PHNOM PENH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese-Cambodian cultural exhibition is being held in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, which will fall on Feb. 17.
Lasting from Friday to Sunday, the three-day cultural event was designed to provide revelers with an opportunity to experience the rich tapestry of the Chinese New Year.
It featured lion dance, arts performance, and an exhibition of Chinese and Cambodian culture and food. Visitors also enjoy various activities such as writing Chinese characters symbolizing luck and happiness, paper cutting, and a Chinese tea salon.
Kou Somala, a 36-year-old Cambodian housewife, said the event has not only created a joyful atmosphere ahead of the Spring Festival, but also helped promote cultural relations and people-to-people exchange between Cambodia and China.
"This is the first time I've taken my children to visit this exhibition, and we're really happy," she told Xinhua on Saturday.
"Such a joint China-Cambodia event has enabled the peoples of the two countries to gain better insights into each other's culture," she added.
Somala said the Spring Festival is very popular in Cambodia because many of the Cambodians have Chinese ancestry, and she is also a Cambodian of Chinese descent.
Kun Narymorokot, a 20-year-old Cambodian university student, said this cultural exhibition would build a closer bond of friendship between Cambodia and China.
"It's a venue where we can exchange our civilization and culture with each other," she told Xinhua.
"It's believed that the Chinese New Year will ward off bad luck and bring in good luck and fortune, and it's also an occasion for family gatherings and for showing gratitude to ancestors," she added.
Thong Mengdavid, deputy director at the China-ASEAN Studies Center of the Cambodia University of Technology and Science, said many Cambodian families traced their origins to Chinese ancestors, with some lineages dating back centuries.
"As the relationship between Cambodia and China has continued to grow stronger, the Chinese New Year has become a shared celebration, symbolizing cultural harmony, mutual respect, and a deeper bond of fraternal friendship between the two peoples," he told Xinhua. ■