The Pride of Hunan Cuisine Season 3 Debuts at New York Times Square, Interpreting the “Hunan Flavor” Culinary Culture Amidst Vibrant Atmosphere

CHANGSHA, China–(BUSINESS WIRE)–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. This documentary was jointly produced by the well-known Chinese television network Hunan Satellite TV, Mango TV, and the renowned Chinese cultural media company Hunan Aojiao Culture Media Co., Ltd. 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 flavors 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.

The Pride of Hunan Cuisine Season 3 Sparks Heated Discussions, Stirring Up a ‘Hunan Wind’ Around the World

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 flavor,” and “Hunan spirit” hot topics of discussion, sparking a new wave of enthusiasm for Hunan cuisine on a global scale.

From Small to Great, Speaking with Confidence, The Pride of Hunan Cuisine Season 3 Writes a New Legend of Hunan Cuisine Making Waves

With the deepening development of globalization, food documentaries have become one of indispensable mediums for China’s external communication and exchange through their unique expressions in food culture symbols, sound and picture, and narrative styles. In the third season of “The Pride of Hunan Cuisine,” Hunan culture and values are integrated into real and touching stories, gaining the public’s emotional recognition naturally. In the seventh episode, a mother from Hunan travels thousands of miles to the westernmost part of China—Xinjiang’s Xiji Village, for her daughter’s love, and they open a Hunan cuisine restaurant together. She brings the flavors of her daughter’s childhood memories to Xiji Village, and with it, the taste of home. On the other hand, the program delves deeply into the origins of Hunan cuisine and Hunan culture through exploration and discovery, showcasing the spirit of Hunanese people through unique character stories, and interpreting the “new” essence of Hunan cuisine. In the eleventh episode, a Hunan cuisine chef focuses on researching the “secret recipe of Hunan spicy flavors,” skillfully combining five types of chili peppers to create a harmonious blend of multiple flavors, opening another door to the unique taste of “Fish Head with Chopped Chili.”

In addition, the program also casts its gaze towards the broader world, inviting viewers to feel the vibrant vitality of Hunan cuisine in the context of globalization through down-to-earth, full-of-life stories and a global perspective. In Los Angeles, USA, Hunanese individuals far from their hometowns for years remain faithful to Hunan nature, steadfastly preserving the authentic taste of Hunan cuisine across the ocean; In Yokohama, Japan, Hunanese individuals, driven by their passion for the taste of home, open a Hunan cuisine restaurant, allowing the aroma of home to waft through the streets of a foreign land; In Auckland, New Zealand, an established Hunan cuisine restaurant has rooted itself in local culture, distinct from its homeland, for thirty years, captivating the palates of diverse ethnicities; Moreover, in Spain, Turkey, Malaysia, and beyond. The third season of “The Pride of Hunan Cuisine” continues to paint a picture of Hunan cuisine going global, narrating the diverse Hunan cuisine legends of Hunanese individuals in various corners of the world.

In conclusion, “The Pride of Hunan Cuisine,” in collaboration with Hunan Satellite TV and Mango TV, through multi-platform publicity and promotion, has used series production across three seasons to genuinely showcase the historical opportunities and transformations faced by Hunan cuisine. The program has become a new model for the international dissemination of Chinese Hunan cuisine culture, demonstrating the strong confidence and profound foundation that Hunan culture has given to the Hunan cuisine industry. In the future, “The Pride of Hunan Cuisine” will continue to uphold a stance of cultural confidence, leading the dissemination of Hunan cuisine and Hunan culture, helping Hunan cuisine shine with new brilliance, and portraying a vivid picture of Hunan cuisine culture and humanistic sentiment in the global dissemination.

Contacts

Jinwen Xu

aojiaowenhua@126.com