|
BIZCHINA> 30 Years of Reforms
![]() |
|
Related
Beijing's service sector goes for the gold
By Liu Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-20 11:35
If the Olympics are a time for medals, many people earned theirs before the Games began. These Olympians are the service providers, especially the entrepreneurs, who have changed Beijing from a city where consumers often had only one option into a city of virtually endless choices. And they have done this in less than 30 years. For foreigners, Beijing in the 1970s was a hardship post. Here was the capital city of a nation of more than 1 billion people with one restaurant serving Peking duck, one department store for foreigners, and at most three hotels for international tourists. This summer, Beijing welcomes an estimated 450,000 overseas tourists, including 40,000 athletes, coaches, officials, and journalists. They are expected to spend some $4.5 billion. They find a city transformed. Beijing today offers not only superb facilities but also excellent service for visitors, whether they seek dining, shopping, or accommodations. Dining Once a culinary wasteland, Beijing today offers visitors a selection of restaurants, large and small, to meet every taste.
Beijing's best-known delicacy is roast duck, sometimes called Peking Duck. The place to get it used to be Quanjude, a State-owned restaurant chain. But thanks to competition, diners in search of duck can now choose from a string of new establishments, including Dadong, Liqun, Duck King, and Jiuhuashan. Dadong takes its name from Dong Zhenxiang, a former Quanjude chef who opened his own roast duck restaurant in the 1990s. Diners enjoy its artistic decor and the distinctive pancakes in which the slices of duck are wrapped. Dadong has exquisite service and is relatively expensive, making it a good choice for business entertaining, according to connoisseurs. Quanjude itself has improved greatly in preparation for the Olympic Games, according to the company. However, more and more foreigners are seeking out Liqun, a small roast duck restaurant in a hutong (lane) about 30 minutes walk from the southeast corner of Tian'anmen Square. The name of the restaurant means "benefiting the public", but is also the given name of the owner, Zhang Liqun. The restaurant has been written up by the travel guide Lonely Planet, but its prices are still reasonable - the standard Peking duck dinner (duck, pancakes, scallions, and duck soup) costs an average of 60 yuan per person, compared with between 100 and 130 yuan per person at Dadong or nearly 150 yuan at Quanjude, according to the popular dining restaurant website, http://Beijing.fantong.com. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
|
江安县| 广安市| 洛阳市| 玉环县| 福贡县| 扶余县| 嘉义市| 微山县| 通渭县| 湛江市| 泰州市| 汽车| 玉山县| 松潘县| 临夏县| 晋中市| 绥中县| 延寿县| 平阳县| 常熟市| 时尚| 南华县| 镇雄县| 上林县| 屯留县| 儋州市| 衡阳县| 周宁县| 兰坪| 开阳县| 天长市| 任丘市| 垦利县| 绥江县| 庆城县| 察哈| 广南县| 潮州市| 梁山县| 土默特左旗| 万山特区|