City tightens rules on Lunar New Year
Mom Kunthear | Publication date 26 January 2022 | 21:53 ICT

Phnom Penh municipal governor Khuong Sreng has announced strict measures for Lunar New Year celebrations from January 31 to February 3.

In instructions issued on January 25, Sreng said public and private institutions and Phnom Penh residents must maintain security, safety, and public order during the holiday.

He said noise disturbances – including fireworks and firecrackers – and all kinds of gambling are banned during the celebrations. Parades or processions without permission are also banned, and anyone who causes unrest and disturbs the social order will be punished according to the law.

“Entertainment venues must practise social distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, especially its omicron variant. Be careful about lighting candles, incense and joss paper or anything that might eventually cause a fire. Please maintain security, safety, public order and dignity,” the notice said.

He added that joss paper must be burned in iron containers or earthen pots and must not be burned on pavements or public roads.

The governor also issued rules to the relevant authorities at all levels so that they would take the toughest measures to stop the import of fireworks, firecrackers and all kinds of explosives into the capital. They would be searching for and impounding all such items from now on, he said.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... r-new-year

January 31, 20226:11 AM GMT+1Last Updated 4 hours ago
Cambodian lion dancers cling to craft amid COVID pandemic
Reuters
2 minute read

Lion dance heads are displayed at a temple ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, January 21, 2022. REUTERS/Cindy Liu
PHNOM PENH, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Cambodian dragon and lion dancer Gnuon Virak huddles his troupe together in a circle, before they let out a team cheer and get to work rehearsing for their a Lunar New Year performance - their only one of the pandemic-stricken year.

Gnuon, 28, has loved dancing since he was a child, and grew up near a Chinese-style temple in the capital Phnom Penh. Seven years ago, he asked a master to teach him to dance and joined a troupe, known as the Bodhi Tree Troupe. Eventually he became a team leader.

"We must practice this dancing every day," he said during a rehearsal. "This requires complete focus and motivation."

The transportation company employee used to supplement his regular income of about $300 a month with lion and dragon dances, earning about $20 to perform at local events. That has all but dried up during the pandemic, with the number of performances bottoming out to about one a month instead of five.

The Cambodian Chinese Association estimates there are about eight troupes in Phnom Penh, but Gnuon worries that number may shrink.

"I want the younger generation to hold on to this tradition and make it even more well-known in the future," he said.

Sino-Khmers have long been an integral part of Cambodian society. Historical records estimate the first Chinese came to the area in the 13th Century.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 1/?rpc=401&

Tourist Numbers Over the Chinese New Year were as follows:


Cambodia News: From 1st to 3rd February, Phnom Penh received 258,069 tourists, Battambang has 193,567 tourists, Sihanoukville has 97,542 tourists, Kampot has 66,534 tourists while Siem Reap has 58,953 tourists.
This is according to the survey of tourist numbers in Cambodia for the Chinese New Year 2022.
- ThmeyThmey

Phnom Penh Authorities Restrict 2023 Chinese New Year Celebrations
Cambodia News (Phnom Penh): According to the announcement from the Phnom Penh Capital Administration on January 18, 2023, after a meeting with 5 Khmer-Chinese committees in Phnom Penh, the administration has decided to put a stop to the local Chinese/Vietnamese annual tradition of marching deities around town.
However, the ancient tradition of lion dance performances in the city to celebrate the Chinese New Year will be allowed to take place under strict rules and regulations; only six lion dancing committees, who have been registered by the municipal authorities, will be allowed to perform in the 14 districts of Phnom Penh.

Chinese Lunar New Year widely celebrated in Cambodia
(Xinhua) 09:31, January 20, 2023

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo HE said here on Thursday that the Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, has been broadly celebrated in the Southeast Asian nation.

The 2023 Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit, will fall on Jan. 22.

Speaking during a visit to the construction site of a new national hospital on the northwestern outskirts of capital Phnom Penh, HE said that his wife, Bun Rany, is a Cambodian of Chinese descent.

"My wife, children and grandchildren have celebrated the Chinese New Year too," he said.

The Chinese New Year is not a public holiday in Cambodia, but it is widely celebrated as some schools, private companies and institutions are closed by themselves on the occasion.

