Iberico ham. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Thursday's celebration in Beijing will take place at Nali Patio in Sanlitun from 5 to 11 pm. Some popular local restaurants will be serving genuine Spanish tapas and wine, with flamenco performances. Guests can have a bite of the famous Iberian ham, cold tomato soup and mini hamburgers, and enjoy the Spanish social and dining culture in the evening.

Spain's tourism agency, Turespana, declared early this year that the third Thursday in June will officially be World Tapas Day.

"Tapas is a symbol of Spain and is considered deserving of being the star of its own World Day because it is representative of our cuisine in miniature, is the focus of our most innovative chefs, and because tapas is a word that is recognized in all major languages," the agency said in January.

Food tourism lured 9.5 million tourists to visit Spain in 2015, according to the tourism agency. World Tapas Day is designed to build on that both by offering tapas-focused events in Spain and by building the reputation of Spanish cuisine in other countries.

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