Brief (coffeeyo.com): On September 17, the 16th Jinan Hotel & Kitchenware Expo and the “Skill Shines the Spring City” Haiyou skilled-trades competition opened at Jinan Zhongheng Mall. Beyond a wave of smart, innovative kitchen and hotel goods, the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe cupping salon — where spring-water meets coffee — became a highlight of international exchange.
On September 17, the 16th Jinan Hotel & Kitchenware Expo and the “Skill Shines the Spring City” Haiyou skilled-trades competition opened at Jinan Zhongheng Mall. Guided by the Jinan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and hosted by the Tianqiao District People’s Government and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Jinan Sub-council, the event ran four days. At the venue, a large array of smart and innovative kitchen and hotel goods gathered, building a platform for supply-demand matching and trade talks; many themed activities ran in parallel, with contestants competing in professional skills and fully showing the bearing of a new era’s skilled talent. Using the expo as a stage and competition as empowerment, this edition drove the two-way fusion of industry showcase and skill competition.
A large array of innovative kitchen and hotel goods gathered, building a platform for supply-demand matching and trade talks.
Since its 2011 founding, the Jinan Hotel & Kitchenware Expo has, through sixteen years of cultivation, grown into an influential annual event for the hotel-goods industry in Jinan. Relying on the resource advantages of Zhongheng Mall — the largest stainless-steel cookware and hotel-goods wholesale market north of the Yangtze — it convenes thousands of well-known domestic manufacturers, showcasing all kinds of quality new and distinctive products, enjoying broad recognition and a strong reputation in the industry.
This expo’s exhibit scope spanned kitchen equipment, hotel ceramics, tables and chairs, linens and hotel uniforms, cleaning equipment, guest-room supplies, coffee and tea supply-chain products, baking and pastry raw materials and equipment, and whole-solution commercial kitchens, among other sections. Leading enterprises from within and beyond Shandong — Shandong Yinying Kitchen Machinery, Shandong Keyu Kitchen Industry, and more — gathered to bring a large batch of intelligent, green, innovative kitchen and hotel goods, building a professional platform for buyers and industry practitioners to match supply and demand, talk trade, and exchange information.
At the opening ceremony, participants shared views on industry development, expo empowerment, building an international coffee industry-chain platform, skilled-talent cultivation, and Sino-foreign economic, trade, and cultural exchange, jointly looking ahead to the industry’s prospects.
The first “Bridge Good Products” Tianqiao District flagship store officially settled in Zhongheng and signed, which will push local specialty products to broaden sales through professional-market channels, further activating new regional-consumption momentum.
The Jinan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau awarded the “Jinan Technical Expert” prize to winners of the 2025 “Skill Shines the Spring City” Haiyou skilled-trades competition.
Multiple Competitions Kick Off; Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Cupping Salon Draws Attention
This expo was rich and diverse, insisting on using the expo as a stage and competition as empowerment to drive the two-way fusion of industry showcase and skill competition. Beyond large-scale product exhibition, many themed activities ran in parallel: Shandong Lanxiang Technical College held a pastry skills contest and knife-work carving and noodle-pulling demonstrations; the 2026 “Skill Shines the Spring City” Haiyou skilled-trades competition’s barista and bartender professional contests also started, with judges hired on site, contestants competing on the same stage in professional skills, fully showing the bearing of a new era’s skilled talent.
Among them, the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe cupping salon became a highlight of the event’s international exchange and drew strong attention. Using professional cupping as a vehicle, it systematically presented Ethiopia’s millennium coffee culture and traditional coffee ceremony, letting exhibitors, buyers, coffee practitioners, and ordinary citizens immerse themselves in origin flavors.
According to Achiza Geleta Desalegn, deputy head of the Ethiopian Embassy in China, Ethiopia exported over 20,000 tons of various coffees to China last year and is China’s second-largest coffee supplier; China is a very important market for Ethiopia, and in recent years Ethiopia’s coffee exports to China have grown over 20%, with much room to grow ahead.
“This is my first time in Shandong, in Jinan. The people here are friendly and warm. Attending the 16th Jinan Hotel & Kitchenware Expo at Zhongheng and holding the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe cupping salon is a good start to cooperation. I hope more Shandong and Jinan enterprises will cooperate with Ethiopia,” said Achiza Geleta Desalegn.
