The 8th China (Beijing) International Catering & Food and Beverage Expo will be held in Beijing from May 9 to 11 at the Beijing Exhibition Center.

This year's exhibition area will cover a total of 13,000 square meters, while last year it occupied 10,000 sq m.

More than 260 food and catering companies from 27 Chinese provinces and cities will be present with 350 stations, along with companies from Italy, Japan, Korea.

Liu Lanying, general manager of Beijing Super International Exhibition Service Co Ltd, organizer of the event, said this year's event incorporates many activities. Major sections will be a display of Beijing traditional snacks, old food companies, green agricultural products, as well as tourism food presentations.

Tan Xiangping, deputy director of the Beijing Traditional Brands Association, said there will be more than 100 kinds of traditional snacks on exhibition.

"Beijing 'small eats' have a deep cultural background behind them. The purpose of the activity is to inherit, protect and develop them," says Tan.

An important occasion for food companies during the event will be the announcement of the 50 strongest groups, 100 best restaurants, 10 best Beijing food brands, and 10 economic figures in Beijing's food arena in 2012.

Visitors to the exhibition can expect a dazzling variety of foods produced by China's famous and old brands, including Beijing's famous food companies. There will be more than 1,000 kinds of food on display, according to the organizers.

The event will also host a traditional festival named after Chinese zongzi, which are rice dumplings wrapped in reed leaves, accompanied by yellow rice wine, preserved duck eggs and seafood.

At the same time an international young chef's competition will be held at the Beijing Exhibition Center. Chefs from Beijing, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao will prepare two hot dishes in a limited time and with limited ingredients. Their dishes will then be displayed and sold to visitors.