Urban culture is the foundation and lifeblood of a city’s sustainable development. A city’s brand is often rooted in its culture, showcasing and then reviving the urban culture. Characteristic and traditional food, as an element that can quickly bring urban culture and its stakeholders closer, may be able to reconcile conflicts in the development of urban culture and city brands. Taking Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China as a case site, this study for th e first time takes food experience as an intermediary variable to construct a structural equation model to empirically examine the influence mechanism of urban cultural cognition on city brand. Research results show that food experience plays a partial intermediary role in urban cultural cognition and city brand identity. This study supplements the research on urban cultural perception and city brand perception and provides suggestions for the revival of urban historical culture and sustainable urban branding practices through characteristic and traditional food.
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