On January 19, the 1stJingzhou Fish Cake Festival, sponsored by the China Aquatic Product Processingand Marketing Alliance and the Jingzhou People’s Government and organized by the Jingzhou Fish CakeProcessing Industry Association, the Jingzhou Bureau of Fisheries and the Gong’anCountry People’s Government, was held at Chanling Square in Gong’an County,central China’s Hubei Province. With the theme of “Jingchu Flavor,” thefestival showed the brilliant developments of Jingzhou’s characteristicagricultural (fishing) industries to the whole country.
Cui He, president of the ChinaAquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance, Zhao Wenwu, director of theNational Fisheries Technology Extension Center, Li Shuibin, director of theProvincial Bureau of Fisheries, Deng Yingjun, vice mayor of Jingzhou, and LinHong, vice chairman of the Municipal Political Consultative Conference,participated in the festival.
During the opening ceremony,Gong’an County was awarded the title of the “Hometown of Chinese Fish Cakes.”In his speech, Li Shuibin said that Hubei is the most important province forfreshwater fishing in China, and the output of freshwater products has rankedfirst across the country for 23 consecutive years. Jingzhou boasts abundantfishing resources, with a long history of aquaculture and apparent comparativeadvantages in fishing industries. It is also regarded as the No. 1 City for FreshwaterFishing in China.” Considered as a “county with hundreds of lakes and a land offish and rice,” Gong’an County is at the forefront of the province in manyeconomic indicators of the fishing industry, setting the trend for thedevelopment of Hubei’s modern fishing industry. In recent years, Jingzhou and Gong’anhave been implementing a brand strategy to revitalize, transform and upgradethe fishing industry, drawing a new blueprint to “make people richer withaquatic industries.”
After the opening ceremony,the Jingzhou the certification ceremony of the Fish Cake "WorldRecord" Challenge, an important part of the 1st Jingzhou Fish CakeFestival, took place in Yuhuchun City, Gong’an County. Witnessed by a largecrowd, a giant fish cake, 4 meters in diameter and 12.56 square meters in area,was officially announced to be the new world record, with the relevant certificateawarded.
On the same day, theorganizers also held a variety of activities, such as an all-fish feast,“Jingzhou All-fish Banquet” (a Chu cuisine tasting) and the 4th Jingchu Flavor Fair for Special Purchasesfor the Spring Festival. The scene was a lively and peaceful scene.
It is reported that Jingzhouproduces 1.1 million tons of freshwater fish annually with the output value estimatedat 26 billion yuan. Fishing has become the pillar industry of Jingzhou’sagricultural industry. The Jingzhou Fish Cake has been listed as Hubei’s intangiblecultural heritage and a product under the protection of national geographicalindications, epitomizing the “Chu Cuisine.” When you eat a fish cake, you will feellike “eating fish without seeing them,” “eating fish without seeing bones,” “eatingfish like fresh and tender meat.” For thousands of years, the fish cake hasbeen favored by people as Jingzhou’s best delicacy to entertain guests andfriends. Now, there are nearly 20 enterprises engaged in fish cake processing acrossthe city, mainly in Gong’an, Honghu, Jingzhou, Jingzhou and Shashi areas. Fishcakes produced by these enterprises are sold all over the country and enjoy highreputations both at home and abroad.