Food is always believed to be the best bridge to connect different cultures. As one of the four major cuisines in China, Huaiyang Cuisine plays an important role in China’s culinary map.
19 foreigners from 18 countries including Russia and Columbia came to Yangzhou, the birthplace of Huaiyang Cuisine and UNESCO’s City of Gastronomy, to experience the unique food in the city as the second “Discover Jiangsu” in 2020 kicked off on Friday morning.
8月7日，由江苏省人民政府新闻办公室主办，扬州市人民政府新闻办公室承办的2020“发现江苏•寻味美食之都扬州”活动在扬州举行。本次活动以“一城一味，感受古城芳华”为主题，邀请来自俄罗斯、哥伦比亚等18个国家的19位青年外籍友人来到“世界美食之都”扬州，品尝淮扬美食、体验美食创意、浸润美食文化。
江苏省委宣传部副部长、省人民政府新闻办公室主任杨力群，扬州市人民政府副市长方桂林，新华日报社党委委员、副总编辑、中国江苏网董事长、总编辑陆峰，江苏省广播电视总台党委委员、副台长、集团副总经理任桐，原大运河联合申遗办公室主任、江苏省文物、博物馆专业学术带头人顾风等扬州文化学者、美食学者，以及外籍美食爱好者代表出席启动仪式。
UNESCO has so far given the title of “City of Gastronomy” to eight cities around the world, four of them are in China. Yangzhou becomes the “City of Gastronomy” in 2019. Gu Feng, an academic leader of Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies in Jiangsu, led the audience to explore the relationship of Yangzhou’s culture and its food and the reason why it could be the “City of Gastronomy”.
作为中国四大菜系淮扬菜的发源地，扬州用“舌尖”展示城市的包容和开放。原大运河联合申遗办公室主任、江苏省文物、博物馆专业学术带头人顾风从淮扬菜的历史与传承入手，带领外籍嘉宾一起探索扬州美食与扬州文化的共生关系。
顾风告诉记者：“扬州荣获‘美食之都’称号是实至名归。首先扬州是现在淮扬菜系的发源地，其次，它不仅辐射江南地区，对日本和韩国也有一定的影响。”
To preserve the culinary memory of the city, Yangzhou has made vivid models of classic dishes that could last for generations. Xue Quansheng, the inheritor of Huaiyang Cuisine, showcased the models and told the expats stories behind the dishes.
国家级非遗富春茶点制作技艺国家级传承人徐永珍现场展示淮扬美食的制作过程，淮扬菜精细的制作手法让现场的外籍嘉宾连连赞叹。
淮扬菜传承人薛泉生介绍淮扬菜菜模
为了留住城市的味道和记忆，扬州将非遗传承人的菜单和菜模以档案形式保存下来，成为独特的扬州美食DNA标本。淮扬菜传承人薛泉生现场展示经典淮扬菜菜模，为观众介绍扬州“美食档案”。薛泉生对记者说：“我希望淮扬菜世世代代传承下去，所以我把经典的淮扬菜做成了菜模，保存在档案馆里。”
“文思豆腐”精妙刀法的表演，让中外宾客惊叹连连。
Yangzhou’s morning tea culture is quite famous around the country. The city has many Cha She, or tea houses. They are not just places of drinking tea, but places of eating dim sims. Tea houses are the best choices to experience the slow pace of life in Yangzhou. TV host Zhou Tong introduced the morning tea culture to the foreign guests.
周彤和叶琳娜介绍扬州早茶文化
叶琳娜接受记者采访
Jelena from Sylvia is a lover of Chinese food. She even brought two famous dim sims to let the audience have a bite of Yangzhou. “Only by tasting the food of Yangzhou can we truly understand the beauty of Huaiyang Cuisine,” she said.
“早上皮包水，晚上水包皮” 生动概括了扬州人对于生活品质的追求。美食节目主持人周彤现场介绍了扬州的早茶文化，并同外籍友人叶琳娜一起，邀请观众品尝有着“扬州双绝”之称的翡翠烧卖和千层油糕。叶琳娜告诉记者：“只有真正品味这些美食才能体会到扬州早茶的精髓所在。”
In the afternoon, the expats came to Quyuan Tea House to learn how to make Yangzhou Cuisine, such as Wensi Tofu and Yangzhou Fried Rice. Sen Jie from Malaysia told us that this is his second time to be in Yangzhou. “Last time, I also tasted Yangzhou Fried Rice, but it didn’t leave me a very deep impression,” he said. “This time, I cooked Yangzhou Fried Rice myself. It is so fun and so delicious.”
外籍友人在制作扬州炒饭
随后的“淮扬美食制作体验”活动中，外籍友人在无明火、易控温、油烟少的全电厨房学习并亲手制作了文思豆腐、扬州炒饭等扬州美食，感受古老制作技艺和新烹饪场景相结合的魅力。
扬州文化学者韦明铧、烹饪大师周晓燕和江苏旅游职业学院副院长徐明现场分享了扬州美食的传承与发展，探讨如何通过美食“在舌尖上创意地表达中华传统文化精华”。
来自马来西亚的郭圣杰告诉记者：“今天是我第二次来扬州。我印象最深刻的美食是千层油糕。千层油糕有一点点面包的味道，还有马来西亚的发糕的味道，这让我想起了家乡，所以吃得特别香。”
记者采访外籍友人
They also went to the 486 Intangible Cultural Heritage Cluster, “Three Knives” Street and Slender West Lake to experience the charm of Yangzhou.
“This is my second time to be in Yangzhou,” said Milton from Zimbabwe. “Every time I come here; I learn different things. It’s always good to try new things.”
“I think this place is quite good place because it's in this small place where they have a lot of different Chinese traditions,” said Anna from Ukraine. “I have a look at everything and I understand more about China and about Chinese traditions.”
活动当天，外籍友人还参访了486非遗文化集聚区、“三把刀”特色街区、瘦西湖1757美食街坊夜市，实地感受扬州“美食之都”的魅力。
来自津巴布韦的米尔顿是第二次来到扬州了。他告诉记者每次来到扬州，他都有新的体验：“这次我也品尝到了我之前从来没有尝过的淮扬美食，非常美味。”
来自乌克兰的安娜在参观486非遗文化集聚区的时候告诉记者：“我最喜欢这里的刺绣，一些刺绣通过层次变化呈现出3D效果，非常神奇。通过这里的展示，我更加了解中国，了解中国文化了。”
"Discover Jiangsu" is a major brand built by the Information Office of Jiangsu Provincial People's Government. Each year, the organizers will invite the foreigners living in Jiangsu to explore various sides of the province and introduce Jiangsu to the world.
“发现江苏”是江苏省人民政府新闻办公室着力打造的采风采访体验活动品牌，旨在通过生活在江苏的外籍人士的独特视角来发现江苏的美丽、魅力，并借助这些“平民大使”向世界宣传、推介江苏。
（来源：HELLOJIANGSU 我苏网：记者/ 吴彬 赵玉霄 张琳曼 编辑：陈茜）
