The 5th World Sichuan Cuisine Conference Held in Ya’an, China

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