A week-long gourmet festival, which opened on Dec 24 in Zibo, East China's Shandong province, brought together over 100 flavorsome dishes from the city's Zhoucun district to promote its Shandong merchant culture.
The event selected 90 Zhoucun culinary specials, such as Zhoucun hotpot and Zhiweizhai stewed chicken, as well as 20 other delights including Zhoucun crispy biscuits and steamed bun sauce.
Zhoucun district has long been known for being home to the renowned Shandong merchants and Shandong merchant culture – a position helped by its ideal geographic position. Located at the junction of Zibo, Binzhou city and Jinan – capital of Shandong province – it has been dubbed "No 1 Village in the World".
During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, it developed to become a major commercial town in China.
The Shandong merchant culture has cultivated Zhoucun's rich agricultural products and traditional cuisine. As a result, the special delicacies keep attracting tourists from all over the world.
The Zhoucun Ancient Commercial City has been lauded for being "China's living ancient commercial street museum complex". Moreover, the Zhoucun crispy biscuit has been listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item and has been given as a banquet gift to visiting foreign dignitaries.
Zhoucun gastronomic specials go on display at the gourmet festival, in the Qisheng Hotel in Zibo. [Photo/WeChat account: zhangshangzhoucun]
