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Chengdu, a city in Southwest China's Sichuan Province enjoys a high reputation for its spicy cuisine. The unique colour, aroma, shape and taste of the snacks have always dazzled visitors' eyes and stomachs.

However, modern fast food chains like McDonald's and KFC are gradually pushing these traditional snacks out of the market. Perhaps, it's time to think about protection methods.

Chengdu is one of only two cities in the world that have been recognized as a "City of Gastronomy".

To enable the delicious snacks to go even further, the city has joined the "Creative Cities Network", which is a UNESCO project set up in 2004. Renowned snacks like couple Lung Slice, Lai Tangyuan and Long Chaoshou contribute as an indispensable part of the city's food and drink culture.

He Tao, director of Assn. of Food And Drink Industry, said, "I would define Chengdu snack as a name card for the city. Currently, there are about 30 Chengdu snack bars that are recognized as time-honoured brands. More than 400 sorts of snacks are rated as "supreme" popular level by the authorities."

Situated in Wenshufang, "Chengdu Snack City" is one of the time-honored brand name restaurants. Authentically home-styled, the restaurant is quite popular among local diners and foreign visitors.

Jin Lin, visitor, said, "It's the first time for us to visit Chengdu, the food here is great, I like the Dandan noodles".

Chengdu, a city in Southwest China's Sichuan Province enjoys a high reputation for its spicy cuisine. The unique colour, aroma, shape and taste of the snacks have always dazzled visitors' eyes and stomachs.

Chengdu's success not only lies in its historical accumulation of dishes, but the meticulous skills are also important. Hence, the development of the Chengdu snack culture is asking more protection work to be done.

In order to better explore the industry's potential, many chefs are studying advanced concepts and researching specific successful examples.

Chen Wenrui, chef, said, "It's never easy to be a first-class chef, 42 years have passed since I entered this industry. And I have practised cooking Mapo tofu for nearly 20 years."

In recent years, as McDonald's and hot-pot restaurants become more and more popular, many Chengdu snack bars are facing a crisis. Industrialization and chain-stores have proved to be a feasible way to galvanize this traditional industry. At present, eight time-honored brands have opened more than 50 snack bars in Chengdu, and over 80 in Beijing, Chongqing and other cities all over the country. "Chen Mapo tofu" is even has one of its chain restaurants in Japan.

At present, what the Chengdu snacks target is not merely the consumers' stomachs, but now they are also placing emphasis on the delicacy's cultural essence. Eight snacks including Long Chaoshou, Zhong Dumplings and Couple Lung Slice have been listed as the city's intangible cultural heritages.

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