On the morning of May 15, the Conference on Dialogue of Asian 
Civilizations(CDAC) commenced at Chinese capital Beijing. As a complementary 
program of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, the Chengdu Panda 
Asian Food Festival(CPAFF) also kicked off on the same day, according to the 
Organizing Committee of the Chengdu Panda Asian Food Festival (CPAFF).

In a dialogue of civilizations, a dish is worth a thousand words. Chengdu, this 
home to 16 million people and central city in western China, is undertaking a 
campaign surrounding the core theme "great food, search for fragrance, showcase 
our respective beauty and admire each other's beauty" and comprised of 45 
activities such as culinary cultural summit, "journey for the search of 
fragrance" art of living experience tour, exchanges between well-known Chinese 
and foreign chefs, culinary culture special exhibition, and culinary cultural 
theme days for eight Asian nations and regions. This is a massive Asian 
culinary carnival for citizens and tourists alike, and an event that uses foods 
as medium to promote the exchanges and mutual appreciation between the 
civilizations of Asia.

On the evening of the 14th, Chengdu began with the "Tianfu Home Banquet" as the 
welcoming dinner of the Chengdu Panda Asian Culinary Festival, which enabled 
friends from afar to experience the feelings of "home" conveyed in Sichuan 
culinary culture during their very first meal. With classic Sichuan dishes 
making up the main line-up, guests were treated to 16 "dishes often eaten at 
home" such as fuqi feipian spicy beef and beef offal, twice-cooked pork, mapo 
tofu and camphor leaf and tea leaf-smoked duck, which were selected based on 
votes submitted by citizens.

As the saying goes, great foods in China, great tastes in Chengdu. As the first 
"city of gastronomy" in Asia as named by the United Nations Educational, 
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the heritage between Chengdu and 
fine foods runs deep. Known since antiquity as the "Land of Abundance" due to 
the mild climate and abundant produce, Chengdu is a city with more than 2,300 
years of history and profound cultural legacy. The superb natural resources and 
sound social environment have become inherent advantages conducive to the 
development of culinary culture in this city.

On the evening of the 15th, the Creative Hot Pot Bazaar, an integral part of 
the Chengdu Panda Asian Food Festival, officially began at Water Street in 
Chengdu. Other than mobile storefronts and exhibition zones set up by the 
city's hot pot brands, also activities such as "Chengdu Chili Pepper 
Competition" are held on-site to thoroughly enable citizens and visitors to 
relish in Sichuan's "spicy culture".

"Hot pot is an indispensable constituent of Chengdu culture, and it is 
inseparable from the soul of this city," President of Sichuan Hot Pot 
Association Shen Hongguang remarked.

Other than the famous hot pot, Chengdu is also the cradle to Sichuan cuisine, 
one of the eight major cuisines of China. But here in Chengdu, gastronomic 
delights are much more than just hot pot and Sichuan foods. Due to the 
love-life and love-dining attitude of the locals and the open-minded and 
inclusive social environment, Chengdu is at present home to more than 100,000 
dining establishments of all sorts, including foods from across the globe. 
Chengdu is also the top city in western China in terms of the number of 
international and domestic food and beverage brands represented.

Aaron Sanchez came to Chengdu from Los Angeles to found his start-up, and soon 
he fell in love with the myriad of treats scattered around the city. Today, he 
knows the foods of Chengdu like the back of his hand, "Bobochicken, chuan chuan 
skewers, hot pot, mapo tofu, yuxiang rousi fish fragrance shredded pork... 
whenever I am back in LA, or even when I just travel somewhere else, I could 
not help but think about all the fantastic foods here in Chengdu," he said.

According to the event sponsor, this edition of the Chengdu Panda Asian Food 
Festival will continue until the 22nd of this month. During this period, more 
than 1,200 restaurants and 11 business districts throughout the city will get 
involved. The "Food Above All: Cultural Journey on the Dining Table" special 
exhibition, "Black Pearl Head Chefs' Club Initiation Ceremony and Forum," 
"Tastes of Asia" culinary culture and tourism theme days and a series of other 
events will fire up the city and allow every participant to revel in the 
cultural charisma behind the foods and dishes.

During the span of the Food Festival, the "Asian Culinary Culture Alliance," 
formed jointly by organizations such as the "Belt and Road" Southeast Asia 
Non-governmental Organization Alliance, Slow Food Great China, Numbing and 
Spicy Alliance of Japan, Institute of Cultural Industry of Peking University 
and Korean Dining Culture International Exchange Association, will announce its 
establishment. The alliance is dedicated to the concerted preservation and 
inheritance of culinary techniques, cultivation of human resources engaged in 
culinary culture dissemination, promotion of the culinary cultures of Asia, and 
advocation of the mutual learning and mutual appreciation of cross-region 
civilizations in Asia.

Source: The Organizing Committee of the Chengdu Panda Asian Food Festival 
(CPAFF)