13-tonne hotpot served at Chongqing hotpot festival

CHONGQING - Standing 1.06 meters tall and weighing 13 tonnes, a giant hotpot with a diameter of 10 meters was set up Thursday at a festival in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the birthplace of the hot and spicy stockpot of mutton, beef and vegetables.

The two-flavor hotpot, provided by one of the biggest hotpot restaurants in Chongqing, can serve 56 people at a time, according to Li Dejian, president of the Chongqing Hotpot Association.

More than 60 hotpot restaurants have set up outdoor tables along the banks of the Jialing River during a four-day hotpot festival. The feast can serve more than 10,000 diners at a time.

The festival also features a collection of hotpot utensils and pictures detailing the history of the cuisine.

"While eating hotpot, I hope people can learn about hotpot culture and history in this city," said Li.

Chongqing hotpot was invented by local boatmen and dock workers around the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The dish was made of meat, hot peppers and ginger in a big pot of boiling oily soup, making it an ideal food to dispel the cold and damp.