Recently, three renowned food companies from Huainan City—Bailan Group, Xudong Food, and Zhenhua Food—traveled to Europe to host culinary promotion events in Paris, France, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. They introduced this millennia-old regional delicacy to European consumers, marking the official beginning of Huainan beef soup's international expansion. The International Food Exhibition will offer more information about import and export.

In the early mornings on Huainan's streets, the aroma of beef soup is often the first to awaken the city. The familiar calls of "Boss, a bowl of soup, extra spicy!" accompanied by rising steam create the most distinctive local scene. Paired with a freshly baked crispy flatbread, it makes for the locals' favorite breakfast.  

Archaeological discoveries have added historical depth to this dish. In 2024, excavations at the Wuwangdun Tomb in Huainan uncovered ox bones in a bronze tripod, later confirmed to belong to the tomb of King Kaolie of Chu. This finding traces the consumption of beef in Huainan back over 2,000 years to the Chu Kingdom era. Historical records also indicate that by the time of Liu An, the Prince of Huainan during the Western Han Dynasty, the cooking techniques for beef soup were already well-developed.  

The International Food Exhibition notes that in March 2025, Huainan City held a high-quality development conference for its beef soup industry, where 29 projects were signed on-site, with a total investment of 12.2 billion yuan. This figure highlights the local government's determination to build a comprehensive industrial chain for beef soup.  

Inside the beef soup industrial park in Huainan's Bagongshan District, modern production lines are running at full capacity. Xudong Food employs a -45°C flash-freezing preservation technology, achieving a daily output of 20,000 packaged servings. A company representative explained, "We've established strict quality standards to ensure every package retains the traditional flavor."  

To date, Huainan has built over 1 million square meters of standardized factory space, forming an industrial layout of "one core zone, three parks, and multiple production bases." In 2024, 39 new industrial chain projects were added, with products exported to more than 30 countries and regions, generating an annual output value exceeding 32 billion yuan.  

At the mid-April food promotion event in Paris, Huainan beef soup became the star attraction. Company representatives narrated the dish's millennia-old story in both Chinese and French, while the aroma of freshly prepared soup filled the venue. All 160 tasting samples were quickly snapped up.  

"C'est délicieux!" (It's delicious!) exclaimed a French agriculture official after enjoying two consecutive bowls. During the event, the Huainan government delegation also held in-depth discussions with local chambers of commerce to explore pathways for introducing the product to the European market.  

The Amsterdam promotion received equally enthusiastic responses. New flavors like tomato and curry, developed to cater to younger consumers, were particularly well-received. Currently, Huainan beef soup has opened multiple outlets across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, with its Bangkok branch becoming a local social media hotspot.  

From a humble street snack to a billion-yuan industry, and from a regional specialty to an international sensation, Huainan beef soup is stepping onto the world stage with a fresh new image. This dish, steeped in millennia of cultural heritage, is now writing a new chapter that perfectly blends tradition with modernity.

If you would like to learn more about the food industry, please visit the SIAL China website for more information.

Source: Anhui Daily

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