Yangzhou in Jiangsu province will hold a food festival featuring selective cuisines from the Silk Road countries, Italian food in particular, on Sept 11.

The festival aims to enhance cultural communication and exchanges between the countries along the Silk Road under the framework of the "Belt and Road Initiative", namely the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Roadproposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in a bid to revive the ancient international routes and bring Asia and Europe closer.

Located on different ends of the ancient Silk Road, China and Italy have been interacting with each other for over 1,000 years. As Zhu Minyang, the mayor of Yangzhou put it, "700 years ago, Italian merchant Marco Polo set foot in Yangzhou, a city with 2500 years of history and the starting point of the Silk Road. Appointed by the emperor of Yuan dynasty as an official, he stayed here for three years, contributing to the Sino-Italian relations."

Zhu Minyang, mayor of Yangzhou, gives a speech at the press conference of the food festival in Beijing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]