Taizhou food festival draws 670,000 visits

The fifth China Taizhou Premium Food Week draws huge crowds. [Photo/Taizhou Daily]

The fifth China Taizhou Premium Food Week, which concluded on May 5 in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province, attracted more than 670,000 visits and generated over 14 million yuan ($2 million) in sales.

Held alongside the opening of Xinhai Park, the festival combined food, entertainment, and leisure activities, becoming one of the city's major tourist destinations during the May Day holiday.

More than 140 booths were set up across nine themed exhibition areas, featuring Michelin restaurants, local specialty snacks, time-honored brands, and dishes from seven UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy. Michelin-starred restaurants, including Xin Rong Ji and Lao Bian Restaurant, also drew long waiting lines of foodies.

Local snacks proved popular, with traditional foods such as seaweed cakes and plum blossom cakes drawing crowds from morning until night.

The festival also featured drone light shows, robot performances, concerts, and intangible cultural heritage performances such as lion dances and fish lantern parades, with visitors taking part in hands-on experiences to make local specialties like black rice cakes.

The newly opened Xinhai Park added camping lawns, waterfront walkways, and leisure areas to the festival experience, where many relaxed in the park after meals alongside coffee fairs, music performances, and nighttime light shows that further boosted the holiday atmosphere.

Taizhou plans to continue promoting the integration of food culture and tourism as part of its effort to build a stronger city tourism brand.