Sambo Manara, vice president of the Pannasastra University of Cambodia, said the Chinese New Year has gained its popularity in the kingdom from year to year thanks to the close ties in politics, economics and culture between the two countries.

"A large number of Cambodians have Chinese ancestry, and we estimate that about 80 percent of Cambodians living in urban areas and 40 percent in rural areas celebrate the Chinese New Year," he told Xinhua.

"I believe that this year's celebration is bigger and happier than that in the past few years thanks to the country's great success in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccinations," he added.

Manara said the wide celebrations truly reflected the kingdom's respect for cultural diversity and freedom of belief, and the excellent bonds of friendship between the people of the two countries.

Chhort Bunthang, deputy director-general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, said the Cambodia-China ties dated back to the pre-Angkor era when Chinese envoys Kang Tai and Zhu Ying traveled to Cambodia in the 3rd century, and later envoy Zhou Daguan visited Cambodia during the Angkor period in the 13th century.
- People's Daily

Phnom Penh prepares for the Chinese New Year, which begins tomorrow, on 22 January 2023:
(Photos from Khmernote)

Phnom Penh today:

January 20, 2023
Ushering in the Rabbit year
The Cambodian-Chinese community will be celebrating the coming Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Sunday.

People within the community will be busy buying a variety of food for the celebrations along with decorations incense sticks, candles and red envelopes, for monetary gifts, known as ‘Ang Pao’, a symbol of luck, life and happiness.

Sam Nang, a vendor at Phsar Chas market in Phnom Penh said, “Yes, of course, there are many Cambodian-Chinese people buying incense for this coming Chinese New Year. It gets really busy around three to four days before Chinese New Year. It is certainly much busier than last year as people were not in rush to buy or congregate.”

“We have noticed many traders from other provinces coming to buy goods for Chinese New Year to re-sell in their own province and as we also sell online, we saw our order books filling up well before the coming New Year.

“I am happy to see people coming back to the market, not only during the Chinese New Year, it has been much busier all year. When people are buying, I am happy,” he added.

Most vendors can make at least $50 to $100 a day during this Chinese traditional festival season and there are many vendors in the market selling a variety of goods,

Meanwhile, Ravuth, a pig vendor at Phsar Chas market, Phnom Penh said, “We are so busy leading up to the Chinese New Year supplying roasted pigs to the Cambodian-Chinese community.”

“It costs about $50 for a pig and I am getting 10 to 15 orders or more a day. This is indeed an improvement from last year during the Covid-19 outbreak, when we only sold around five to six pigs in a day. I think our turnover is back to normal after the Covid-19 pandemic in our country.”

Some vendors increase the price of goods during traditional festivals or holidays, especially during the Chinese New Year, causing disdain amongst shoppers in the market.

“The price increase on goods is so high during Chinese New Year and many shoppers complain, I don’t change my price and I think it’s shameful of those vendors who do this during a festival time,” Ravuth added.

Sophal, a shopper in the market, said that people want to buy goods for Chinese New Year and the substantial increase in the price of goods is very disappointing as he does not want to spend so much.

She spends around $40 to $50 for incense, candles, red envelopes etc, and then she has to spend more on a pig and house decoration.
“I spend at least $300 to $400 during Chinese New Year for my family,” she said.
- Khmer Times

Over 1 mln tourists travel in Cambodia during Chinese Lunar New Year: minister
15:22 UTC+8, 2023-01-25
Welcoming The Year Of The Rabbit

Cambodia recorded about 1.04 million domestic and foreign tourists during the celebrations of the Chinese Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said on Wednesday.

Some 1 million locals and 42,056 foreigners traveled in the Southeast Asian nation during the festival from January 21 to January 24, he said in a report.

The country's three top tourist destinations are Preah Sihanouk coastal province, Siem Reap cultural province, and Battambang province, Khon said.

"For tourists to Preah Sihanouk province, most of them traveled to the province in the morning and returned home in the evening by traveling on the [Chinese-invested] Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway," he said.

"Security, safety and public order during the festival had been well maintained, and there were no remarkable problems during the celebrations," he added.

Although it is not an official holiday in Cambodia, the Chinese Lunar New Year is widely celebrated in the kingdom.
Source: Xinhua Editor: Zhu Ying