Chinese tourists to Cambodia's Angkor heritage site up 17 pct in first half

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The number of Chinese visitors to Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple, one of the World Heritage Sites, has reached 161,700 in the first six months of this year, a 17 percent rise over the same period last year, an official data showed Friday.

The data from the tourism department in Siem Reap province, where the 12th century temple is located, recorded that China was the second largest source of foreign tourists to the site after South Korea.

Chhoeuy Chhorn, deputy chief of the tourism department in Siem Reap province, said the world-famous temple and excellent ties between Cambodia and China were attributed to the remarkable increase in the number of Chinese tourists to the temple.

"Moreover, there are many direct flights between cities in China and Cambodia, so Chinese citizens can easily travel to Cambodia," he said.

Angkor Wat temple, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992, is the kingdom's largest tourist destination. It is situated about 315 km northwest of capital Phnom Penh.

An entrance fee to the site is 20 U.S. dollars a day for a foreigner, 40 U.S. dollars for a three-day visit and 60 U.S. dollars for a week-long visit.

The ancient temple received a total of 1.24 million foreign visitors during the first six months of this year, up 10 percent over the same period last year, according to the data. The top five countries visiting the site are South Korea, China, Vietnam, Japan and Russia.