China News Service, Quanzhou, October 31 (Reporter Sun Hong) coincides with the first anniversary of Quanzhou, Fujian Province being named the "World Capital of Gastronomy". In order to showcase Quanzhou's rich food culture and diverse characteristics, the 2026 Quanzhou International Food Month officially opened on the 31st, and simultaneously launched the UNESCO "Unforgettable Taste" "The Capacity Building of Young Culinary Skills Inheritors (Quanzhou) themed activity focuses on the capacity building of young culinary skill inheritors, promoting the dynamic transmission of food cultural heritage between generations and regions, and allowing cross-border food memories to blend and learn from each other in Quanzhou.
In October 2025, Quanzhou was selected into the UNESCO "Creative Cities Network" and became the seventh Chinese city to win the title of "World City of Gastronomy". Over the past year, Quanzhou has continued to polish the IP of "World Heritage Quanzhou · Weilian Wuzhou", regularly carried out creative city network exchanges, absorbed experience in food construction from all over the world, introduced diverse food cultures to Quanzhou, and enriched the city's food supply.
Dennis Backus, Secretary-General of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network Secretariat, introduced in a video speech that the UNESCO Creative Cities Network brings together 408 cities in more than 100 countries, covering eight creative fields, and demonstrates the important role of culture and creativity in promoting sustainable urban development. She encouraged Quanzhou to continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation with UNESCO and other creative cities to further demonstrate the positive role of food in building more inclusive and resilient communities.
It is reported that this event will last until December 6, connecting seven key activities and more than 40 supporting activities to form a city-wide linkage festival pattern. Among them, the training camp for young culinary skills inheritors, the "Taste of Mountains and Seas Dialogue with the World" food culture communication dialogue, the third China (Quanzhou) Silk Road Snack Carnival and other activities will be carried out successively, covering multiple aspects such as exhibition experience, youth research, ideological dialogue and market consumption. At the same time, supporting activities are simultaneously launched at the city and county levels, covering the Mountain and Sea Kitchen King Competition, food culture training for overseas Chinese leaders, Minnan food theme concerts, traditional Chinese medicine meal making skills competitions, etc., forming an urban festival atmosphere with "themes throughout the month, activities every week, and delicious food every day."
"Quanzhou people dare to explore the freshness of the mountains and seas, and rely on the unique endowments of the mountains and seas to nourish a unique dietary background; they learn from the tastes of hundreds of schools and inherit an inclusive and diverse food culture; they welcome guests from all over the world and build communication through delicious food "The acting mayor of Quanzhou City, Hou Weidong, said that he hopes to use this event to invite all guests to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and seas, taste the flavor of southern Fujian, and use a fireworks display to connect the five continents, so that the taste of Quanzhou can be spread far and wide.