Shi Feng, secretary general of the Ethiopia-China Friendship Cooperation Committee, also expressed confidence and expectation for Ethiopian coffee’s development in China and cooperation with Jinan. He noted that the professional coffee cupping contest and coffee-culture salon cleverly blended Jinan’s local spring-water culture — brewing coffee with spring water, distinctive and original. This form not only showcases rich coffee products but subtly spreads coffee culture, truly opening the exchange channel between Ethiopian coffee and China’s northern market. It is a very valuable attempt and a good start to cultivating the regional coffee-consumption market.
When the spring city’s clear springs meet Ethiopian coffee, this “water and bean” dialogue not only pushes quality origin coffee resources toward the Shandong market and helps Jinan’s coffee and tea-drink supply chain achieve international upgrade, but builds a brand-new bridge for China-Ethiopia cultural exchange, trade matching, and industrial cooperation, giving this expo a broader international vision and higher professional standard.
Wang Zhanjing, honorary chairman of the Beijing Coffee Industry Association and founder of Wester Coffee, who entered the coffee field in 2003, believes coffee is a track in a burst period — in China the industry has grown 25% to 30% in recent years with broad prospects. Jinan’s coffee sector is no different; Wester Coffee, with a branch at Zhongheng, has grown 35%–40% in recent years. Zhongheng plays an important role in Jinan’s and even Shandong’s coffee-industry development — popularizing coffee culture, cultivating talent, building the industry chain — and has opened the largest north-of-Yangtze Shandong International Coffee, Beverage and Pastry Trading Center; he hopes Zhongheng will play an even greater role going forward.
This event pooled the resources and strength of government, trade associations, markets, colleges, and enterprises — both a platform convening and showcasing hotel and kitchenware industry achievements and an important vehicle for carrying forward the craftsman spirit and discovering and cultivating high-skilled service talent, with positive significance for upgrading Jinan’s trade-expo industry.
Reporter: Huang Min. Editor: Chen Tongtong. Proofreader: Tang Qi.
Reprint Note & Disclaimer
- This article is compiled and edited by coffeeyo.com. The materials and images herein are sourced from public channels and the copyright belongs to the original authors. This site reprints them solely for information sharing within the coffee industry and does not represent our stance; all data and views are subject to the original source. We thank the original authors for their work and sharing.
- For matters concerning content authorization, attribution, copyright, or any other issues, please contact us promptly. We will verify and cooperate in handling them without delay. We also welcome coffee-growing regions, brands, and industry media to exchange and contribute articles with us.
- Contact coffeeyo.com — Tel: 400-0000-641 (+86-18288016826) | Email: 405854472@qq.com | Address: Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan / Tieling City, Liaoning
Reprint Notice & Disclaimer
- This article has been edited and compiled by China Coffee Network. The information and images therein come from public sources and the copyright belongs to the original author. This reprint is intended solely for information sharing within the coffee industry and does not represent the views of this website; all data and opinions are subject to the original article. Our thanks to the original author for creating and sharing it.
- For matters concerning content licensing, attribution, copyright or otherwise, please contact us promptly and we will verify and cooperate in handling them as soon as possible. We also welcome coffee origins, brands and industry media to exchange ideas and contribute articles.
- Contact China Coffee Network: Tel 400-0000-641 (+86-18288016826) | Email 405854472@qq.com | Address: Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province / Tieling, Liaoning Province
Related Reading
- Bean in Short Supply: A Taiwan Youth on Yunnan Coffee as a Shared Cross-Strait Stage
- Five Years, Eight Championships: Lincang Coffee Joins the World Stage
Haikou ‘Union Cup’ Barista Skills Competition Kicks Off to Empower the Service Sector
Yunnan Specialty Coffee Beans Deliver an ‘Excellent’ Report: Path to Value Leap- Cross-Strait Tides Rise: A Taiwan Youth Farms Coffee in Yunnan, a Cup Bridging Both Sides
2026 2nd Yunnan Treasure Coffee Green Bean Competition (Cup of Excellence Pilot) Concludes
Liaoning ICP Security No. 21122402000217