The First Jinhua Ham Banquet takes place in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, on Nov 16. [Photo/Tide News]

The Jinhua Ham Curing Ceremony and the First Jinhua Ham Banquet took place in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, on Nov 16.

Jinhua Ham is celebrated for its exceptional color, aroma, flavor, and shape, and its curing technique has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage item. 

At the ceremony, intangible cultural heritage practitioners performed the curing process and renowned chefs used ham to prepare 12 distinctive dishes, such as steamed fish with ham and stir-fried ham with mountain peppers. Over 500 residents were invited to participate in the ham banquet.

Residents are invited to enjoy 12 ham dishes. [Photo/Tide News]

In recent years, Jinhua has combined traditional craftsmanship with modern technology to advance its ham industry, developing derivative products such as ham ice cream, ham biscuits, and instant ham shreds.

In the first three quarters of this year, Jinhua's ham industry has shown robust growth, producing 3.501 million hams valued at 1.73 billion yuan ($238.90 million), with year-on-year increases of 16 percent and 17.2 percent, respectively.