ON TUESDAY, Meituan-Dianping, China's largest service-focused e-commerce platform, launched its first Black Pearl Restaurant Guide, highlighting 330 restaurants in 22 Chinese cities and five overseas cities. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Some media outlets have referred to the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide as China's version of the Michelin Guide. And it is true, the restaurants selected by the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide are put through a similar vigorous selection process by a team consisting of chefs, culinary experts, and special advisers.
However, the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide should not be considered as simply an imitation of the Michelin Guide. Rather, it is a strong competitor to the Michelin Guide, which included eateries in Hong Kong in 2008 and Shanghai in 2016 and is reportedly planning to cover more Chinese cities. As the first restaurant guide written by Chinese experts and Chinese diners that rates Chinese restaurants, the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide will definitely boost Chinese consumers' confidence in China's rich food culture.

The launch of the Black Pearl Restaurant Guide also reflects the growth in dining consumption in China, as a result of the country's steady economic growth plus the continuous rise of people's disposable incomes, which has made it possible for people to spend more on dining out.

Data show that the domestic food industry had an income of 3.96 trillion yuan ($619 billion) last year, which is 10.7 percent higher than the year before and accounts for 4.8 percent of the country's total GDP. With people spending increasingly more money on good, quality food, China's food culture has been robustly rising, helping to boost the nation's cultural confidence.

It is hoped that the guide will provide a unique Chinese perspective on the best in traditional and modern Chinese dining both in China and globally.