Taizhou's Full-Throttle Drive to Become a "World Capital of Gastronomy"!

Taizhou is a city that makes visitors eager to indulge in its food. According to incomplete statistics, Taizhou boasts over 300 traditional dishes, characterized as “fresh and savory, soft and chewy, sweet and delightful.” It is home to 6 provincial-level and 52 municipal-level intangible cultural heritage culinary items. Taizhou’s gourmet industry is well-developed, with a complete industrial chain spanning ingredient supply, catering services, and brand expansion. The city features numerous food hubs, such as Jiaojiang Xinhai Tiandi, Jiazhi Old Street, Luqiao Shili Long Street, and Linhai Ziyang Street. Taizhou has nearly 60,000 catering establishments, including about 500 large-scale restaurants, and employs over 160,000 people in the catering sector. It is the birthplace of Xin Rong Ji, the Chinese restaurant with the most Michelin stars, and is home to a cluster of highly renowned Taizhou cuisine restaurants, including Lin Jia Yi, Shun Ji Pu Jiang Hui, Lao Bian Restaurant, Ke Long Yi Hao, and Long Yan. Taizhou cuisine has gained prominence in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, with over 1,300 Taizhou cuisine restaurants in Shanghai alone.

Taizhou Municipal Committee and Government attach great importance to the bid for “World Capital of Gastronomy”. As early as 2023, the bid was incorporated into the Party Congress Report and the Government Work Report, and the Implementation Opinions on Further Accelerating the Development of Taizhou Cuisine Industry was issued. City leaders led delegations to World Capital of Gastronomy such as Yangzhou, Huai’an, and Shunde to study their gourmet industries and bidding processes. This year, Taizhou has formally initiated its bid, establishing a dedicated task force led by the municipal Party committee and government leadership, with comprehensive efforts focused on 18 key tasks across four domains. I would like to take this opportunity to brief you on the progress of Taizhou’s bidding efforts.

I. Delving into Cultural Connotation and Innovating Culinary Heritage

Research on Culinary Culture: Collaborating with universities and industry associations, we have conducted studies on the origins, evolution, and development of Taizhou’s culinary culture and advanced the standardization of “Taizhou Cuisine.” Research outcomes include publications such as Shan He He Wei: 'Bai Xian Qian Wan' and Taizhou’s Dietary Culture and Taizhou Shi Hua: Research on Taizhou Cuisine from a Humanistic Perspective. One provincial-level research project has been submitted, and the compilation of a bilingual (Chinese-English) Chinese National Geographic · Taizhou Cuisine Special Issue has commenced.

Enriching Heritage Platforms: We are promoting the inclusion of Taizhou culinary techniques in the ninth batch of municipal-level intangible cultural heritage projects, providing robust support for the inheritance of Taizhou cuisine culture. The Taizhou Cuisine Museum is being rapidly developed, showcasing Taizhou’s food culture through exhibits and multimedia, and it commenced trial operations during the National Day holiday.

Strengthening Culinary Talent Development: We are progressively building a talent cultivation system spanning secondary vocational, higher vocational, and undergraduate education. Ten institutions in Taizhou offer catering-related programs, with over 3,000 students enrolled, providing solid talent support for the inheritance and development of Taizhou cuisine. The undergraduate program in "Culinary and Nutrition Education" at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Taizhou University, has been submitted to the Ministry of Education for approval. The Business School of Taizhou University is preparing to apply for an integrated undergraduate program in Tourism Management (focusing on Culinary Culture and Catering Management) by the end of this year. The construction of the "Three Centers and One Base" at Taizhou Vocational & Technical College of Industry — comprising the Taizhou Chef Training and Education Center, Taizhou Cuisine Research and Development Center, Taizhou Catering Culture Research Center, and Taizhou Culinary Talent Training Base — is steadily advancing. The first cohort of students from the Taizhou Vocational & Technical College of Industry Culinary Institute (Xin Rong Ji Academy) has begun internships at catering enterprises.

II. Building a Promotion Matrix to Expand the Influence of the Culinary Brand

Partnering with Professional Organizations: We have promoted the signing of strategic cooperation framework agreements between the Taizhou Municipal Government and the China Cuisine Association, Meituan, and Michelin to jointly advance the development of Taizhou’s catering brands, high-quality growth of the catering industry, and nationwide catering industry exchanges. Currently, the compilation of the Taizhou Catering Industry Development Plan (2026–2029) has been initiated, an agreement for the 2026 Michelin Guide Awards Ceremony has been signed, and the Meituan-Dianping Taizhou Food Map has been launched.

Leveraging Media Outreach: Strengthening cooperation with authoritative media platforms to expand the influence of Taizhou cuisine. This year, Taizhou cuisine has been featured on renowned programs such as the CCTV Qixi Festival Gala, A Bite of China 4, China Food Conference, Seafood Heroes, and Keep Running. In collaboration with Tencent, seven short food videos were released, achieving over 80 million exposures online. The series The Flavors of Taizhou, produced with Tencent Video and Chen Xiaoqing’s team, garnered coverage from 15 provincial and national media outlets and over 80 million advertising impressions online.

Expanding International Communication: Actively supporting the "going global" of Taizhou cuisine, we organized a Taizhou culinary team to participate in the "66th Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO · Chinese Cuisine Culture Show" in Geneva and Paris, showcasing Taizhou’s flavors to the world. A dedicated foreign-language website for Taizhou’s bid has been launched, and international accounts under the name "taste of taizhou" have been established on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, with the first posts published, creating a vital window for the external dissemination of Taizhou cuisine.

III. Strengthening the Empowerment of Gastronomy to Stimulate Integrated Development

Hosting Brand Events to Attract Visitors: We have planned and held large-scale food events, with over 50 held citywide since May. Examples include the 3rd and 4th Taizhou Fine Food Weeks, which attracted over 700,000 visitors and generated sales exceeding 11 million RMB. The "Taizhou Cuisine · Bai Xian Qian Wan" promotion at Zhejiang University of Media and Communications featured the announcement of a national policy offering college students free summer travel to Taizhou, using food as a bridge to attract students to visit.

Leveraging Major Events: Capitalizing on opportunities presented by major events like the ZHEBA, the 5th Zhejiang Provincial Sports Games, large-scale concerts, and major exhibitions, we have integrated food, sports, performances, and cultural tourism to create a visitor-attraction matrix combining "ticket stub economy + cultural tourism markets + cross-city gift packages." Since the start of the ZHE BA(Zhejiang Basketball Association) in July, 97 off-site cultural tourism markets have been held citywide, distributing over 1.5 million RMB in cultural tourism vouchers and stimulating consumption exceeding 50 million RMB.

Integrating Food into Cultural Tourism Promotion: Highlighting the food sector in cultural tourism promotions to strengthen its role as a core attraction. Taizhou gourmet travel routes have been released, with the "Golden Coast · Seeking Fresh Flavors by the East Sea" tour selected as a Zhejiang Provincial Gourmet Tourism route. In September, the "Follow the Reading, Chase the Sunshine to Taizhou" event at Beijing’s Ditan Park featured a live Taizhou food preparation area, attracting over 550,000 Beijing residents and tourists.

Currently, Taizhou’s bid for "World Capital of Gastronomy" is in a critical phase of benchmarking and capacity-building. In the next stage, we will deepen our efforts in culinary cultural inheritance, brand building, industry growth, and innovative integration, accelerating all preparatory work for the bid and striving to submit the application by the 2027 milestone.

Translator：Jiayang Lin