The competitive rift between independently governed Chongqing
Municipality and its former province, Sichuan in SW China — both of
which claim the title “spiciest food in China” – has again heated after
Chongqing said it was unaware Sichuan was planning a joint bid to host
the 2032 Olympics.

“This is a unilateral announcement by Sichuan
Province. I only read about it on the internet this afternoon,” an
employee with the Chongqing sports authority told the Red Star News on
Friday.

A staff member of Sichuan’s sports bureau said on Friday
that the “sports departments of Sichuan and Chongqing are planning to
jointly bid for the 2032 Olympic Games,” according to media reports.  

The
14th five-year plan for development of Sichuan’s capital, Chengdu, says
the city will actively seek hosting the Olympic Games and other
large-scale sporting events. The plan apparently assumed Chongqing would
also be involved.

The rift between Chongqing and Sichuan went
viral on Sina Weibo with nearly 50 million views and 2,200 discussions a
few hours after the Red Star report. 

“What a slap in the face,” said an internet user who said he can’t wait for the story to unfold.

Chongqing,
a mega city of more than 30 million people, was part of Sichuan
Province until the central government established it as a “municipality”
in 1997, giving it provincial-level authority.

Although the city
and the province share a similar culture that includes an obsession
with mahjong and a crazy love for spicy food, they also quarrel over the
specific rules of mahjong, or who owns the title of China’s spiciest
hotpot.

“In recent years, Sichuan and Chongqing have successfully held a number of major international and domestic sporting events.

Chengdu
is committed to becoming a ‘world-known sports city’ and has
successfully bid for the 2021 Summer Universidad, the 2022 World Table
Tennis Team Championship and the 2023 Asian Cup Football Match,” Zhao
Jun, the spokesperson of Sichuan provincial sports bureau, said in an
interview with Xinhua.

The national strategy creating a
Chengdu-Chongqing economic zone has brought great development
opportunities for us, and cooperation in various fields has been carried
out rapidly, ns sports is no exception, Zhao continues. 

“The
joint bid for the Olympic Games is also part of the work plan and
long-term goal, and we are actively planning with Chongqing,” Zhao said.

Chongqing’s sports bureau said they are still verifying information with their Sichuan counterparts.