The first three-day Chongqing Liangjiang International Coffee Festival (2017) opened in Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing on Nov 24, offering a culture-enriched feast for worldwide coffee lovers.

For those interested in more than the usual sips of a hot cup of Joe, numerous coffee-themed activities, including the Belt and Road International Coffee Industry Summit, the exhibition and trade conference of coffee sets, Ethiopia Theme Day, the 2018 China Barista Championship (Chongqing Division), a DIY creative market, and an exhibition themed "My Stories with Coffee", were available to true coffee lovers to delve deep into the culture and art of the popular morning pick-me-up.

Liangjiang New Area signed contracts with Maan Coffee, ZooCoffee and South Korean I'MCafe on the removal of their headquarters to the area during the event.

Ethiopian businessmen get a close look at coffee products at the first Chongqing Liangjiang International Coffee Festival (2017). [Photo by Liu Xian/chinanews.com]

Chongqing Coffee Exchange Center reached strategic cooperative agreements with the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange and Chonging Coffee Quality Inspection and Certification Center.

These pacts will ensure that Ethiopian coffee will enter Chinese markets more conveniently and quickly, securing good quality coffee at favorable prices. A total of 120 tons of coffee have departed Ethiopia and will arrive at Chongqing soon, said Peng De, general manager of Chongqing Coffee Exchange Center.

He Yousheng, deputy director of the Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee, said that the coffee festival will better publicize coffee culture and promote coffee industry and culture to become a new calling card of Liangjiang New Area.

The first three-day Chongqing Liangjiang International Coffee Festival (2017) opens in Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing on Nov 24. [Photo/liangjiang.gov.cn]

Last June, Chongqing Coffee Exchange was established in the Liangjiang New Area. The exchange aims to become China's biggest platform for e-commerce cross-border trade, credit financing, trade settlement and big data collection in the coffee industry.

Up to now, the exchange center has reached its spot trading volume of over 12 billion yuan ($1.82 billion) with over 300 member enterprises involved in the entire coffee industrial chain of coffee plantations, trade, processing, and machinery manufacturing to terminal stores. Mainly engaged in trade, more than 40 of those companies are from Germany, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Laos.

In China, coffee is joining tea as a popular hot beverage, as the consumption of the dark, bitter drink is growing rapidly by about 20 percent each year. It is estimated that in 10 years China will become the world's largest coffee-drinking country.

He Yousheng, deputy director of the Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee, delivers a speech during the first Chongqing Liangjiang International Coffee Festival (2017). [Photo/liangjiang.gov.cn]