Visitors admire food on display at the 7th World Sichuan Cuisine Conference held in Deyang, Sichuan province, on Thursday and Friday. [Photo by Huang Zhiling/chinadaily.com.cn]

　　Visitors to Deyang, Sichuan province, were impressed with the huge turnout at the city's usually quiet convention and exhibition center at the 7th World Sichuan Cuisine Conference held there on Thursday and Friday.

　　With the theme “Let the World Love Sichuan Cuisine“, the conference organized by the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry (WFCCI) was aimed at building an international development platform for Sichuan cuisine, highlighting the openness, integration, sharing and civilization of Sichuan cuisine, and promoting Deyang's city brand, said Li Yong, head of the Deyang municipal government information office.

　　Since its debut in 2018, the conference has been held exclusively in Sichuan seven times, drawing participants from more than 20 countries and regions.

　　It has become the vane of the development of the Sichuan cuisine industry, and also an influential brand event in China's catering industry with a market size of 5 trillion yuan ($687 billion).

　　With the increasing number of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, more and more expatriates are working, studying and living in Sichuan, and Sichuan cuisine has become an indispensable part of their lives.

　　Jongrak, an international student majoring in new energy vehicles at Sichuan Polytechnic University in Deyang, said he was most impressed by the Sichuan cuisine's double-cooked meat and mapo tofu.

　　“In our hometown, there are many Chinese, and we eat Chinese food during major celebrations such as weddings,“ said the 20-year-old who hails from a beautiful village in Chiang Mai, Thailand.