Published on: 2026-09-16
Source: People’s Republic of China — Translation
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
According to the British magazine The Economist dated September 3, the barbecue market in China has turned into a large-scale business: its volume is expected to reach 268 billion yuan by 2025. Several cities are competing for the title of “barbecue capital.”
Recently, a barbecue festival was successfully held in the northeastern city of Qiqihar – the city was decorated with banners bearing the inscription “International Capital of Barbecue Cuisine.”
Qicicara’s confidence is based on the fact that the region is home to one of China’s largest natural pastures. The locals are convinced that their beef is the best in the country, and the data supports this: from 2020 to 2025, the scale of the kebab industry in the city grew from about 5 to 30 billion yuan.
The real competitor for Qiqihar is not Texas beef from the USA or Australian sausages, but other Chinese cities. The main rival is Zibo in Shandong province. In 2023, street barbecue stalls in that city became a popular tourist attraction, and the local authorities responded quickly: they encouraged banks to issue loans to support aspiring entrepreneurs in this field.
The success of Zibo sparked competition on an even larger scale. The northeastern city of Jinzhou, which has long called itself the “capital of shashlik,” sent a delegation there to study the experience. The residents of Xuzhou city in Jiangsu province, for their part, believe that their shashlik tradition is older than that of Zibo: as proof, they cite scenes of shashlik preparation on two-thousand-year-old stone reliefs. Local internet users are convinced that shashlik is their cultural heritage.
Chinese summer tourist destinations often quickly gain popularity on social media and then just as quickly are forgotten. Meanwhile, Zibo continues to make efforts to maintain interest in the local cuisine. Qiqihar already supplies products to restaurant chains across the country, which noticeably stimulates the local economy.
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