An introduction to Cambodia for students at Shanghai University, as part of a series on countries and cultures of the world.

1. The Kingdom of Cambodia
Shanghai University, SILC (悉尼工商学院)
Antonio Graceffo, PhD, China MBA (安东尼博士)
Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)

2. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
The Kingdom of Cambodia (柬埔寨) is a small
country, in Southeast Asia, bordering on Laos,
Thailand, and Vietnam, with a population of about
16 Million. Modern Cambodians are the
descendants of the Angkorian Empire, some of the
greatest temple builders in history. Angkor Wat is
Cambodia’s most famous temple.

3. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
Angkor Wat (吴哥窟), depicted on the Cambodian flag, was built
between the 11th and 13th Century by the ancient Khmer, Angkorian Empire. It
was originally a Hindu Temple (印度教), but the official religion of the regime
changed to Theravada Buddhism (小乘佛教), then to Mahayana Buddhism (大
乘佛教), and finally back to Theravada which it still is today. Angkor Wat is
larger than modern-day Manhattan.

4. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
The national language of Cambodia is called Khmer, which uses an ancient
writing system based on Indian Sanskrit/Pali, and shares some similarities with
Thai, Lao, and the Shan language of Burma. As a former French colony,
French was one of the main languages of education until it was displaced by
English.

5. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
Today, Chinese is the second most widely studied language
in the country. Roughly 50% of the population of the
country’s capital, Phnom Penh, have some Chinese ancestry.
About 30,000 students are enrolled in Chinese schools.

6. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
Antonio lived in Cambodia in from (2004-2006). Over the last twelve
years, he has spent anywhere from one to three months per year in
Cambodia writing, researching, and train. To date, he has written two
books and several hundred articles and papers about Cambodia.

7. Cambodia is famous for traditional, Apsara dancing, but what
Antonio likes best is Cambodian martial arts Bokator and Khun
Khmer.
Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)

8. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
The Khmer Rouge years (1975-1979)
After a long civil war, the Khmer Rouge took control of the
country and about 20% of the population died of
execution, starvation or overwork.

9. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
Akira spent his childhood in a military camp. For most of his life, he only knew war, having
fought in The Khmer Rouge, Khmer Serey, Vietnamese Army, Hun Sen Army and the UN.
Today, he is a world expert on removing landmines and has dedicated his life to demining.

10. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
After the war, Cambodia started with a GDP of close to zero. In the last ten years, however,
Cambodia has had one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with current growth rate of
about 7%.

11. The city is growing but many streets still look
the same as they have for decades.
Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)

12. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
China is one of Cambodia’s biggest trading partners with hundreds of
Chinese firms investing in Cambodian construction and real estate sectors.
Chinese companies are building the Phnom Penh skyline.

13. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
Cambodia has one of the youngest populations in the world, with an average age of 27. The
generation who survived the Khmer Rouge knew horrible suffering and starvation. Their children
were born into poverty, but, by the early 2000’s, the country was doing much better. Now, a new
generation of Cambodians is growing up who haven’t known hunger, as the country moves from
low income to middle income. If Cambodia can survive the 2018, elections the future should be
much better.

14. Antonio Graceffo, (安东尼博士)
Cambodian young people like the same things young people like across Asia. They love
Zhēnzhū nǎichá (珍珠奶茶), Korean pop music, and 3-D movies from America.

15. Antonio Graceffo, PhD, China MBA (安东尼)
Shanghai University, SILC (悉尼工商学院)
Contact: antonio_garecffo@hotmail.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniograceffo
Antonio Graceffo (安东尼)
Thanks for listening.
And please come visit me in Cambodia.