On the evening of February 3rd, U.S. time, the segment from the third season of China's first cultural documentary on Hunan's culinary and humanities, "The Pride of Hunan Cuisine," which uses culture as its thread and cuisine as its expression, made its debut on the large screens of New York Times Square, captivating the attention of numerous passersby. The video showcased the distinctive dialect of Hunan, China, alongside a delectable array of Hunan cuisine, embodying the unique charm and cultural confidence of "Chinese Hunan cuisine."
As one of China's Eight Major Cuisines, Hunan Cuisine, originating over 2300 years ago, has become one of the characteristics representing the image of Hunan Province in China after thousands of years of development and inheritance. However, globally, its dissemination still needs to catch up to Cantonese and Sichuan cuisines. In its first season, "The Pride of Hunan Cuisine" delved deep into the unique Hunan dishes born from the region's distinctive cultural background. This typical local food documentary series, exploring the connotations and characteristics of cuisine, was explicitly mentioned and praised by the People's Daily. By the second season, "The Pride of Hunan Cuisine" transformed exploration and discovery into an investigation, using exquisite flavours to delve into the roots of pioneering Hunan culinary culture. As the show progressed to its third season, it once again innovated and upgraded, focusing on regional cuisines from a global perspective. Through twelve episodes, it narrates the stories of Hunanese people crossing mountains and seas, continuously pioneering and enterprising globally, documents the journey of Hunan cuisine beyond Hunan and into the global market, showcasing the profound cultural heritage of Hunan while presenting the world with a new business card of Hunan culture.
In less than a century, China's Hunan cuisine industry has undergone rapid development from nonexistence to entering the forefront of the market, covering 34 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China, as well as more than 100 countries and regions worldwide, demonstrating astonishing vitality and strong competitiveness. From the first and second seasons, which reflected the cuisine and local customs of Hunan through its food, to the third season's focus on regional cuisines from a global perspective, "The Pride of Hunan Cuisine" has closely followed the development pace of Hunan cuisine in every season. Each season has presented itself with a fresh new look, sparking strong interest in Hunan cuisine among the public.
As early as the first season of "The Pride of Hunan Cuisine," the program was simultaneously broadcast on world-renowned television stations such as CCTV, Singapore's StarHub TV, Hong Kong's TVB Jade, and Macau Cable TV, attracting widespread attention. By the time the third season of "The Pride of Hunan Cuisine" aired, the program's main topics on Weibo had garnered over 330 million reads, while its topics on Douyin had amassed over 120 million views. The program's third season also repeatedly won the top spot in the Documentary List of the Weibo Variety Show Influence List, accumulating 226 trending topics across Chinese social media platforms in a single season and over 20 million views on Mango TV in a single season. The show has been highly popular among the public, making "Hunan cuisine," "Hunan flavour," and "Hunan spirit" hot topics of discussion, sparking a new wave of enthusiasm for Hunan cuisine on a global scale.
