A delectable exhibition at Hungary's Museum of Ethnography has offered a rare taste of China's 3,000-year-long culinary tradition, illustrating how food has shaped Chinese culture and society.
Giving visitors in Budapest a peek into historical feasts, the exhibition titled "Fine Dining: Food Stories of Ancient China" displays over 100 pieces of Chinese art and artifacts ranging from royal banquets to family offerings, covering all aspects of ancient Chinese food culture. Delicate vessels and varied cooking implements on display provided insights into the country's civilization through its unique food culture.
"We should focus more on gastronomy because it reflects a country's culture, habits, and health," said Tibor Tornai, a visitor.
"I loved learning why they ate certain foods at different times. How meals are served to unite families. For them, a meal wasn't just food," said visitor Katalin Mitos.
Gabor Wilhelm, curator of the museum, looked deep into the meals and ingredients of ancient Chinese cuisine and created interactive displays to bring the dining customs to life.
"If you look at basic food, rice and barley, for example, or the techniques, or the tools, everything has more than one thousand years of history," said Wilhelm.
The curator noted that balance and symbolism were key in ancient Chinese cuisine, and that cooking principles that endure today continue to follow precise rules of harmony.
"This historical dimension, I think this is of utmost importance in the exhibition. Because if you look at our dishes, it has some history, some 100, 200, maybe 400 (years)," he said.
The exhibition, co-hosted with the National Museum of China, ran from October 16, 2024 to January 19, 2025, giving a vivid demonstration of cultural exchanges between China and Hungary.
Exhibition in Budapest explores China's culinary tradition
From cutting-edge technology exhibitions to retail stores thousands of kilometers away from Europe and Southeast Asia, China-made robot vacuum cleaners are increasingly becoming a popular choice among consumers worldwide.
At electronics retailers in Berlin, Germany, Chinese brands such as Roborock and Dreame occupy prominent positions in dedicated robot vacuum sections, offering a wide range of products priced between 200 and 2,000 euros.
Many local consumers said that when purchasing smart home appliances including robot vacuum cleaners, they tend to give priority to Chinese-made products.
"It's a good price and good quality. It's also the innovation. I have a feeling that the European brands are not innovating enough," said one customer.
"I think they're always on top of the other technologies. They are getting them out faster. A lot of us are switching to the Chinese technology," another consumer said.
Germany is one of the most important overseas markets for China's floor-cleaning robots.
According to data from market research firm GfK, from January to November 2025, more than six out of 10 robot vacuum cleaners sold in Western Europe were Chinese brands.
Industry data also point to a strong global momentum.
According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), global shipments of smart robot vacuum cleaners reached 17.424 million units in the first three quarters of 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.7 percent.
Chinese brands including Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi and Narwal ranked among the world's top five in terms of shipment volume, with a combined share of nearly 70 percent of the global market.
At a robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing plant in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province, workers were seen stepping up production of newly launched models that recently debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in the United States, which concluded Friday in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The factory adjusted its production lines as early as December 2025 and stocked inventory in advance for overseas markets to ensure that new products could be delivered to global consumers at the earliest possible time.
"In 2025, Roborock's global shipments exceeded 7.2 million units. Since 2024, overseas revenue has accounted for more than 50 percent of our total revenue. Our products have now been sold to more than 170 countries and regions, serving more than 20 million households worldwide," said Quan Gang, president of Roborock.
At another robot vacuum cleaner manufacturing facility in Dongguan, Guangdong, rising overseas orders have prompted the company to upgrade its production lines with intelligent technologies to further boost capacity. The factory is currently operating at full load to meet a growing demand.
"For 2026, we have already obtained overseas orders worth at least 300 million to 400 million yuan (around 43 million to 57.3 million U.S. dollars). In addition, we've engaged in strategic cooperation with European home appliance group Cebos Group, and our total confirmed orders have exceeded 600 million yuan (around 86 million U.S. dollars)," said Zhang Junbin, founder and CEO of Narwal Robotics.
Chinese robot vacuum brands gain strong global traction
