Spring Festival greetings from Thai ambassador: People-to-people is most important

With the 2019 Spring Festival around the corner, China Daily sat down with ambassadors and diplomats to talk about their understanding of Spring Festival, outlook on bilateral relations, and their New Year greetings to the Chinese people.

Due to the large Chinese community in Thailand, celebrating Chinese Spring Festival has become a custom in his country, said Piriya Khempon, Thailand's ambassador to China.

Usually Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presides over the opening ceremony, when she declares that the season is open and everyone starts celebrating. Firecrackers can be heard everywhere and traditional Chinese cultural performances, like lion dances, can be seen in many Thai department stores during Chinese Lunar New Year. The princess, who loves Chinese culture and has visited China over 40 times so far, contributes much in bridging Sino-Thai relations and creating mutual understanding between the people of the two countries.

In the interview, the ambassador emphasized the importance of promoting people-to-people exchanges between China and Thailand. Last year, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand was 10.5 million. "We always welcome Chinese tourists", the ambassador said.

In terms of cultural exchanges between China and Thailand, the ambassador stressed that Thai food has absorbed many Chinese cuisine traditions.

"The Chinese chef is No 1 in the way they cook and decorate the food", the ambassador said.

Producer: Han Lei

Production: Feng Minghui

Reporter: Hu Zhe

Camera: Yu Xiaou & Fu Rui

Lighting: Zhou Bing

Editing: Yu Xiaoou & Fu Rui

Coordinator: Hu Zhe & Zhang Xingjian

Subtitles: Hu Zhe & Liu Fang & Li Wenrui