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Tour guide: If chartered, the driver is usually experienced and can double as a tour guide, telling you about the characteristics and history of each temple and temple, and can also take you to some unique shooting spots. If you ask a professional Chinese tour guide, you can also negotiate the price www.biquge.info for $20-25 per day. However, the itinerary and time of the tour guide are strictly arranged (07:30-12:00 in the morning, 14:30-18:30 in the afternoon).

Books: There are many travel guides about Angkor, lonelypla is very helpful in arranging the itinerary, and the Chinese book is "May Blooms Cambodia" written by Carmen, but after all, it was published a few years ago, and many things have changed. In the market of Angkor, you can buy very cheap pirated or second-hand lonelypla, and there are many beautiful books, about 4-6 dollars a copy.

In Angkor, you will encounter a lot of children begging, so you can prepare some stationery, snacks (such as sweets) or take out disposable toiletries from star hotels to give them before you leave.

When entering temples and other places, it is not allowed to wear slippers, shorts, short skirts, sleeveless tops, etc., and shoes should be light and suitable for walking, and it is not appropriate to wear newly bought shoes and high heels.

Angkor Thom, also known as Greater Angkor, was the longest-running capital of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Covering an area of 9 square kilometres, the capital of Angkor includes a series of relics of ancient capitals founded by various dynasties: the Hanging Palace, rebuilt by Suryavarman I, and the Bhapuang Temple, founded by Udayadityavarmanii.

The Bayon Temple, the Elephant Quntai and the Qiangwang Terrace built by Jayavarman VII are among the others. During the hundreds of years from the 9th century to the 15th century, the Angkor Dynasty built Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples under the theocratic "god-king idea".

At the beginning of the 9th century, the Khmer king Jayavarmanii unified Cambodia and declared that he would establish his capital from Java** in Hariharalaya, on the north side of Lake Tonle Sap, in the area of present-day Roluos.

Jayavarman II proclaimed himself the "King of the Universe". Embracing Brahmanism and worshipping Lord Shiva laid the foundation for religious consciousness in the Angkor Dynasty. The "god-king thought" of the integration of politics and religion of Jayavarman II continued for a hundred years in the Angkor Dynasty.

After the accession of Indravarmani I, the first temple in the region, the Preahko, was built in the city of Kharihara Loya, which was completed in 880 at the ancient city of Angkor. It is an early small temple building, named after the sacred cow lying in front of the temple. Indravarman I also built a national temple, Bakong, dedicated to Lord Shiva, which was the first temple in the Khmer to be a mountain-type temple.

At the end of the 9th century, Yasovarmani began to build the capital city of Yasodharapura, which is now the Angkor region. He ordered the construction of the Eastbaray and the construction of the national temple Bakheng on Mount Bakheng, a symbol of Mount Meru, the center of the world of Hindu mythology.

Ditches are built around it, symbolizing the Aral Sea around Mount Meru. In addition, Jesvarman I also built many Hindu temples and monasteries. In 967, Yajnyavahara, a courtier of Rajendravarmanii, built the Banteaysrei (Queen's Palace) northeast of Angkor. It is mainly dedicated to the Brahmanical god Shiva.

Carved in delicate reliefs from rare red sandstone, it is considered to be the highest level of Angkor carving art.

For a hundred years, large and small temples competed for construction. In the mid-11th century, Udayadityavarmanii built the Baphuon Temple, a national temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, which is also a large Sumeru temple. Utsuya Dievaman II also excavated the Westbaray on the west side to replace the gradually drying up East Great Artificial Lake.

The main temple building in the Angkor region, Angkorwat, was built between 1113 and 1150 by Suryavarmanii.

Breaking with the traditional design, Angkor Wat is a Mount Meru temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, which was also the national temple at that time. It is composed of five towers and a three-story cloister. Outside, there is an irrigated ditch as the Aral Sea, and the walls are embossed with mythological tales and the personal royal life of Suyavarman II.

The building occupies a vast area. Magnificent and magnificent, the wall carving is vivid and natural, it is a representative work of Khmer classical art, and it is the world's largest religious building.

After the death of Suyavarman II, the kingdom of Angkor fell into civil strife, followed by foreign invasions. Sougu destroys the capital of Yajendra Bura. When he was still a prince, he expelled the Champhans and ascended the throne in 1181, reaching the height of his empire during his reign of more than 30 years.

He was building on the ruined capital to rebuild Angkorthom. In view of the painful experience of the previous invasion of the occupied city, Jayavarman VII built the walls of Angkor Thom to be particularly high and thick. A moat was built outside the city. The Bayon Monastery in the center of the city is best known for its 54 four-faced Buddha statues carved after the face of King Jayavarman VII.

