ShanghaiJune 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The 12th Chengdu International Hotel Supplies & Catering Expo (2026 HOTELEX Chengdu) will officially kick off from July 2 to 4 at the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center.
Leveraging the resource advantages of Southwest China’s full catering industry chain, the expo will not only showcase a full range of supply chain products but also feature five major international professional competitions covering three core tracks: Chinese cuisine, specialty coffee, and trendy creative beverages. This creates an integrated professional platform for skill exchange, resource matching, and trend insight within the industry.
The five authoritative competitions held in Chengdu will all adopt internationally unified judging standards, bringing together top chefs, baristas, and beverage innovation talents from across the country to compete. They balance traditional culinary heritage, full-chain coffee techniques, and creative beverage R&D, using professional competitions as a bridge to empower catering professionals in Southwest China to exchange skills and grasp new industry trends. Details of the five competitions are as follows:
2026 HOTELEX China International Chinese Cuisine Championship – Lianglu Cup
Venue: Booth H3F100, Exhibition Hall, July 2 – 4
This internationally certified Chinese cuisine professional competition, officially recognized by the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (Worldchefs), is jointly organized by industry authorities, the local Sichuan Cooking Association, and professional institutions. The competition theme is “Lianglu Forges Stars, Flavors Span the Globe,” focusing on four core development directions: cultural exchange, inheritance and innovation, talent cultivation, and the global expansion of Chinese cuisine.
The judging panel is formidable, comprising Worldchefs international judges, national master chefs, and Michelin-starred chefs. The evaluation system aligns with international standards while deeply integrating the characteristics of Chinese culinary arts. The competition is open to executive chefs, young chefs, and students and faculty from culinary schools both domestically and internationally. It features over ten sub-categories, including hot dishes, fusion and innovative dishes, dim sum, and food carving, with a total prize pool of up to 170,000 RMB. In addition to the champion, runner-up, and second runner-up awards, special honors such as Best Young Chef, Best Creative Dish, and Outstanding Overseas Team will also be presented.
Rooted in the profound culinary culture of Sichuan cuisine and integrating the eight major Chinese cuisines with overseas Chinese cooking techniques, the competition serves as both a professional arena for culinary skill and innovation and a vital platform for promoting and exchanging Chinese food culture globally. It connects the entire industry chain of catering, ingredients, and equipment, helping to pass on Chinese culinary skills, elevate catering brands, and foster coordinated development across domestic and international industries.
2026 World Barista Championship China Finals (CBC)
Venue: Booth H5D260, Exhibition Hall, July 2 – 4
Introduced to China in 2003 by Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co., Ltd., the World Barista Championship China Selection has promoted specialty coffee culture for over two decades. Through rigorous regional selections across the country, outstanding competitors are chosen to represent China at the world finals. In 2025, Chinese competitor Sun Lei won second place at the World Barista Championship Global Finals, achieving the best result ever for the mainland China region.
This year’s China Finals will feature 29 top-tier competitors in Chengdu, with a star-studded lineup: 2019 World Brewers Cup Champion Du Jianing transitions to compete, 2025 World Barista Championship Global Runner-up Sun Lei returns to the stage, and emerging talents like Zhou Quan, Su Xudong, and Liang Jiachen gather to vie for the national championship.
2026 World Coffee Roasting Championship China Selection (Chengdu Regional)
Venue: Booth H5A70, Exhibition Hall, July 2 – 4
The World Coffee Roasting Championship (WCRC) is a globally influential specialty coffee professional competition. Officially licensed and introduced to China in 2016 by Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co., Ltd., it has provided a platform for domestic roasting professionals to showcase their skills over the years. The 2026 national regional selections are now in their final stages, with the Chengdu regional competition serving as a key stop at this HOTELEX Chengdu expo.
The competition deeply integrates with the expo’s coffee supply chain exhibitors and coffee culture festival, creating an integrated offline scenario of “competition + equipment display + green bean selection.” The roasting equipment and multi-origin competition green beans used by participants all come from brands present at the expo. Café owners, roasting factory professionals, and distributors attending the event can observe live demonstrations of smart roasting equipment, learn roasting profiles suitable for different coffee beans, and gain insights into industry-leading technologies such as flavor innovation and data-driven temperature control in the specialty roasting track. Through observation and exchange, they can simultaneously complete upstream and downstream supply chain resource matching.
2027 World Trendy Beverage Competition China Selection (Chengdu Regional)
Venue: Booth H4A90, Exhibition Hall, July 2 – 4
Founded in 2014 by Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co., Ltd. as the Shanghai International Trendy Beverage Creative Competition, the event evolved over 13 years and was officially upgraded to the World Trendy Beverage Competition (WFDC) for the 2025-2026 season. It is also China’s first self-created international specialty beverage professional competition. This Chengdu regional competition is the first regional event of the 2027 season’s China selection. The competition rules and creative themes have been comprehensively updated and upgraded to align with industry trends, featuring two tracks: the Specified Competition and the Creative Competition.
The theme of the Specified Competition is “Seasonal Freshness”: Participants will randomly draw one of two combinations of sponsor ingredients to create a beverage. The beverage can be hot or cold, with a liquid volume of no less than 150 ml per cup. This track assesses participants’ professional skills in handling seasonal ingredients such as fresh fruits, herbs, and grains, as well as low-temperature extraction and flavor preservation. It emphasizes highlighting the natural flavors of the ingredients while ensuring stable taste quality.
The theme of the Creative Competition is “Eastern Charm, Trendy Beverages Take the Lead”: Participants are encouraged to delve into traditional Chinese cultural symbols, extracting Eastern-inspired ingredients, flavors, and cultural imagery from local customs and folk traditions. By combining these with modern trendy beverage crafting techniques, they blend traditional flavors with cutting-edge creativity, using beverages as a medium to tell Chinese stories and showcase confidence in local beverage culture.
This edition of the World Trendy Beverage Competition features selections across multiple countries globally, bringing together beverage professionals from China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and other nations to compete under internationally standardized judging rules. Winners of the Chengdu regional competition will advance to the national finals, vying for a spot in the global event, providing an international creative exchange platform for beverage professionals in Southwest China.
According to the organizing committee, the five competitions will be held concurrently, creating the largest annual professional culinary and beverage competition event in Southwest China. The expo is open to catering business operators, chefs, coffee professionals, beverage R&D specialists, and supply chain buyers nationwide. Visitors can observe high-standard professional competitions, learn cutting-edge industry techniques, and connect with high-quality upstream and downstream supply chain resources, precisely seizing development opportunities in the Southwest China catering market.
From the pinnacle of Chinese culinary skill to international coffee series competitions held simultaneously, and the regional selection of the new World Trendy Beverage Competition, the event covers the full spectrum of Chinese cuisine, coffee, and creative beverages. Top industry talents from across the country gather on-site, exchanging skills through competition and learning through contests, creating an unprecedented annual professional culinary and beverage competition event in Southwest China. The 12th Chengdu International Hotel Supplies & Catering Expo will be open from July 2 to 4 at the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center. Industry peers are warmly welcome to reserve booths and schedule visits, joining this grand event for the Southwest China catering industry.