/ world today news/ The “Yogurt Festival” became a bridge of friendship and connection between the cultural traditions of China and Bulgaria, which we called the “New Silk Road”, says the Chairman of the Bulgarian Center for development, investment and tourism in China and one of the main organizers of the event.
For three days, the beautiful Bulgarian village of Momchilovtsi, in the heart of the Rhodope Mountains, hosted the 6th Yogurt Festival. The guests of the event witnessed an exhibition by various producers of dairy products, tasted home-made dairy products and Rhodope culinary specialties, to the sounds of beautiful Rhodope folklore. Various Bulgarian folk groups performed on the festival stage throughout the days, and the evenings were reserved for various concert programs,
The event is under the Patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and is organized by the Bulgarian Center for Development, Investment and Tourism in China, “Demi Travel” EOOD, the Chinese company Bright Dairy, with the active support of the Smolyan Regional Administration, the Smolyan Municipality and the village of Momchilovtsi.
On this occasion, we are talking to Mr. Ivan Todorov, Head of the Bulgarian Center for Development, Investment and Tourism in China and one of the main organizers of the event.
Q. Mr. Todorov, the Yoghurt Milk Festival is a unique Bulgarian product, which is connected with the tradition and culture of the country and which has already proven its importance and popularity in many countries of the world. And precisely in this connection, as the main organizer of the event this year, and as the head of the Bulgarian Center for Development, Investment and Tourism in China – please tell us more about this initiative, which is being held not for the first time, but this year year it emerged as extremely attractive and interesting.
Iv. Todorov: The Yogurt Festival 2023 in the village of Momchilovtsi is organized for the 6th time in a row. We started the Yoghurt Festival in 2015. as a joint project between the Bulgarian Center for Development of Investments and Tourism in China and the Chinese company Bright Dairy from Shanghai, which produces the Momchilovtsi dairy product popular on the Chinese market. Our partnership with Bright Dairy began in 2010. In 2012 an official delegation from Bright Dairy visited Momchilovtsi village and we jointly announced that we will work to promote Momchilovtsi village in China. During all these years the Festival was organized under the Patronage of the Ministry of Tourism, and in 2015 the then President of the Republic of Bulgaria Mr. Rosen Plevneliev personally supported the festival by receiving the official delegation of “Bright Dairy”, led by the then President of the holding Mr. Dong Qin, in order to express his personal support for the development of relations between Bulgaria and China.
In all the years until 2019. Working on this project was a real pleasure for all of us involved in it. The guests from China, which Bright Dairy brought every year, felt the warmth of the Bulgarian hospitality in the village of Momchilovtsi, and when they left, they all carried in their hearts a part of the warmth of the people of Momchilovtsi. “Bright Dairy”, through its product “Momchilovtsi”, popularized the name of the village of Momchilovtsi in China, giving it the Chinese name “Mosilian”. And this very name – Mosilian is the name with which millions of people in China associate Momchilovtsi, consuming the wonderful milk drink “Momchilovtsi”.
The Yogurt Festival became a bridge of friendship and connection between the cultural traditions of China and Bulgaria, which we called the “New Silk Road”.
Unfortunately, COVID 19 forced us to temporarily freeze the organization of the Festival, but now we are once again continuing the established tradition and are already thinking about new, even more interesting moments for the future of the Festival, as well as for the entire region of Momchilovtsi. To the already known Bright Dairy product – Momchilovtsi, this year we presented for the first time a new product – Probiotic MosiBiotic, which is the result of long-term scientific research work, based on a specially selected probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus Bulgaricus RM1. It contains over 100 billion. living bacteria and was created in the mountain of longevity Rhodope in the area of the village of Momchilovtsi. Our message is that organic food is our medicine and MOSIBIOTIC our assistant to a healthy lifestyle for health and longevity.
Another main highlight of the Festival this year is that, through sponsorship from Bright Dairy and the Bulgarian tour operator Demi Travel, a project was created through which Momchilovtsi is declared a Mountain Tourist Center with 150 km of mountain hiking trails that have been renovated, marked and are now accessible for lovers of mountain tourism. We want to arouse the interest of more tourists and mountain lovers and show them the charms of longevity in the Rhodope Mountains.
We can safely say that the Yogurt Festival in Momchilovtsi is our cause, it has become a symbol of friendship between China and Bulgaria, and we will work more and more actively to develop these relations.
Q. With which partners from China is this year’s Yogurt Festival in Momchilovtsi organized?
Iv. Todorov: Traditionally, the Yogurt Festival is organized under the Patronage of the Ministry of Tourism, with the active support of the Municipality of Smolyan and the Regional Administration of Smolyan. The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China has always been close to us and provided us with warm and necessary support whenever we were in need. It is the same this year.
As the main partner from China, “Bright Dairy” has a significant role in popularizing the Yogurt Festival in China, through its dairy product, the “Momchilovtsi” brand, which is popular in the Chinese market. One of the highlights of the Festival is the Beauty Contest, to choose a Yogurt Queen. In this way, through the beautiful Bulgarian girls, Bright Dairy helps to promote and advertise the beauty of Bulgaria in China by including them in its advertising events.
Q. Since when has the cooperation of the Center you lead with Chinese partners started, and in which other areas do you have or plan to have joint and new investment projects? Could you tell us about some specific events?
Iv. Todorov: The Bulgarian Center for the Development of Investments and Tourism in China has been actively working with Chinese partners since 2012. One of the first large-scale events he organized was the Bulgarian – Chinese Investment Forum in November 2012. in Shanghai. The forum was attended by a government delegation from Bulgaria, representatives of the Government of Shanghai and over 300 Chinese and Bulgarian companies interested in establishing a mutual partnership. Shortly after – in 2013, a similar forum was organized in Bulgaria, which was personally supported by the then President of the country, Rosen Plevneliev. More than 280 Bulgarian and Chinese companies took part in the Forum.
BTIDCC has been involved in organizing the visit of many Chinese government and trade delegations from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shaoxing, Jinghua, Wenzhou, etc. in Bulgaria and vice versa to Bulgarian delegations in China. As a result of this exchange, a number of partnership agreements were signed between Bulgarian and Chinese cities and partners.
BTIDCC has organized the participation of Bulgarian companies in Chinese trade and tourism exhibitions in Shanghai and Beijing, as well as in the creation of tourist information centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.
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