Hotpot festival spices things up in Chongqing
The 13th China (Chongqing) Hotpot and Food Culture Festival kicked off on Friday in Chongqing, a city dubbed China's hotpot city. It is expected to draw over 100,000 people from all over the country, the organizing committee said.
The three-day event celebrating the city's famous spicy cuisine draws enterprises and foodies alike to the Chongqing Yuelai International Exhibition Center, where the festival is being held.
Though regional hotpot cuisines are similar, Chongqing hotpot has the strongest flavor, with beef tallow and large quantities of chili and Sichuan pepper. Local people love eating hot and spicy food, in part due to the humid climate in the city.
More than 30 local hotpot brands and 1,000 industry chain merchants from all over the country are participating in the event, according to the organizer.
Representatives of foreign trade unions from Norway, Venezuela, Peru, Panama, Nigeria and Fiji also attended the event.
"With constant innovations from hotpot inheritors, Chongqing hotpot has become a trademark," said He Yongzhi, director of the Chongqing Hotpot Association. "I hope the city will become prosperous in the future, just like the boiling hotpot."