It is also the origin of the "smiling Khmer", and the relief carvings on the walls of the temple not only show the magnificent scenes of the battle between the Emperor Yavarman VII and the Champa city, but also depict the life scenes of the ordinary people in the city.

Because of the belief in Buddhism, the religion in the Angkor region began to change from Hinduism to Buddhism, and the special style of coexistence of Hinduism and Buddhism can also be seen in Bayon Temple. In addition, Emperor Jayavarman VII also built a large number of temples such as Taprohm Temple, Tasom Temple, etc., as well as many hospitals and hostels.

Zhou Daguan, a native of the Yuan Dynasty of China, went to Chenla (i.e., Angkor) in the first year of Yuanzhen, Chengzong of the Yuan Dynasty (1295), and after returning to China, he created "The Legend of Zhenla Fengtu" in the form of a travelogue.

During his stay in Angkor, during the reign of Indravarman III, the text records the city and life of Angkor, such as the city, religion, justice, bureaucracy, agriculture, slaves, animals and plants, bathing, clothing, utensils, commerce, trade, firewood, rice, oil, salt, and so on.

Although the power of the Angkor dynasty had gradually declined, Zhou Tatguan still recorded a description of the king's extravagance: "When he went out, all the armies and horses rushed to the front, and the banners and drums followed behind. The palace maids are three or five hundred, with flower cloth and flower buns, holding giant candles, forming a team of their own, although they also shine candles during the day. There are also palace maids, all of whom hold the gold and silver utensils and ornaments in the interior, and the systems are very different, and I don't know what they are used for.

There are also palace maids, holding guns and cards as internal soldiers, and they form a team. There were also sheep carts and horse-drawn chariots, all adorned with gold. All his ministers and relatives rode elephants in front. There are countless red umbrellas. Secondly, the wives and concubines of the lord of the country, or sedan chairs or cars, or horses or elephants, sell more than 100 gold umbrellas.

After that, the lord of the kingdom stood on an elephant and held a treasure in his hand. The ivory of the elephant is also covered with gold. Sell gold and white umbrellas, where there are more than 20 handles, the umbrella handles are gold. There are many images around it, and there are military horses to protect it. If you swim close, stop using the golden sedan chair, and carry it with the palace maid. Anyone who goes in and out, will welcome the small pagoda, the golden Buddha in front of it, the spectators should kneel on the ground and bow down, called the three strikes.

Beginning in the mid-13th century, the power of the Angkor dynasty gradually declined, and in 1431 Siam occupied the Angkor region, destroying many buildings and irrigation facilities. The royal family was forced to move away from Angkor, and the entire area was almost completely deserted, except for Angkor Wat, which was used as a Buddhist shrine.

Archaeologists have put forward several reasons for the desolation of the Angkor region: most scholars believe that the most direct cause of the desolation of Angkor was the war with Siam. In the 13th century, Siam gradually invaded the Angkor region, and after the Siam occupied Angkor in 1431, it destroyed the city's construction.

After the destruction of the irrigation system, the fields on which they depended could not be cultivated, and the royal family of Angkor moved the capital to Phnom Penh. Some of the people of Angkor moved to the capital of Siam, and some moved to Phnom Penh with the royal family, and Angkor gradually withered after abandoning it.

Some scholars believe that after the Angkor people's belief changed from Hinduism to Theravada Buddhism, the Buddhist doctrine denied the cult of the royal family's personality, which destroyed the original grassroots people's respect for the "god king", and gradually loosened the shackles of royal power on the people.

Years of war with Siam left the royal family increasingly careless of public works, and the irrigation system of the rice paddies in the Angkor region was not well maintained, which could not produce enough food to cope with the huge population, and the economy also shrank, leading to population migration.

The Great Angkor Project, a group of Australian scholars, pointed out in 2007 that the irrigation system made Angkor Thom what it was at the time, but it may also be due to the mislocation of some irrigation channels in the huge system, which led to overexploitation of water resources and depletion of water sources.

Franciscan friar Antonio? Reach? Magdalena, the French missionary Charles stationed in Battambang in 1857? Amir? Fr. Buyffo reported on the condition of Angkor, but it did not attract attention. In January 1860, the French scholar Henri ? Mouët discovered the ruins of Angkor in the forest and published a record of his travels, and the world became interested in Angkor.

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

After the Second World War, the Kingdom of Cambodia**, although it continued to maintain Angkor, but in the second half of the 20th century, there were political and military turmoil in Cambodia, such as the Vietnam War, the Red Kamps, civil strife, etc., which caused the Angkor temple complex to be destroyed and stolen.

In 1992, UNESCO declared Angkor a World Heritage Site, and an international restoration team was stationed in the Angkor Ensemble, which is still being restored. (To be continued.) )

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