100-Year-Old Traditional Beijing Restaurant Demolished to Make Way for Subway Station

Beijing's eradication of its own history continued Friday, May 25 as a well-known century-old local restaurant was knocked down to make way for a new subway station.

Called an "illegal structure" by municipal authorities, the Donglaishun Restaurant was demolished just a week after it closed its doors, ending 105 years of faithfully serving the public.

READ: Top Ten Laozihao: Reinventing Tradition for Modern Beijing

As one of the city's "time-honored brands" (laozihao), Donglaishun had the distinction of being Beijing's oldest restaurant that served Hui minority cuisine. The restaurant had garnered a reputation for its Mongolian-style mutton hot pot that featured shuan yangrou: thinly-sliced mutton in charcoal-fired copper pots full of bubbling broth. 

Over its tenure as one of Beijing's guardians of traditional cuisine, Donglaishun received some 3,200 reviews praising it for its good food and fast service on Dianping and even continued to receive five-star ratings as recently as the beginning of May.

READ: Beijing's Dying Traditions: City's Oldest Dry Foodstuff Store to Close After 61 Years

However, under the joint efforts of some ten municipal authorities, the original 900 square-meter Donglaishun restaurant (which has other branches in the city) will be demolished to create the future Beijing Metro Line 19 Niujie Station. Located at the intersection of Guang'anmen Nei Boulevard and Changchun Street, the new subway station sits to the west of Caishikou Station on Line 4 and to the east of Beijing West Railway Station. With over 300 kilometers of subway tunnels under construction, the Beijing Metro is expected to surpass that of Shanghai, currently the largest subway system in China.

As much as this is a blow to Beijing's local traditions, the demolition of Donglaishun is just the first of many restaurants with historical value to be targeted by the new subway station.

With its reputation long-established, Donglaishun began attracting many neighboring restaurants that helped Niu Street become locally-known for its restaurants offering traditional Beijing cuisine.

READ: Historic Quanjude Restaurant in Qianmen Under Investigation for Illegal Building

Unfortunately, their fame won't help them now; plans for the new Niujie Station call for a 1,000 square meter green space and a 600-capacity parking garage, all but ensuring that Niejie institutions like the 72-year-old Qubaoyuan restaurant will be shuttered and torn down.

Laozihao is a prestigious distinction conferred by local authorities and is restricted to profitable businesses created before 1956 that provide products with unique characteristics. Although this seal of approval mostly translates into better sales, it doesn't ensure protection from Beijing's ongoing urban rejuvenation campaign.

Three laozihao restaurants in Houhai that were demolished last year were deemed to be "illegal structures" by authorities, just as Donglaishun had been. 

READ: Final Stop on the Great Brickening Shows Beijing Hutongs Have Become Sterile, Tepid Alleys

Besides knocking down historical buildings like a Qing Dynasty-era train station, the urban rejuvenation has demolished hundreds of buildings, wrecked famous expat haunts, shut down all inner city wholesale markets, and visibly transformed its hutong neighborhoods with numerous F&B closures. 

Meanwhile, Beijing is replacing its aged structures with new buildings and streets designed to resemble ancient Chinese architecture, both in Fuchengmen and the capital's amusement parks.

More stories from this author here.

E-Mail: charlesliu1 (at) qq (dot) com
Twitter: @Sinopath

Images: BJ News