爱思英语编者按：2月28日上午，联合国教科文组织和成都市人民政府在北京饭店举行了“联合国教科文组织认定中国成都‘美食之都’”的新闻发布会。记者从会上获悉，联合国教科文组织日前正式批准成都加入该组织的创意城市网络，并授予成都“美食之都”称号。这标志着成都成为亚洲第一个世界“美食之都”，这也是联合国教科文组织批准的全球创意城市网络第20名会员和加入该网络的第二个中国城市。

Chengdu's spiciness goes global

The city of Chengdu, in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, is known for its mouthwatering hot and spicy cuisine. Now its delicacies are about to go global, as Chengdu was nominated for the "Creative Cities Network" in the gastronomy category by UNESCO on Sunday.

Jinli Street in Chengdu plays host to a variety of local snacks all year round. For visitors from near and far, Jinli Street is no doubt their best choice to get a taste of the whole city within a short stay.更

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A visitor said, "There are various local snacks and all of them are delicious. I like those served with soup, such as the sour and spicy noodle, just to name a few."

No matter whether guests come from afar, or are just the locals, one thing is sure, that everyone loves the delicious food in Chengdu. The local dining tradition has become a unique culture, gaining a growing reputation around the world for its authentic spicy flavor, and alluring global gastronomists to give it a try.

And thanks to the booming catering industry, the city of Chengdu is attracting the world's outstanding enterprises and talents in the field of creative design of gastronomy.

So far there are around 60-thousand restaurants of various scales in Chengdu, with millions of practitioners engaged in catering or related businesses.

The City's Commerce Bureau has drafted a work plan from 2010 to 2012 to mold Chengdu into a "City of Gastronomy". As a member country of the "Creative Cities Network" issued by UNESCO, it's an obligation that Chengdu must fulfill.