The LMC Spice Festival was held as part of the Chiang Mai International Food Festival 2026 (CMFF 2026) at the Chiang Mai Cultural Centre this past weekend.
LMC is short for Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, a multilateral platform for six countries—China, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Burma and Vietnam—which are found along the Lancang and Mekong Rivers to share environmental and resource connectivity and sustainable development.
The festival is implemented under the project “LMC Spice Routes: The Development of Gastronomy and Cultural Tourism Platform,” led by Maejo University with support from the Lancang–Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Special Fund (Fiscal Year 2024).
The initiative is aimed to promote cooperation between China, Laos, Burma and Thailand, through the promotion of spices as a unifying element across gastronomy, culture and sustainable tourism.
Over the weekend, there were culinary demonstrations and workshops conducted by chefs and experts from participating countries, highlighting national culinary identities and traditional uses of spices. There was also a forum discussion under the title:
“Connecting Cultural Food Tourism Routes in the Mekong Subregion Countries: China, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand.”
This forum brought together representatives from LMC member countries to exchange perspectives on strengthening regional cooperation through food and cultural tourism, with spices serving as a shared cultural and economic link under the LMC Spice Routes framework.
An official reception, “The Flow of LMC Spice Route – Lancang–Mekong Chef’s Table” was also held on the Saturday night with media from Bangkok and Chiang Mai present.
On the Sunday there was an academic seminar titled “The Spice of Mekong,” featuring scholars and regional experts, aimed at enhancing in-depth understanding of spices, gastronomy, and cultural tourism in the Lancang–Mekong context.
Significance
Chiang Mai hopes to play a key role as a regional hub for food and cultural cooperation and demonstrates the practical implementation of Lancang–Mekong Cooperation at the people-to-people and cultural levels. By positioning spices as a medium of collaboration, the festival contributes to regional connectivity, cultural exchange, sustainable tourism development, and inclusive economic growth within the Lancang–Mekong Subregion.
For more information contact: www.lmcspiceroute.com and Facebook: lmc.spice.routes