From street food to syllabus: China launches first barbecue research institute to train 1,000 grill masters
According to South China Morning Post, Yueyang Open University and the Yueyang Barbecue Association have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to establish the new institute, with plans to train 1,000 barbecue artisans within three years.
Qiao, a member of staff with the Yueyang Barbecue Association, said, 'As it is a new initiative, recruiting students this year would be premature, so we plan to begin by recruiting from the public.'
The three-year programme includes two and a half years of theoretical coursework and a six-month internship, offering classes in both craftsmanship and business management.
It will target middle school graduates, out-of-school youth and current practitioners seeking to obtain formal qualifications.
Annual intake is expected to range between 50 and 100 students, with recruitment scheduled to begin next year.
Yueyang Barbecue Industry Association president Meng Yinshuai said, 'The barbecue industry has long been undervalued, so it is natural for differing opinions to arise now that it is gaining recognition.
'We aim to expand its influence through sustained promotion and public outreach.'
Barbecue has long held cultural significance in China and remains a popular street food.
According to Grand View Research, China's barbecue market generated US$421.9 million (RM1.7 billion) in 2024 and is projected to reach US$606.5 million by 2030.
Yueyang is home to more than 2,000 barbecue outlets contributing over 2 billion yuan (RM1.1 billion) annually and supporting around 50,000 jobs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
13 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
White House joins TikTok as Trump shields app from ban
WASHINGTON: The White House launched a TikTok account on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump continues to permit the Chinese-owned platform to operate in the United States despite a law requiring its sale. "America we are BACK! What's up TikTok?" read a caption on the account's first post on the popular video sharing app, a 27-second clip. The account had about 4,500 followers an hour after posting the video. Trump's personal account on TikTok meanwhile has 110.1 million followers, though his last post was on Nov 5, 2024 – Election Day. TikTok is owned by China-based internet company ByteDance. A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's inauguration on Jan 20. But the Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, put the ban on pause. In mid-June Trump extended a deadline for the popular video-sharing app by another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States. That extension is due to expire in mid-September. While Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, he reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform – which boasts almost two billion global users – after coming to believe it helped him win young voters' support in the November election. Trump's official account on X, formerly Twitter, has 108.5 million followers – though his favoured social media outlet is Truth Social, which he owns, where he has 10.6 million followers.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Chin Hin in Kingdee tie-up for digital transformation
KUALA LUMPUR: Building materials manufacturer and trader Chin Hin Group Bhd has entered into a strategic customer cooperation agreement with Hong Kong-listed Kingdee International Software Group Co Ltd for a shared digital transformation journey. The partnership with the digital management solutions provider aligns with Chin Hin Group's broader regional vision to set the benchmark for the adoption of digital and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven enterprise solutions across South-East Asia. In a statement yesterday, Chin Hin Group managing director Chiau Haw Choon said that with Kingdee as a strategic partner and its next-generation ecosystem platform as the foundation of the group's enterprise resource management or ERM, it is ready to lead boldly into the GenAI era. Shenzhen, China-based Kingdee, with more than 30 years of expertise and a global customer base exceeding 7.4 million enterprises and organisations, has established itself as a pioneer in cloud-native enterprise management software. Meanwhile, Kingdee Group president Jason Zhang said it looks forward to combining Kingdee's rapid development with Chin Hin Group's operational excellence, and to jointly developing AI-enabled capabilities in Kingdee Cosmic AI Service Cloud, making the project Kingdee's overseas flagship reference. 'The new platform will seamlessly integrate Chin Hin Group's entire value chain – from building materials and construction engineering to property development and home living – onto a single, reliable, and intelligent backbone of finance, procurement and supply chain that cohesively links with respective industry-leading front-end operational modules. 'Built on this foundation, embedded AI workflows and AI agents elevate operations into a fully connected, data-driven ecosystem that powers smarter decisions, sharper efficiency, and accelerated growth,' the statement said. — Bernama
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Roundup: Cambodian scholars laud Cambodia-China economic, trade cooperation
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian officials and scholars on Tuesday lauded Cambodia-China economic and trade cooperation and a bilateral free trade agreement, saying that they have offered tremendous mutual benefit and win-win situation. They made the remarks during a seminar on Cambodia-China economic and trade cooperation 2025. Kao Muy Thong, deputy secretary general of the Council for Agriculture and Rural Development of Cambodia, said China is Cambodia's top investor, trading partner and major source of tourists, adding that Chinese investment and tourists have significantly contributed to the kingdom's socio-economic development and poverty alleviation. He said the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA), which entered into force in 2022, has provided greater access of made-in-Cambodia products to the Chinese market. "Under the CCFTA, Cambodia can export more than 340 categories of products to China, with 95 percent of them being agricultural goods with zero-percent tariffs," he said. "The remaining 5 percent, which are machinery and vehicles, will see tariffs reduced to zero percent within 10 years." He said 2025, which is the Cambodia-China Year of Tourism, has provided a good opportunity for both countries to further expand people-to-people exchanges and trade relations for mutual benefit. Heang Sotheara, an advisor to Cambodia's Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said China has played a critical role in Cambodia's economic growth. Sotheara said Chinese investors should focus on non-garment manufacturing sectors such as food and beverage, agro-industry, and agriculture, adding that these sectors have potential for medium- and long-term investment. Neak Chandarith, director of the Cambodia 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Research Center of the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said the CCFTA has contributed to rising Cambodian exports to China and improved tariff preferences. "For the CCFTA to deliver broad-based benefits, Cambodia must invest in technical capacity, accelerate protocol negotiations, and promote higher-value exports," he said. Chandarith said Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) mega-projects such as the Sihanoukville Special Economy Zone, Phnom Penh Sihanoukville Expressway, Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, and hydropower plants are vivid examples of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. "These BRI flagship projects have laid a solid foundation for Cambodia's development of the economy, trade, manufacturing industry, connectivity infrastructure, logistics and tourism as well as for attracting more foreign direct investment to the kingdom," he said. "In sum, broader Cambodia-China economic and trade cooperation will provide greater mutual benefit and win-win situation, injecting more vigorous impetus into building an all-weather Cambodia-China community with a shared future in the new era," Chandarith added.
