The People's Government of Foshan Municipality

Taste: dedicated to a bowl of rice! That's "Made in Foshan"

Source:en.foshannews.net 2022-11-21

This year, Foshan Media Group and Foshan News Network launched a special series of micro stories. Based on 10 real cases of Foshan focusing on high-quality development, reform and opening up, rural revitalization, innovation and entrepreneurship etc. The stories have witnessed a revolution for Foshan's new development philosophy.



The fifth episode, Taste, is literally a story about "rice-cooker". A team of young talents in Shunde, Foshan did a challenging job to make it. For that one memorable taste of the rice, the team made an all-out effort before they invented a  "Created-in-Foshan" rice cooker that was sold worldwide.




Su Ling, the main character in this film, is a young girl from Northeast China. After graduating from post-graduate school in Jiangsu Province, she came to Shunde for her very first job, feeling amped for what's to come. She was particularly excited to work side by side with Zhang Xionghui at Midea Group, whom she looked up to so much. However, her first day at work had just taught her to be a little more realistic. The moment she was told all she had to do was cooking rice every day, she realized how it is really about to be a researcher behind the scene. 





One day, a picture broke the "silence" in Su Ling and her team. Around 2015, thousands of Chinese people flocked to Japan to buy rice cookers and toilet seats. Why can’t local Chinese brands make products that Chinese people can feel proud of. Then the research focus at Midea was shifted to the R&D of rice cookers. Led by chief engineer Huang Jin, the team has managed to master IH technology in just 6 months, whereas it took Japan more than 20 years to do it. The path was rough, though, with disagreements and trials from time to time.





Thankfully, the hardworking teams have been blessed to tackle technical challenges one by one, and they shocked the world with a Chinese branded rice cooker that could outperform those made by Japan. Just when the rice cooker was about to hit the market, Shu Ling, however, decided to hold it a little longer. What was the reason behind? What's the team's next move? Check out the video to find out.