Cambodia-China cultural tourism exhibition to take place at famed Angkor complex next week

PHNOM PENH, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodia-China cultural tourism exhibition is scheduled to be held in the northern part of Bayon Temple in Cambodia's famed Angkor Archaeological Park, said the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism in a statement released on Saturday.

Interspersed with the event to take place at the cultural site located in Cambodia's northwestern Siem Reap Province will be a joint martial arts show titled "When Shaolin Meets Bokator at Angkor Event", according to the statement.

Organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the Siem Reap Province and China's Henan Province, the exhibition serves as part of the implementation of the Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year 2024, it added.

"The event aims to jointly promote tourism between Siem Reap province and Henan province, featuring a joint performance between Shaolin and Bokator," the statement said.

The ministry said it is confident that the event will contribute to attracting more Chinese people to visit and invest in Cambodia, and to the successful implementation of the Visit Siem Reap 2024 campaign and the Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year 2024.

The Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year 2024 was launched in January, aiming to further deepen the friendship between the two peoples.

Cambodian Tourism Minister Sok Soken said the Southeast Asian country received 5.4 million international tourists, including some 540,000 Chinese tourists, in 2023.

"I'm strongly confident that the Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year 2024 will become a new driving force to attract more Chinese tourists and investors to Cambodia, contributing further to deepening the bonds of friendship between the peoples of the two countries," he said.