Roughly 1,000 health experts and catering enterprise representatives from home and abroad gathered in Pingdu on Sept 8 as a national food festival opened in the city.

As an integral part of the festival, a forum themed on food regimen in accordance with China's twenty-four solar terms was held, with over 20 global experts in the field sharing insights as to how to promote the ancient Chinese food philosophy.

In a bid to enable people to get the charm of Chinese food culture, an exhibition pavilion, showcasing local ingredients, cuisines and recipes, opened to the public as well. Covering an area of 2,000 square meters, the pavilion comprised four sections based on the four seasons in a year.

The festival was also highlighted by a nationwide food ingredients trade fair which opened a day later. More than 1,000 exhibitors from various areas of the country, including Jiangsu province, Heilongjiang province and the Tibet autonomous region, displayed over 300 varieties of healthy ingredients.

Pingdu, a county-level city administered by Qingdao in East China's Shandong province, is believed to be the birthplace of China's twenty-four solar terms and is renowned for a chronological regimen complying with solar terms that dates back to China's Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD). 

A national food festival revolving around a food regimen in accordance with China's twenty-four solar terms opens in Pingdu, Shandong province on Sept 8. [Photo/Qingdaonews.com]

Traditional dance show is dispalyed in the food festival in Pingdu, Shandong province on Sept 8. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Food carnival in Tea Mountain,Pingdu,Shandong province on Sept 8. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Visitors tastes fruits in Daze Mountain,Shandong province on Sept 8. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]