, resulting in the population being moved outward.

The Greaterangkor Project, composed of Australian scholars, pointed out in 2007 that the irrigation system made Angkor Thom the time, but it may also be that some irrigation channels in the huge system were misplaced, leading to excessive development of water resources, resulting in water depletion.

Franciscan monk Antonio da Magdalenna, and Father Charles Emil Buyfu, a French missionary in Battambang in 1857, both reported the situation of Angkor, but it did not attract attention. In January 1860, French scholar Henry Muo discovered the remains of Angkor in the forest and published this travel record, and the world began to become interested in Angkor.

In 1863, the French colonial regime was established, and scholars came to dig out the Angkor ruins in the jungle. In 1866, the French colonial government began to conduct systematic research and compiled a chronology of the Angkor royal family 19 years later.

After World War II, the Kingdom of Cambodia was independent. Although it continued to maintain Angkor, in the second half of the 20th century, there were political and military unrest in Cambodia, Vietnam War, Red Cambodia, civil strife, etc., which also caused the Angkor temple group to be destroyed and stolen.
Chapter completed!