Angkor literally means ‘Capital City’ or ‘Holy City’. ‘Khmer’ refers to the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. In its modern usage, ‘Angkor’ has come to refer to the capital city of the Khmer Empire that existed in the area of Cambodia between the 9th and 12th centuries CE, as well as to the empire itself. The temple ruins in the area of Siem Reap are the remnants of the Angkorian capitals, and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civilization.

At its height, the Age of Angkor was a time when the capital area contained more than a million people, when Khmer kings constructed vast waterworks and grand temples, and when Angkor’s military, economic and cultural dominance held sway over the area of modern Cambodia, and much of Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

吴哥古迹，位于柬埔寨暹粒省洞里萨湖北面，距首都金边240公里。1992年联合国教科文组织将吴哥古迹作为文化遗产，列入《世界遗产名录》。与埃及的金字塔，中国的万里长城和印尼的婆罗浮屠并称“东方四大奇迹”的吴哥古迹位于面积约45平方公里的原始森林中。分散有各种建筑遗迹600多处，主要包括吴哥窟，吴哥城和附近一些庙宇。这是一组巨大的石建筑群，主要由大量宏伟的石塔，石屋和许多精美玲珑的石刻浮雕组成。全部结构几乎都用很大的石块堆切而成。

吴哥的古建筑于802年开始兴建，那时候，柬埔寨真腊王国吴哥王朝的国王耶跋摩二世统一了高棉，定都吴哥，开时修建庞大的寺庙群。这个公程一直持续了400年，直到1201年锗耶跋摩七世时才完工。1431年，吴哥被暹罗侵袭后，吴哥王朝把首都搬到了金边。从此以后，吴哥都城杂草丛生，吴哥这座历史悠久的文明古都，就被淹没在热带直到1861年，法国人毛霍德在热带从林中考察，才发现了这一古迹。吴哥遗址的发现，向我们展示了吴哥王朝的城市建筑风貌和艺术水平.