Global Presence of Fuzhou Cuisine
Fuzhou is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese. For hundreds of years, Fujian people have created a Chinese presence across the world. It can be said that where there are Chinese, there is Fujian cuisine. With the popularity of Fujian cuisine in the Chinatowns of major cities in Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States, Fujian cuisine has gradually become an important medium for Fuzhou to go towards the world and for the people from around the world to know Fuzhou.
Following Zheng He's voyages to the western seas, Zheng Chenggong's overseas trade, and Fujian’s reclamation and immigration, Fujian cuisine and Fujian food culture were spread to Southeast Asia through tributes, monks, overseas Chinese, Chinese merchants and other groups, gradually became popular among local people and were named after the Fuzhou dialect. In the late Qing Dynasty, Huang Naishang, a person of Minqing, Fuzhou, led the people of ten counties in Fuzhou to establish a "new Fuzhou" in Southeast Asia, thus retaining the flavor of Fuzhou in ancient times.
The Chinese Zen master Yinyuan, founder of the Obaku school of Zen in Japan, born in Fuqing City, Fujian Province, who styled himself as Zengyuan or Zifang, traveled east to Japan. He not only brought to Japan the authentic Zen, but also many customs of Fuzhou. For example, the custom of tea drinking in Fuzhou he introduced later evolved into the Japanese tea ceremony; and the preparation methods of green beans, lotus seeds, watermelon, tofu and other ingredients later evolved into "fucha ryori" which is prepared without using meat or animal-based products and enjoyed by the host and guests together around the table. All these represent the profound influence of Fujian cuisine on Japanese food culture.
As one of Fuzhou's foreign exchange brand activities, the "Fuzhou, Towards the World" event has been held in the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and other countries since its launch in 2014, aiming to show the unique charm and profound traditional culture of Fujian cuisine, carry forward the Chinese food culture, promote the prosperity and development of overseas Chinese food industry and show the charm of Fuzhou City, by means of Fujian cuisine exhibition, exchange training and other activities. Fujian cuisine has become a new bridge for foreign exchanges and cooperation of Fuzhou.
On May 18, 2018, more than 60 overseas Chinese food professionals from 17 countries gathered in Fuzhou to attend the Fujian Cuisine Maritime Silk Road Forum "Cuisine on the Maritime Silk Road · Connecting the World" sponsored by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Fujian and Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Fuzhou. This forum fully demonstrated Fujian cuisine, one of China's eight major cuisines, promoting Fujian cuisine to the world and driving the continuous prosperity and development of overseas Chinese food industry. On July 5, 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 19th promotion event presenting Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities under the theme of "China in the New Era: Eco-friendly Fujian, Gateway for the Maritime Silk Road." Fuzhou successfully completed the buffet reception. The buffet reception first adopted the international practices of food with sticks, finger food and Chinese food, creating a new variety of "Fujian cold dishes," serving more than 220 diplomats in China and representatives from 140 countries and international organizations, and presenting a Fujian cuisine cultural feast that features "A Collection of Delicacies from Mountains and Seas" for nearly 500 guests. It opened up a new path to the promotion of Fujian cuisine to the world and accelerated industrialization of Fujian cuisine. The first ASEAN-China Online Influencers Conference & Fujian Brands Promotion Tour along Maritime Silk Road was held in Fuzhou from January 11 to 13, 2022. Focusing on the promotion of Fujian cuisine, the event included such special links as "Fujian Snack Tasting" and "Innovative Fujian Cuisine Promotion."
2007 saw a grand opening of the Juchunyuan Hotel, Singapore. This is the first Fujian cuisine restaurant of the century-old brand Juchunyuan that has gone abroad by virtue of its powerful brand influence and technical strength, marking that authentic Fujian cuisine represented by Fotiaoqiang, the No. 1 dish of Fujian cuisine, has settled in Singapore. Fuzhou and Honolulu established a sister-city relationship in October 2021. In 2022, Hawaii Pot Shabu Shabu House became the first Fujian cuisine restaurant of Fuzhou City opened overseas. Now, Fujian cuisine has gone global, such as "Mindu Chinese Restaurant" in Chinatown, New York, "Jinxiu Chinese Restaurant" in Toronto, Canada, "Mr. Huang Chinese Restaurant" in Bariloche, Argentina, and so on. Over the more than 40 years since 1980, tens of thousands of people have worked as a chef all over the world after receiving the training of Fujian cuisine cooking.
In August 1993, with the opportunity of the exchange project between the China Cuisine Association and Japan Association of Chinese Cuisine, Gao Gongquan led a study group of eight people from the Japan Association of Chinese Cuisine to study Fujian cuisine in Fuzhou. Qiang Mugen, a national-treasure master of Fujian cuisine, demonstrated his skills in Fujian cuisine in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and other places for many times, and won international acclaim; Lin Shuidi, a Fujian cuisine master, visited Japan in 1994 as a representative of the China Cuisine Association and showed his Fujian cuisine cooking skills in Paris, France in 1997. The Mayor of Paris personally presented the medal and certificate to him. During the 11th Asian Games, Lin Shuidi was named by the Asia Hotel in the Asian Games Village as the chef to cook Fujian cuisine, and the dishes he made were well received by athletes from all over the world.