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Beijing's service sector goes for the gold

By Liu Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-20 11:35

Dongzhimennei Street, better known as Guijie, offers some 200 different restaurants with various styles of food. [China Daily]

To reach Liqun, you walk into a broken-down alley, turn right, pass a public toilet, turn left under a string of red lanterns, and walk straight until you see a sign, a duck in black ink painted by Zhang himself.

The restaurant itself is ancient, small, and rather cramped. The ducks are roasted over fires using fragrant apple wood within view of the diners, usually more foreign than local.

Business is so good that Zhang suggests guests book in advance; otherwise, they may face a wait of 30-60 minutes during busy periods.

"President Bush was supposed to visit my restaurant when he was in Beijing the year before last," said Zhang. "We had everything prepared. But unfortunately his limousine was too big to fit down the narrow hutong, and they decided it was too risky for him to walk."

On another occasion, former vice-president Al Gore made it to the restaurant unscathed, Zhang said.

"I know what they (foreigners) like and what they need. Serving them has become a pleasure to me," he added.

If a hutong experience is not your thing, the most reliable alternative is the roast duck at Made in China, a modern restaurant within the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

Like any other metropolis, Beijing has attracted people from all over the world and has developed restaurants to match. The breadth and depth of the selection would be amazing to a veteran of the early 1980s, when foreigners dined at the Beijing Hotel and a few other formal dining rooms.

In addition to restaurants, there are now entire districts devoted to bars, cafes, and tea houses. Sanlitun, near the foreign embassies, and Houhai (Rear Lake), along both sides of the serpentine lake north of the Forbidden City, are the best known.

However, the local Chinese often opt for more mundane streets, such as Dongzhimennei Street. Best known as Guijie, it offers some 200 eateries with various styles of foods from across the country.

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