World conference on Sichuan cuisine draws overflow crowds to Deyang

Visitors admire food displays on Friday at the 7th World Sichuan Cuisine Conference, which was held in Deyang, Sichuan province, on Thursday and Friday. (HUANG ZHILING/CHINA DAILY)

Visitors to Deyang, Sichuan province, were impressed with the overflow crowds inside and outside the city's Wende International Exhibition and Convention Center, where the 7th World Sichuan Cuisine Conference was held on Thursday and Friday.

The conference, with the theme "Let the World Love Sichuan Cuisine", was organized by the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry, with the aim of building an international development platform for Sichuan food.

Highlighting the sharing and civilizational aspects of the cuisine, the conference also helped to promote Deyang's brand as a city, said Li Yong, head of the city's information office.

Since its debut in 2018, the conference has been held exclusively in Sichuan seven times, drawing participants from more than 20 countries and regions.

It has become a symbol of the development of the Sichuan cuisine industry, and is also an influential brand activity in China's catering industry, which boasts a market size of 5 trillion yuan ($687 billion).

With the increase in cultural exchanges between China and other countries, more expatriates are working, studying and living in Sichuan, and the province's cuisine has become an indispensable part of their lives.

Jongrak, a student from Thailand who is majoring in new energy vehicles at Sichuan Polytechnic University in Deyang, said he was most impressed by Sichuan cuisine's twice-cooked meat and mapo tofu.

"In our hometown, there are many Chinese people. And we eat Chinese food during major celebrations such as weddings," said the 20-year-old, who is from a village in Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand.

Emily Scott, director of the Agricultural Trade Office of the United States embassy in China, has been in Beijing for more than three months.

"During my limited travel within China, I'm already impressed by the varieties of cuisine styles in different regions in China, in particular Sichuan cuisine," she said during the conference's opening ceremony on Thursday.

Scott said that among all cuisine styles, Sichuan food is one of the most welcomed worldwide, and is her favorite. Moreover, with the tremendous work of the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry, Sichuan cuisine has become versatile and modern, providing opportunities for many food products, she said.

China has one of the world's most dynamic food and beverage consumer markets, with endless possibilities, Scott said, adding that food connects people beyond boundaries.

Furthermore, China continues to be one of the top markets for US agricultural exports, and agriculture continues to be one of the most important aspects of bilateral relations, she added.

Located on the fertile Chengdu Plain, Deyang is the birthplace of Li Tiaoyuan (1734-1803), whose food monograph Xingyuan Lu (Awakening Garden Record) is the earliest Sichuan cuisine recipe collection. It features some of the best-known Sichuan dishes, such as twice-cooked meat and Zhongjiang hanging noodles.

A local specialty, the noodles, which are delicately made and as fine as strands of hair, are produced in Zhongjiang county of Deyang, and can be traced back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279).