Locals prepared desserts to mark the Chinese New Year in Thailand.

Footage shows how they cooked Khanom Kheng - a dessert made of steamed glutinous rice - which is served as an offering to the gods and ancestors for the Lunar New Year festival in Phayao province.

The snack is prepared in folded banana leaves, and a drop of red food colouring - an auspicious colour in Chinese culture - is added to the white cake for good luck.

Thai-Chinese housewives Wanna Boonsaenchai and Pranee Yindee, who are both descended from the Far East, spent the day together preparing the dessert with close relatives.

Other women were also seen preparing several Thai desserts to be sold in the district during the festival.

Khanom Kheng or Nian Gao, sometimes translated as year cake or New Year Cake, is a food prepared from glutinous rice flour and consumed in Chinese cuisine. It is also simply known as rice cake.

Thailand's capital city - which was founded by settlers from the Far East - has a large population of those descended from mainland China. Many moved to other provinces around the country.

Each year shops sell red and gold lanterns, firecrackers, clothes, decorations and other items to mark the annual event, which will see street celebrations have also been planned for the city.

The Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 1, the date that marks the beginning of the new moon. Festivities typically last for 15 days until the moon becomes full.