Cambodian King visits site of 1st CPC national congress

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni visited the site of the first national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Shanghai on Tuesday.

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni (2nd R) visits the site of the first national congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Shanghai, east China, on March 16, 2021. Sihamoni arrived in Shanghai by plane on Monday morning. (Xinhua/Gao Feng)

On July 23, 1921, the First National Congress of the CPC was convened at 76 Xingye Road in Shanghai.

"This year marks the centenary of the Communist Party of China. Your father, late King Norodom Sihanouk, visited here twice in 1963 and 1972," said Xue Feng, curator of the memorial hall, who also reviewed the history of the birth of the CPC and the traditional friendship between China and Cambodia.

King Norodom Sihamoni said an important purpose of his visit to Shanghai was to visit the site of the first CPC national congress.

Sihamoni had a photo taken under the plaque of the site and received a copy of the first Chinese edition of the Communist Manifesto published in 1920 as a gift.

"This is a place of extraordinary political and historical significance. The site witnessed the history of the CPC in building the country and serving the people by overcoming difficulties," Sihamoni said.

Later, Sihamoni also paid a visit to the Nanhu Lake in the city of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. At the end of July 1921, the first CPC national congress was transferred to a boat on the Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing due to an interruption by local police.

Sihamoni arrived in Shanghai by plane on Monday morning.