Quanzhou Network, July 7

　　(Integrated Media Reporter: Yin Siqi; Correspondent: Li Ying)

　　The Construction Plan for the Core Zone of the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy (2026–2029), newly issued by Licheng District, lays out a series of quantifiable development targets to be achieved by 2029. The district aims to push the total output value of its catering industry beyond 300 million RMB, cultivate more than 100 time-honored eateries and World Heritage themed specialty restaurants, and construct at least five distinctive food blocks. Four interlinked development pillars will be promoted in coordination: cultural inheritance, industrial upgrading, livelihood improvement and international exchange. Gastronomy will be developed into a core engine driving the city's sustainable urban development.

　　In spatial planning, Licheng adopts a tiered and categorized construction model guided by the philosophy of one primary corridor with exclusive thematic positioning and unique features for every street. Four characteristic food zones will be built district-wide. The West Street precinct will gather Quanzhou local snack stores and souvenir shops to build the city's top World Heritage food street, a landmark platform showcasing authentic Quanzhou flavors. Zhongshan Road will introduce high-end Minnan catering brands and world-famous restaurant chains to create an elegant dining destination lined with century-old arcade buildings. The Jubao Street and Qinglong Lane block in southern Licheng will tap into the historical context of foreign merchants from the Song and Yuan dynasties, accommodating a mix of international restaurants and local traditional snack stores to form a multicultural Maritime Silk Road food corridor. The Huasheng Overseas Chinese Cluster will be planned as a Southeast Asian themed food quarter featuring original fusion dishes derived from overseas Chinese culinary traditions.

　　Licheng will also select characteristic heritage buildings, including ancient Minnan clan mansions and overseas Chinese villas. These sites will host regular intangible cultural heritage performances such as Nanyin folk music and string puppetry, creating three to five flagship experience venues dedicated to Minnan cuisine. Local travel agencies will partner to launch five themed tourist routes, with food integrated into diverse cultural experiences: World Heritage & Gastronomy, Intangible Heritage & Gastronomy, Overseas Hometown Culture & Gastronomy, Root-Seeking Travel & Gastronomy, and Ancient City Daily Life & Gastronomy. Regular food promotion campaigns will be organized to attract domestic and overseas tourists who visit the city specifically for its culinary attractions.

　　In terms of catering format upgrading, Licheng will roll out the Time-Honored Brand Upgrading Programme. Experience workshops, cultural exhibition halls and sightseeing food production workshops will be constructed. Time-honored stores will be encouraged to develop innovative new dishes. The district will pair young entrepreneurs, overseas returnee designers and new media practitioners with heritage catering brands to expand the Youth Alliance for Time-Honored Catering Operators. Local farmers' markets will undergo comprehensive renovation, and a standardized catalogue of premium local raw ingredients will be compiled. A dual operational model will be piloted, enabling markets to sell fresh farm produce by day and operate night food bazaars after dark, so as to build model farmers' markets with distinctive catering characteristics.

　　The district will continuously optimize the certification system for World Heritage Demonstration Restaurants, certifying no fewer than ten qualified stores every year. It will introduce well-known domestic and international catering brands to open their regional debut stores and flagship outlets, with a target of a minimum eight new brand establishments annually. Licheng will also vigorously develop seven types of compact high-quality micro venues (locally dubbed the "Seven Small" formats: small museums, small intangible heritage halls, art spaces, small theatres, teahouses, coffee shops and wine bars). Over one hundred such micro venues will be opened by 2029, forming a comprehensive night consumption ecosystem consisting of late-night dining venues, the seven compact cultural and catering micro formats, and diversified after-dark events.