PR98568

YA'AN, China, Nov. 3, 2022 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/--

The 5th World Sichuan Cuisine Conference, with the central theme "Let the World

Love Sichuan Cuisine", will commence on November 3 in Ya'an, Sichuan Province,

China. As the host city, Ya'an will give full play to local characteristics and

present a unique experience of "tasting Sichuan cuisine, enjoying Ya'an tea,

and meeting the giant panda". The World Sichuan Cuisine Skills Competition &

Sichuan Street Food Competition, World Chinese Hotpot Banquet Competition and

the Global Sichuan Cuisine Industry Development Summit will also take place

during the span of the Conference, according to Ya'an Municipal People's

Government.

Sichuan peppercorn, a produce of Ya'an, endows Sichuan cuisine its unique

flavor. In addition, Ya'an is home to two exclusive world-class cultural

beacons, namely the "scientific discovery site of the giant panda" and "origin

of tea culture", and the city's historical culture and culinary culture blend

in harmony. This seamless combination is exactly the reason why this Conference

is held in Ya'an this year.

As one of the four major cuisines of China, Sichuan cuisine is renowned for

embracing distinctive "numb and spicy" flavor. The Sichuan peppercorn produced

in Ya'an carries a rich aroma and intense tingly-numbing sensation. A myriad of

famous Sichuan dishes prepared with Sichuan peppercorn such as "Spiced chicken

with chili sauce" and "Ya-fish (Schizothorax prenanti) in hot clay pot"

represent the "numb" flavor dubbed the "soul" of Sichuan cuisine, as it is

widely considered a stand-out in the "one style in each dish, hundred flavors

in a hundred dishes" of Sichuan cuisine.

Moreover, Ya'an is the birthplace of global tea culture. The earliest record of

artificial tea cultivation in China mentions Mengding Mountain in Ya'an, which

is well-known for its rich biological diversity and superb natural resources

that give rise to the celebrated Mengding Mountain tea and Tibetan tea of

remarkable quality.

Equally amazing is that the giant pandas were discovered in Ya'an. In 1869,

French missionary and scientist Pere Armand David made the first scientific

discovery of the giant panda in the forest of Ya'an, and thereafter the

endangered giant panda became an important subject of scientific research.

Today, the giant panda is renowned as a "national treasure of China", a "living

fossil" recognized around the world, and a global culture and symbol that helps

bring attention to biodiversity.

The Sichuan Cuisine Conference is going to be a joyful gastronomic encounter,

and a fruitful cultural exchange, furnishing people around the world not only

with an occasion to savor the delights of Sichuan cuisine, taste the sweet

bouquet of Ya'an tea, revel in the cuteness of the adorable giant panda, but

also an opportunity to experience the charm of the ecological environment and

the vigorous development of the cultural tourism industry of Ya'an.

Source: Ya'an Municipal People's Government