China Taste, an event to promote Chinese cuisine in Spain, wrapped up on Feb 20 at the China Cultural Center in Madrid.

Launched on Jan 11, the project brought 13 Chinese restaurants to the Spanish capital. Each rolled out a special spring menu and with each meal sold, one euro was donated to the Spanish Red Cross. A total of 4,123 euros was raised over 40 days, and the money will be used for the organization’s children program.

Qu Xun, Chinese envoy to Spain; He Yong, minister counselor from the Chinese embassy in Spain and Yang Changqing, director of the China Cultural Center in Madrid attended the event’s closing ceremony with representatives from the Spanish Red Cross and the participating restaurants.

Qu addressed the event and presented the donation personally.

Food, as an important part of culture, serves as a great medium for promoting exchanges and deepening understanding. As 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of China and Spain establishing diplomatic relations and also the China-Spain Year of Culture and Tourism, a mix of cultural and arts events will be held in both countries, the envoy said.

Initiated in 2016 by the China Cultural Center in Madrid, China Taste has been held six times and has become a major event for Chinese food promotion in Madrid and an important part of the city’s Happy Chinese New Year celebrations. During this year’s event, the cultural center also teamed up with the participating restaurants to hold a Chinese food tasting at FITUR 2023 in Madrid.