TIANJIN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Ice Cream China 2018, Asia's biggest ice cream gala, opened Thursday in north China's port city of Tianjin, attracting over 380 companies from 42 countries and regions.

The exhibition, held since 1998, has become a platform for foreign ice cream companies to break into the Chinese market, as Chinese consumers have shown an ever-increasing interest for the sweet treat.

With over 1,000 booths covering 40,000 square meters, this exhibition showcases a wide range of products and service related to the ice cream industry, including finished brand products, raw materials, machinery and cold chain packaging, said Zhang Xiaohong, director of the China Association of Bakery & Confectionery Industry and head of the organizing committee of the exhibition.

Over 140 foreign firms participated in the exhibition, which set a new record, said Zhang.

Tommaso Battaglia with the Italian ice cream company Pregel said it was the first time that the company attended the exhibition. They brought the company's featured products, hoping to explore the China market.

Konstantin Dotsenko, sales manager of the Kazakhstan firm Bahroma, said his company sticks to the traditional Kazakhstan dairy production technique for making ice cream. The company's products have been sold in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

"Before attending the exhibition, we had studied the ice cream market in a number of Chinese cities including Tianjin, Jinan, Hong Kong and Shanghai. We plan to promote the company's brand in the East China region," said Dotsenko.