China sets up ramen league to expand overseas markets

LANZHOU, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- The Lanzhou Ramen International League was established in northwest China's Gansu Province with the purpose of improving the industry and expanding overseas markets.

The ramen league, the first one in China, was jointly set up Thursday in the Lanzhou Resources and Environmental Vocation-Technology College by China's leading ramen brands, ramen industry associations and vocational schools.

The league will establish a unified training system for ramen making and ramen restaurant management talent to solve the shortage of professional practitioners in the industry.

It will also focus on the research and development of new ramen products and improvement of noodle making techniques, to build Lanzhou ramen into a well-recognized global fast food chain.

Currently, about 60 ramen brands and ramen training schools from China, the United States, Canada, Australia, France and Japan have joined the league.

The Lanzhou beef-soup ramen is a type of hand-pulled noodle that shares its name with the city in China in which it originated. It is one of the most popular fast food options in China.

There are about 35,000 Lanzhou beef noodle outlets across China, which generate an annual revenue of 65 billion yuan (about 10.25 billion U.S. dollars), according to Ma Limin, head of the Lanzhou beef noodle association. Enditem