Sihanoukville may be more than 3,500km away from Beijing, but it feels more like a Chinese city than a sleepy beach town in Cambodia.
Everywhere, people can be heard speaking in Mandarin. Chinese restaurants have sprung up on dusty roads where huge construction sites – including many hotels and casinos – now dominate the skyline.
This former fishing village in the country’s southwest used to be a favourite of backpackers. Now it is booming, and much of the development is being driven by Chinese money.
