PHNOM PENH: Tuesday marks the 5th Anniversary of the inclusion of Cambodia’s Chapei Dang Veng in the World Heritage List. The Chapei Dang Veng, a Cambodian two-stringed, long-necked guitar, was inscribed into UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list on November 30 in 2016. Marking the occasion, Prime Minister Hun Sen has also called on all Cambodian children to love and protect their precious national heritage.

Prime Minister Hun Sen has made a Facebook post congratulating Cambodia on the 5th anniversary of the inclusion of the Chapey Dang Veng into the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2016.

He says that this priceless heritage property of the Kingdom of Cambodia has been preserved for a long time, and he urges all Cambodian children to love and participate in protecting the precious heritage of their nation and the whole world.

The Chapey Dang Veng is one of Cambodia's oldest musical instruments, which can be even found in carvings on the walls of Angkor Wat. The two-stringed plucked instrument is played to accompany songs which are usually about ancient folktales or short educational stories about virtue and culture.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts held an event to celebrate the third anniversary of the inclusion of the Cambodian Puppet Theater as an Intangible Cultural Heritage, and to also celebrate all the other heritage properties from Cambodia which have been thus far recognized.

The Chapei Dang Veng and the Cambodian Puppet Theater are just two of eight Cambodian heritage sites and properties that have been registered into different World Heritage lists. Others include Angkor Wat, the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, Preah Vihear Temple, tugging rituals and games, Sambor Prei Kuk Temple and Sbek Thom Khmer shadow theatre.