Feature: Thailand holds annual event featuring 1,000-year-old Khmer history, culture

CHALOEM PHRA KIAT, Thailand, April 7 (Xinhua) — On the scorching Saturday afternoon, dozens of local Thai students dressing up like apsaras were dancing together on the stairway in front of the main sanctuary of Phanom Rung, an ancient Khmer temple in northeastern Thailand. This is a part of an annual event held on Friday and Saturday to promote traditional culture and attract tourists.

The female students, all in red with apsara crowns, danced with local music, in front of the seven-head naga sculptures and the ancient temple.

“I feel so proud to dance here as I am the child of Buriram province,” said Kanchana Kanchana, a local female university student. “I hope foreign tourists could come to get to know Phanom Rung and Buriram as well as our culture.”

The apsara dancing was the climax of an over three-hour parade Kheun Khao Phanom Rung, or “up into the Phanom Rung mountain”, a ritual celebrated by locals for years.
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