□ Reporter Chen Yunqing; correspondents Chen Xiang and Lei Yingmiao

　　A single table of everyday life forges bonds across the five continents. On the morning of 31 October, the launch ceremony of the 2026 Quanzhou International Gastronomy Month was held at the Quanzhou Honor International Hotel. The event was guided by the UNESCO Office for East Asia, the Secretariat of the National Commission of the People's Republic of China for UNESCO, the Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce, and the Quanzhou Municipal People's Government; organised by the Quanzhou Office for the Development of the City of Gastronomy, the Quanzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce, and Quanzhou Culture and Tourism Group; and undertaken by the Quanzhou Promotion Centre for the City of Gastronomy and Quanzhou Culinary Industry Operation and Service Co., Ltd. Representatives of cities in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, delegates from "Cities of Gastronomy" at home and abroad, leaders from the China National Intellectual Property Administration and relevant provincial departments, representatives of the member units of China's cross-regional collaborative IP protection mechanism for "Cities of Gastronomy," as well as scholars and experts in food culture and leading food-content creators, joined the event.

　　The opening ceremony of the 2026 Quanzhou International Gastronomy Month (photo by reporter Chen Xiaoyang)

　　Food as a Medium, Civilisations in Dialogue

　　At the launch ceremony, Shahbaz Khan, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Office for East Asia, delivered an address in which he spoke highly of the achievements Quanzhou has made in the year since its designation as a "City of Gastronomy." He said this title is a recognition of Quanzhou's millennia-old Maritime Silk Routes culinary lineage and its living transmission, and that Quanzhou's food is both a source of civic pride and a bridge for international dialogue. He noted that the series of events during this Gastronomy Month embodies a culinary philosophy that honours tradition, empowers youth and embraces innovation, and expressed the hope that the event would further consolidate Quanzhou's standing as a global gastronomic highland and a hub for cultural exchange.

　　Denise Bax, Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, delivered a video address congratulating Quanzhou on the first anniversary of its designation as a "City of Gastronomy." She said that the UNESCO Creative Cities Network brings together 408 cities from more than 100 countries across eight creative fields, demonstrating the vital role of culture and creativity in advancing the sustainable development of cities. The 2026 Quanzhou International Gastronomy Month provides a valuable opportunity to showcase Quanzhou's rich food-culture heritage and diverse character, helps promote cultural dialogue, sparks creativity, and contributes to sustainable development. She encouraged Quanzhou to deepen its exchange and cooperation with UNESCO and other creative cities, and to further demonstrate the positive role of food in building more inclusive and resilient communities.

　　Subsequently, Claudio Cecchinelli, Principal Coordinator of the Gastronomy sub-network of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, delivered a keynote sharing. He said Quanzhou's food is deeply rooted in local tradition while remaining open to international trade and cultural exchange. He stressed that heritage is a living story that evolves across generations, and that sustained investment in education and skills-sharing is needed to keep local heritage vibrant. This was followed by a keynote sharing from Tan Chee-Beng, Professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and an internationally renowned anthropologist. He said that, bordered by mountains and facing the sea, Quanzhou has developed a culinary tradition that embraces both, with Fujian cuisine displaying distinct regional characteristics and varied flavours. He argued that the transmission of food heritage should attend to the regional ecology, social life and migration networks behind food, and expressed the hope that the Quanzhou Culinary Heritage Museum would systematically record these vivid culinary stories.

　　Achievements Unveiled, Transformation Witnessed

　　At the launch ceremony, the organisers screened the feature video marking the first anniversary of Quanzhou's designation as a "City of Gastronomy," reviewing the city's phased achievements in excavating its food culture, upgrading the industry and international exchange. This was followed by the release of the theme video for the Quanzhou Cuisine Global Promotion Plan, charting a clear pathway for the international dissemination of Quanzhou's food. A certificate-awarding ceremony for the Quanzhou Culinary Entrepreneur IP Cultivation Programme was also held, demonstrating the city's pragmatic measures to nurture a new generation of culinary heritage bearers. An unveiling ceremony for the Quanzhou City of Gastronomy Exhibition and Experience Centre (Store) was held concurrently; these spaces, carrying the flavours of Quanzhou, will become an important window for presenting the city's food culture to the world. China's cross-regional collaborative IP protection mechanism for "Cities of Gastronomy" was formally launched on site, together with the release of a protection initiative, aimed at using the force of law to build an institutional bulwark for the faithful innovation and skill transmission of Quanzhou's food.

　　Flavours in Mutual Learning, the Torch Passed On

　　As a core highlight of the launch ceremony, the UNESCO "Forever Flavors" theme event was also inaugurated in parallel. Centred on the capacity building of young culinary heritage practitioners, the project promotes the living transmission of food heritage across generations and regions, allowing cross-border culinary memories to converge and inspire one another in Quanzhou. A preview of the major programmes of the "2026 Quanzhou International Gastronomy Month" was also released on site. As the custom-designed, water-flowing luminous runway — shaped like a Fuchuan and symbolising the unfurling sails of the Maritime Silk Routes — was lit up, light traced the route of the "City of Gastronomy" and shone in sequence, and the "2026 Quanzhou International Gastronomy Month" was formally inaugurated, symbolising the full connection of Quanzhou's routes of Chinese-foreign culinary exchange and extending a sincere "Quanzhou invitation" to the world.

　　City-Wide Synergy, an Ever-Open Feast

　　According to organisers, the 2026 Quanzhou International Gastronomy Month will run until 6 December. Anchored by the launch ceremony, the series links seven flagship events with more than 40 supporting activities, forming a city-wide, coordinated festive pattern.

　　On the afternoon of the launch day, the UNESCO-LEE KUM KEE "Forever Flavors" Young Culinary Heritage Practitioners Capacity Building Programme (Quanzhou) theme event, the creative-cities cultural exchange activity, and the "Zayton Lifeworld" symposium — on empowering the inheritance of Chinese food culture and the high-quality development of distinctive industries through intellectual property — were held in parallel, focusing respectively on three core directions: youth transmission, city-to-city mutual learning, and intellectual-property protection.

　　Going forward, key events will unfold in succession — the opening ceremony of the Quanzhou Culinary Heritage Museum and the "Forever Flavors" theme exhibition, the Young Culinary Heritage Practitioners Workshop (which opened on the launch day and runs for five days), the "Flavours Linking Mountains and Seas · A Dialogue with the World" culinary-culture dissemination dialogue, and the third China (Quanzhou) Silk Road Snack Carnival — spanning multiple dimensions including exhibition experience, youth study tours, intellectual dialogue and market consumption.

　　During the Gastronomy Month, city- and county-level supporting events will also be rolled out in tandem, covering the Mountains-and-Sea Chef King Competition, culinary culture study tours for overseas Chinese leaders, Minnan-language culinary-themed concerts, and traditional Chinese medicinal cuisine skills competition, creating a strong city-wide festive atmosphere of "a theme every month, an event every week, and delicious food every day."