Frankfort Online

Following two sessions of San Francisco & Chengdu Food and Culture Festival, Chengdu Food and Culture Festival enters Europe for the first time in the form of “a feast, an exhibition and a festival”, promoting authentic Chengdu cuisine in a “fancy” style and showing the world Tianfu Culture. 

At 11:00 a.m. local time on October 18, 2018 Europe & Chengdu Food and Culture Festival kicked off at the Hilton Prague Hotel in Czech Republic. With wonderful speech, clear promotion, friendly signing, authentic cuisine with Tianfu Culture, Chengdu made an elegant debut and opened the door to Europe. This was the first major event at 2018 Europe & Chengdu Food and Culture Festival, where food and cultures from the east and the west combined. As two important node cities under the “Belt and Road” Initiative, Chengdu and Prague have deepened the understanding, enhanced the friendship, promoted the cooperation and also brought a good beginning for Tianfu Culture to spread across Europe comprehensively.

Great Opening and Business Opportunities Come with Broad Channel

Chengdu is not only an important strategic city in the “Belt and Road” Initiative, but also the mega city in China nearest to Europe. In August 2016, the direct flight between Prague and Chengdu was officially opened; in September 2017, the first China-Europe train (Chengdu to Prague) left Chengdu International Railway Port. Prague became one of the most important gateways to Central and Eastern Europe officially.

According to Srol, the Czech consul-general in Chengdu, at the National Day Reception just held by the Czech Consulate-general in Chengdu, the number of visas issued by the Consulate-general in 2017 increased by 100% over the previous year, and the total import and export volume also increased, with more and more products “made in Czech” and “made in Chengdu” sold in each other’s shops and markets.

An important agenda of this food and culture festival was the economic and trade contract between Chengdu and the Czech Republic, which would facilitate more products “made in Chengdu” and “made in Czech”. The signing parties, Chengdu Commerce Commission and Czech-China Economic, Trade and Cultural Promotion Association, have signed the economic and trade cooperation framework agreement on industrial investment, business trade, food culture and tourism services, etc. Both sides have committed to encourage bilateral trade cooperation and development and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in such areas as food and tourism. This would help local enterprises in Chengdu to “go out” and actively seek the “introduction” of quality projects in Europe, so as to comprehensively expand economic and trade cooperation with Europe and facilitate the implementation of cooperation projects. This contract opened a new chapter of two-way trade between China and the Czech Republic.

High-end Guests Gathered to Share Tianfu Culture and Gourmet Feast

The event attracted a large number of Czech heavyweight guests to the conference, showing the importance the Czech Republic attached to Chengdu. They were Patek Polma, Office Director of Czech Governors’ Federation; Wang Jinsong, Commercial Counselor of Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic; Wu Guang, Cultural Counselor of Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic; Xu Jinsong, Office Director of Chinese Embassy in the Czech Republic; Petr Mrhalek, Executive Vice President of Czech-China Friendship and Cooperation Association; NOVÁK PETR, Executive President of Czech-China Economic, Trade and Cultural Promotion Association; and Ni Jian, President of China-Czech Peaceful Reunification Promotion Association, as well as the representatives from MADETA Dairy Group, Czech Mainstream Chinese Community, and Czech Media Group.

Liao Chengzhen, Deputy Secretary General of Chengdu Municipal People’s Government, welcomed them in her speech. She hoped that more Prague friends would come to Chengdu for sightseeing and travelling, investment and development, share new opportunities for the development of Chengdu and jointly push the friendly cooperation between Chengdu and the Czech Republic to a new level. Padek Polma, Office Director of Czech Governors’ Federation, also hoped that Czech Republic and Chengdu, as old friends, could cooperate more, and Czech culture and enterprises could have more access to this charming Oriental city.

Chen Xiaobing, Deputy Inspector of Chengdu Commerce Commission, made a special presentation about Chengdu. He introduced the historical culture, the cuisine characteristics, the economic status quo, the development opportunities and other aspects about Chengdu to the guests. “Czech Republic and Chengdu are bound to have bright prospects in terms of food trade, tourism and cultural exchanges,” he said. At the same time, he also sincerely invited the Czech friends to “visit Chengdu”and welcomed them to feel the vitality of the Land of Abundance and the charm of Tianfu Culture.

A special exhibition area for Chengdu cuisine and cultural and creative products was set up at the site. The authentic products “made in Chengdu” such as Pixian Douban from Pidu District, Sichuan cuisine condiment, hotpot condiment, tea brew cup, etc. were displayed and caught a lot of attention. “Festival in Chengdu” exhibition area, the urban cultural tourism brand built by Chengdu, the creative theme posters and various Chengdu characteristic cultures extended a kind invitation to the Czech people. In particular, a panda doll jointly launched by “Festival in Chengdu” and the local enterprise “Panda House” attracted the Czech friends to stop to take photos, and expressed their hope to have a tour “in Chengdu”.

The next section of food appreciation pushed the event to a climax. With Chengdu-style dance and accompaniment, Zhong dumplings, Chen mapo, Lai Tangyuan, hotpot and other traditional special delicious food were presented in turn, giving the guests a great feast for their taste and eyes. The stories told by the chefs of the corresponding dishes not only made the food appreciation full of creativity and interest, but also helped the Czech guests to understand the profound culture contained in the food.

2018 Europe & Chengdu Food and Culture Festival kicked off in Czech Republic and successfully launched a new chapter for China-Europe cooperation.

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