China (Shenyang) International Food Fair has run in Shenyang since 2002, now in two editions a year, one in spring and one in late August. It is a food-and-drink fair that northeast China’s distributors, agents, wholesalers and supermarket buyers work from: Liaoning Shengang Exhibition Service runs it; the floor carries around 500 exhibitors; and visitors travel in from Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang and eastern Inner Mongolia.

The exhibitor list reaches past the region: more than 20 countries and regions take part, among them France, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Thailand, Japan and South Korea, and the fair doubles as a launch slot for new products aimed at the northeast. Drink runs from baijiu and imported spirits through beer, ice wine, fruit wine and rice wine; the food side covers packaged and imported foods, oils and grains, prepared dishes, hotpot ingredients, bakery, and the packaging and processing machinery behind them.