Local residents take 'Nang', a kind of crusty pancake, out of an oven while attending a feast in Tacheng, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 4, 2019. (Photo: Xinhua)

A food festival was held Saturday in San Francisco's East Bay Area to offer Americans "a bite of the unique traditional foods" of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

The first Xinjiang, China Food Festival, hosted by the Eden Silk Road Cuisine Restaurant in Fremont as part of the 6th edition of the Across Pacific - China Arts Festival, showcases not only specialty cuisines in Xinjiang, but also local traditional costumes such as velvet hats, silk embroidery, as well as bronze plates commonly used by the Uyghur ethnic group.

The festival, set to end on October 18, features the culture of China through art forms such as dances, folk songs and acrobatics as well as tourism shows.

Chinese Deputy Consul General in San Francisco Ren Faqiang said the food festival turns Xinjiang food into a bridge connecting the peoples of China and the US.

"Food goes beyond borders, and the cuisine of different cultures and countries contributes to the diversity of the thriving food culture across the world," he said.

"Events like the food festival makes it possible for people to come together to share their love and food experiences, which plays a positive role in their joint efforts to build a better, harmonious world," Ren said.

David Haubert, mayor of Dublin in Northern California, said each town has its own food and flavor.

"I love having a diversity of food, and having a restaurant like this with the great food that is different than other foods only helps to make the selection of restaurants more appealing to more people," he said. "Variety is very good for all of our lives and our city."

Restaurant owner Zulpikar Abaidula said, "Xinjiang cuisine actually represents the integration of different ethnic groups in China."

"With this restaurant and its wonderful food, I want the American people and the world to know that the majority of the people of the Uyghur ethnic group hope for peace and unity among China's various ethnic groups," Abaidula noted.

He hoped that his restaurant will serve as a window through which the people from around the world can know more about Xinjiang.