Sichuan Tourism University News Network （Correspondent:TangXu, Ran Wei）From 20 to 28 September, invited by the ChineseEmbassies in Bolivia and Costa Rica, a faculty delegation from Sichuan Tourism University (SCTU) carried out a cultural exchange tour across Latin America. The team delivered two public cultural events — Sichuan Cuisine: A Taste of the World, and Chinese Culture: The Splendor of Sichuan — under the auspices of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and the Sichuan Overseas Friendship Association. Centered on culinary culture and interactive skill sharing, the team completed the high-level overseas outreach program and received broad recognition from local audiences and institutional organizers.

Given the tour’s significance for national cultural representation, SCTU carefully selected a six-member team of senior Sichuan cuisine experts with sophisticated technical expertise and rich cross-border exchange experience. The group serves as a key academic and cultural ambassador for Sichuan’s culinary heritage and international people-to-people engagement.

Throughout the activities, the team presented the diverse charm of Sichuan cuisine — embodied in the timeless philosophy of “one dish, one style; a hundred dishes, a hundred flavors” — through signature dish displays, live cooking demonstrations and hands-on interactive sessions. The Costa Rica event offered a vivid multi-sensory cultural experience, creating a dynamic and welcoming atmosphere for participants. The Chinese Embassy in Costa Rica praised the program for deepening bilateral cultural understanding and strengthening grassroots friendship between the two countries.

On the evening of 21 September, during the opening ceremony of the Chinese Food Festival, SCTU signed a memorandum of cooperation with Costa Rica’s Amura Culinary School and officially launched the overseas branch of the Chinese Sichuan Cuisine Academy. Wang Zhijun, Deputy Minister of the CPC Sichuan Provincial United Front Work Department and Vice President of the Sichuan Overseas Friendship Association, attended the ceremony as an official witness.

The partnership represents the first structured introduction of professional Sichuan culinary education to Latin America, establishing a sustainable long-term platform for vocational training cooperation and cultural exchange between China and Costa Rica.

The Latin American tour showcases SCTU’s solid capacity in inheriting, innovating and globalizing Sichuan culinary culture, as well as the university’s ongoing commitment to international cultural dialogue and collaborative education.

Moving forward, SCTU will continue to uphold the developmental philosophy of “preserving traditions without stagnation and innovating without abandoning roots”. The university will keep nurturing international-minded high-caliber catering talents, support China’s international cultural development, and elevate Sichuan cuisine — aniconic cultural symbol of China — to greater global influence.