FILE PHOTO: A woman shops for festive decorations ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Jan. 17, 2023.
PHNOM PENH: As the 2026 Chinese New Year -- the Year of the Horse -- is just around the corner, Chinese New Year decorations have been on display at the National Museum of Cambodia here.
The decorations including Chinese knots, lanterns, red fire horses, and pandas wearing a New Year hat, have been exhibited at the museum as part of an ongoing exhibition on the China-Cambodia millennial civilisations, which will last until Feb. 28, 2026.
The 2026 Chinese New Year will fall on Feb. 17.
Sokha, an official at the National Museum of Cambodia, said the main purpose was to showcase Cambodia-China relations through arts and culture.
"I expect that members of the public, particularly Cambodian people, will gain better insights into the entry of Chinese cultural objects and tradition into Cambodia," he told Xinhua on Wednesday.
Sokha, who is also a Cambodian of Chinese descent, said the Chinese New Year is very popular in the South-East Asian country thanks to close ties in politics, economics, trade, culture and tourism between the two countries.
"For the Chinese New Year, my family celebrates it every year, and my parents mostly go to their hometown to pray for their ancestors," he said.
Nouy Channida, a 19-year-old university student in Phnom Penh, said she felt happy to get a better understanding of the history of Cambodia-China relations through this exhibition.
"This exhibition will definitely give a stronger boost to the Cambodia-China relations," she told Xinhua on Wednesday.
"In Cambodia, the Chinese New Year has been widely celebrated because most of the people are Cambodians of Chinese descent," Channida said.
Om Bouty, a 19-year-old university student in Phnom Penh, said it was an interesting exhibition, allowing visitors to better understand about foreign culture in addition to their own culture.
"I think it (Chinese New Year) is quite popular because most of our Cambodian people always celebrate it every year. Almost every house celebrates it," he told Xinhua.
Bouty said that prior to the Chinese New Year, Cambodians of Chinese descent always decorate their houses with things like red paper-cuts, flowers, red lanterns and Chinese couplets to welcome the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar. - Xinhua
