Chongqing - On March 5, at the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), Yan Qi, a deputy to the NPC and chairwoman of Taoranju Group, presented her suggestions on how to promote Chinese cuisine worldwide. She emphasized the importance of highlighting Chinese food's cultural significance and diverse flavors, aiming to increase its global recognition and appreciation.

Yan suggested establishing Chinese cuisine museums in several overseas countries and organizing Chinese cuisine exhibitions in five international consumption center cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Chongqing. These efforts aim to expand the channels for Chinese cuisine to reach a global audience.

Through her research, Yan discovered that while there are Chinese food museums overseas, such as the Mexicali Museum of Chinese Cuisine on the Mexican-American border and the Salt Merchant Food Museum in Michigan, USA, most of these institutions are small-scale and have limited visibility. 

These museums primarily focus on the history of Chinese immigrants and food, lacking a broader representation of Chinese dining culture. Yan's vision is to create a comprehensive museum that showcases the full diversity of Chinese culinary traditions.

In addition, Yan suggested standardizing Chinese catering by creating a star-level certification system for foreign chefs and issuing specific logos for overseas Chinese food stores.

Yan's journey from a small restaurant owner to a business magnate has been as bold as the fiery chili peppers of her hometown, Chongqing. "I started Taoranju in 1995, and before that, I was a civil servant," Yan reflects. "We started with five tables. Today we've opened more than 500 chain stores across 26 provinces and cities nationwide."

As fast food and food delivery platforms grew, Yan noticed a shift in the eating habits of younger generations. Seeing an opportunity for innovation, she pioneered the 5G Smart Fresh Food Factory, bridging the convenience store and catering industries to create new business opportunities.

"Lawson, a Fortune 500 company, entered Chongqing 15 years ago. We began collaborating to provide delivery and meal services," Yan explains. Now, we have Chongqing's first 5G fresh food factory, making us a national pioneer. The factory produces sushi, rice balls, and boxed lunches daily, offering over 100 products with a production volume of 100,000 servings."

Yan's influence extends beyond the restaurant industry. She has made significant strides in rural revitalization. In 2022, she visited Qiaotou Town in Chongqing and promoted the "10,000 Enterprises Revitalizing 10,000 Villages" program. She integrated agriculture, culture, and tourism, transforming the once-impoverished Wawu Village into a thriving hub for agritourism, specialty food, homestays, handmade workshops, and consumer shopping.

"We brought in 100 leading catering enterprises, and after the collaboration, the average annual household income grew by 15,000 yuan," Yan says. "All our projects are done in partnership with the village collectives. For instance, when we make a profit, we share 36% of the equity with them. If we incur a loss, our enterprises cover it."

Yan is deeply committed to the region's prosperity. "I once told the residents of Qiaotou Town that I would never leave because we poured our hearts and souls into making this place thrive," she says.

This year, Yan continues to champion rural revitalization. She has suggested strengthening rural logistics infrastructure, including transportation and logistics facilities, county-level warehousing, public pick-up points, and cold-chain logistics. She also advocates for establishing large-scale, standardized logistics distribution bases near production centers to optimize rural logistics and ensure the "last kilometer" of delivery is covered.

(Huan Ran, as an intern, also contributed to the report)