Deceased former King Norodom Sihanouk was the founder of the diplomatic ties between Cambodia and China. The two countries established the ties in 1958.
Sihanouk died of illness at the age of 90 in Beijing on Oct. 15 and his body was returned to Phnom Penh by Air China jumbo jet on Oct. 17.
After a week of mourning, his body has been lying in state for at least 3 months at the Royal Palace for the public to pay their last respects before it is cremated in the first week of February next year.
Sihanouk reigned the country from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his voluntary abdication on Oct. 7, 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni.
He was the king who led the country to gain independence from France in 1953.
He suffered from various forms of cancer, diabetes and hypertension and had been treated by Chinese doctors in Beijing for years before his death.