Chengdu's Delicious Spiciness Goes Global
2010-3-2 这无聊的生活
Chengdu, a city in southwest China's Sichuan Province known for its "hot and spicy" cuisine, wants to go global' with its delicious spicy flavors,' especially after becoming a member of the "Creative Cities Network," a UNESCO project that provides a platform for its member cities to share and promote local heritage.
A press conference held on Sunday in Beijing with the participation of UNESCO officials and the Vice Mayor of Chengdu reported the city's nomination into the "Creative Cities Network" in the gastronomy category.
Vice mayor of Chengdu, Wang Zhonglin, compares the city's inclusion into the network to being part of an international club for top-grade players of the creative industry, which will bring about positive elements to the city's development.
"The network provides a platform for Chengdu to conduct exchanges and cooperation with the world's first-class creative cities, study advanced international creative concepts, and explore the potential for the city's development in the food culture on the international market. Meanwhile, the network will help Chengdu attract the world's outstanding enterprises and talents in the field of creative design of gastronomy."
The Chengdu Commerce Bureau has drafted a work plan from 2010 to 2012 to mold the city into a "City of Gastronomy," with the responsibilities that a member country of the network is obligated to fulfill.
Under the plan, Chengdu will speed up the process of bringing local cuisine up to international standards and to work as a professional industry in order to go global. Meanwhile, the internationalization is expected to help the local catering industry achieve an annual growth of 19 percent of its revenue.
Chengdu is one of only two cities in the world that have been recognized as a "City of Gastronomy". The other is Popayan in Colombia.
Chengdu's success in being included in the "Creative Cities Network" has not only inspired local residents, but also many of those who came from Chengdu to open restaurants in Beijing.
Twenty-nine-year-old Xiong Chunmei is one of them. Xiong runs a Chengdu Snack Bar, located near Babaoshan Subway Station in western Beijing. She's pleased to find her bar gets crowded each day.
When asked about how she feels about her hometown being recognized as a "City of Gastronomy," Xiong said she believes her hometown deserves the title for three reasons: unique flavor, everyone loves the taste and it's affordable.
"I think Sichuan snacks are unparalleled in their novel setup. The paprika and pepper used in making the dishes are all brought from my hometown to make it authentically home-style. My snack bar is quite popular among local diners."
She said in excitement that her snack bar receives 300 diners at best on a daily basis since she began its operation in 2006.
In fact, Xiong is among many others who have brought delicious spiciness to Beijing from their hometown of Sichuan, making "Chengdu Snack Bar" a prominent feature in the capital city.
But Beijing is surely not the destination of their ambition. To enable the delicious spiciness to go even further, Chengdu city has now joined the "Creative Cities Network."
Founded in 2004, the "Creative Cities Network" aims to find and enrich a member city's cultural identity in the midst of a growing trend towards internationalism. Meanwhile, member cities of the alliance will share their experiences.
Xiong Chunmei said, through a study on the experience of the western-style snackery, a lot of progress has been made in the sanitation of their food.
"We've learnt from the western-style fast food restaurants to remedy our disadvantage in the area of sanitation. In the past, we used to pursue a high number of food varieties we could offer to diners in a small restaurant. But now we've improved to make our dishes 'few but good'."
According to Xiong, the snack bar is the third restaurant specializing in Chengdu cuisine that she has launched so far in Beijing. Actually, it's not only Xiong Chunmei's own wish, but also a wish shared by all Chengdu-cuisine restaurant operators who want their snack food to reach people globally.
Chengdu residents believe the "Creative Cities Network" will help their dream come true.
A press conference held on Sunday in Beijing with the participation of UNESCO officials and the Vice Mayor of Chengdu reported the city's nomination into the "Creative Cities Network" in the gastronomy category.
Vice mayor of Chengdu, Wang Zhonglin, compares the city's inclusion into the network to being part of an international club for top-grade players of the creative industry, which will bring about positive elements to the city's development.
"The network provides a platform for Chengdu to conduct exchanges and cooperation with the world's first-class creative cities, study advanced international creative concepts, and explore the potential for the city's development in the food culture on the international market. Meanwhile, the network will help Chengdu attract the world's outstanding enterprises and talents in the field of creative design of gastronomy."
The Chengdu Commerce Bureau has drafted a work plan from 2010 to 2012 to mold the city into a "City of Gastronomy," with the responsibilities that a member country of the network is obligated to fulfill.
Under the plan, Chengdu will speed up the process of bringing local cuisine up to international standards and to work as a professional industry in order to go global. Meanwhile, the internationalization is expected to help the local catering industry achieve an annual growth of 19 percent of its revenue.
Chengdu is one of only two cities in the world that have been recognized as a "City of Gastronomy". The other is Popayan in Colombia.
Chengdu's success in being included in the "Creative Cities Network" has not only inspired local residents, but also many of those who came from Chengdu to open restaurants in Beijing.
Twenty-nine-year-old Xiong Chunmei is one of them. Xiong runs a Chengdu Snack Bar, located near Babaoshan Subway Station in western Beijing. She's pleased to find her bar gets crowded each day.
When asked about how she feels about her hometown being recognized as a "City of Gastronomy," Xiong said she believes her hometown deserves the title for three reasons: unique flavor, everyone loves the taste and it's affordable.
"I think Sichuan snacks are unparalleled in their novel setup. The paprika and pepper used in making the dishes are all brought from my hometown to make it authentically home-style. My snack bar is quite popular among local diners."
She said in excitement that her snack bar receives 300 diners at best on a daily basis since she began its operation in 2006.
In fact, Xiong is among many others who have brought delicious spiciness to Beijing from their hometown of Sichuan, making "Chengdu Snack Bar" a prominent feature in the capital city.
But Beijing is surely not the destination of their ambition. To enable the delicious spiciness to go even further, Chengdu city has now joined the "Creative Cities Network."
Founded in 2004, the "Creative Cities Network" aims to find and enrich a member city's cultural identity in the midst of a growing trend towards internationalism. Meanwhile, member cities of the alliance will share their experiences.
Xiong Chunmei said, through a study on the experience of the western-style snackery, a lot of progress has been made in the sanitation of their food.
"We've learnt from the western-style fast food restaurants to remedy our disadvantage in the area of sanitation. In the past, we used to pursue a high number of food varieties we could offer to diners in a small restaurant. But now we've improved to make our dishes 'few but good'."
According to Xiong, the snack bar is the third restaurant specializing in Chengdu cuisine that she has launched so far in Beijing. Actually, it's not only Xiong Chunmei's own wish, but also a wish shared by all Chengdu-cuisine restaurant operators who want their snack food to reach people globally.
Chengdu residents believe the "Creative Cities Network" will help their dream come true.
One Response to “Chengdu's Delicious Spiciness Goes Global”
Leave a Reply