More than 100 participants, coming from about 20 countries including the United States, France, Germany, Japan and the Republic of Korea, were divided into 20 groups.

Every group was assigned to cook one traditional Hangzhou dish and one self-designed cuisine to be named for a tourism site in Hangzhou.

In the end, two groups were awarded first prize, four were awarded second prize and six were awarded third prize by evaluating the dishes' color, flavor and taste.

Chinese cuisine boasts a long and bright history. So far, it has developed into eight major categories, one of which is based in Hangzhou.

The year 2002 saw Zhejiang receiving 1.9 million overseas tourists and Hangzhou alone received more than one million overseas visitors, up 29.3 percent and 28.8 percent respectively over the previous year.

Xiang Qin, deputy mayor of Hangzhou, said the cook-off will help more foreigners know the city which is a nationally well-known tourism destination, as well as the city's delicious cuisine.

(Xinhua News Agency January 4, 2003)