Gourmet festival kicks off in Shanghai's Xintiandi

A global gourmet festival with the aim of stimulating domestic spending during the ongoing 5-5 Shopping Festival kicked off in Shanghai on Friday.

Organized under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the festival features 2,000 international catering brands offering 4,000 types of food.

A report on the city's diversity of catering options was also unveiled during the opening ceremony in Shanghai's downtown Xintiandi complex.

According to the report, 16.9 percent of the restaurants in Shanghai sell non-Chinese dishes. Among these restaurants, Western cuisines, including Italian, French and Spanish, account for 47.4 percent.

Organizers of the event will also be promoting time-honored brands from home and abroad. These brands include chili sauce maker Tabasco from the United States and China's Jinfeng Wine.

The festival will run till end June.