Range of online and on-site culinary activities

An expo held in conjunction with the event of offers visitors international foods inaddition to Sichaun's famed cuisine.

An innovation for the Sixth China International Food and Tour Festival will be its first online expo since the event was founded in 2003, said Mao Zhixiong, secretary general and spokesman for the Chengdu municipal government.

In addition to displaying all activities at the food fair, the Internet will enable users to choose the best Sichuan dishes and banquets in the 60-year history of the People's Republic of China as well as order for wedding banquets, share stories on Sichuan cuisine and participate in a photo competition.

The click-through rate for the Online Food and Tour Expo website - http://www.ccmsj.com - is expected to be more than 10 million, Mao said.

The festival that began Sept 28 at the Chengdu Century City New International Exhibition and Convention Center is one of the largest of its kind in China, covering 12,000 sq m and hosting 300 star-rated hotels as well as restaurants serving Sichuan and other Chinese cuisines.

Other displays include those for hot pot, Western food, Sichuan seasoning, wedding arrangements and hotel equipment.

Tens of thousands of visitors will receive free coupons worth 10 million yuan on the spot, Mao said.

In addition to receiving gifts, visitors can also learn cooking skills.

On the festival's first three days visitors can attend classrooms where a dozen master chefs are teaching how to make domestic and foreign delicacies, he added.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, famous restaurants in Chengdu and the cities of Deyang, Ya'an, Meishan, Suining and Zigong will display tables full of classic Sichuan dishes and new creations.

All the famed hot pot restaurants in Sichuan will also display their spicy dishes unique to Sichuan.

To show support for Chengdu's bid to win the UNESCO title "City of Food", visitors can sign a 60-m-long wall, Mao said.

As well, scholars and experts in the food industry will compare notes on the internationalization of the Sichuan cuisine, he said.

The organizing committee also invited 30 foreign diplomats from 16 countries including Kuwait, Jordan, Spain, Portugal and Bulgaria to visit Chengdu from September 25 to 27 who attended the opening ceremony on September 26 and participated in a cooking competition.

Together with their wives, the diplomats learned how to cook household Sichuan dishes such as double-cooked pork, Grandma Ma's bean curd and Long's dumpling before the competition was held.