The Shanxi Food and Tourism Expo will be held next month. Local food and tourism attractions are expected to shine at the gathering and bring business opportunities to the province.

Aimed at promoting Shanxi brands and building a cooperation platform, the expo will feature local food and food ingredients, hotel facilities, scenic spots, and performing arts.

The combination of food and tourism promotion is intended to create an integrated industry, which will offer greater opportunities for local enterprises.

Companies from more than ten countries, including South Korea, Russia and Thailand will attend, as will food enterprises from Beijing, Zhengjiang and Sichuan and other cities or provinces.

Local artists will provide traditional Shanxi folk music performances.

The expo will hold fairs for investment promotion, business seminars, industry development forums and other activities.

One special point to note is that it will also launch the first Shanxi Wheaten Food Festival.

The expo will target innovation and organic food to showcase the food culture of Shanxi and promote the cooked wheaten food of Shanxi nationally, said Sun Yuejin, head of the Shanxi Provincial Department of Commerce.

There are 1.07 million people in the food industry in Shanxi, 40 percent of whom work to produce and sell cooked wheaten food.

Shanxi is known as the home of Chinese wheaten food, or Jin cuisine, which is characterized by a wide selection of ingredients, strong flavor and color, and a preference for vinegar, spice and a strong taste. It has become a must-try attraction for visitors to Shanxi and is an indispensable part of Chinese food culture.

The expo will be held from August 26 to 28 at the Taiyuan Coal Transaction Center.