Quanjude (, ) is a

Chinese restaurant A Chinese restaurant is an establishment that serves a Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese style, due to the history of the Chinese diaspora and adapted to local taste preferences, as in the American Chinese cuisine and Canad ...

known for its

Peking roast duck Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the d ...

and its longstanding culinary heritage since its establishment in 1864 in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China.

Company profile and branches

The restaurant chain sells over 2 million roast ducks served in 400 different styles to over 5 million customers annually. After a merger in 2004 with Beijing New Yansha Group, Quanjude is now a part of the

Beijing Tourism Group The Beijing Tourism Group (BTG; ) is a Chinese state-owned enterprise operating in various areas of tourism, including travel agencies, dining, hotels, shopping and entertainment. It is headquartered in Beijing Municipal Administrative Center in ...

In China

There are 50 affiliates across China. The first directly run flagship store opened in Changchun, Jilin Province in January 2007.

Beijing

Quanjude has eight direct branches in Beijing. The original location operates in

Qianmen Qianmen () is the colloquial name for Zhengyangmen (; Manchu:; Möllendorff:tob šun-i duka, literally meaning "Gate of the Zenith Sun"), a gate in Beijing's historic city wall. The gate is situated to the south of Tiananmen Square and once guar ...

with several other branches in other locations in Beijing. There is a seven-story restaurant on Hepingmen Ave., a location hand-picked by former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. Serving up to 5,000 meals a day, this restaurant covers a floor area of 15,000 square meters with over forty private dining rooms and can simultaneously seat 2,000 guests. Having established a history and affiliation with the Government of the People's Republic of China, Chinese government at the municipal and central state level, Quanjude has often been used to hold state banquets and to receive celebrities, dignitaries, and important government figures from over 200 countries as distinguished VIP guests.

Hong Kong

There is one Quanjude branch in Hong Kong, in Tsim Sha Tsui, where it is known as "Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant (全聚德烤鴨店)".

Outside China

In 2017, the first branch outside of China and Taiwan opened in Melbourne, Australia. Since then another has opened in Sydney in 2018. QJD also has a restaurant in Toronto, Canada and Lisbon, Portugal. The chain also has three restaurants in Tokyo, Japan.

History

Quanjude was established in 1864 during the Qing Dynasty, Qing dynasty under the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor. Although Peking duck can trace its history many centuries back, Quanjude's heritage of roast duck preparation – using open ovens and non-smoky hardwood fuel such as Jujube, Chinese date, peach, or pear to add a subtle fruity flavor with a golden crisp to the skin – was originally reserved for the imperial families. The first Quanjude manager, Yang Renquan, who started out selling chicken and ducks, paid a retired chef from the palace for the imperial recipe. Soon after, Quanjude began to serve roast duck from the imperial kitchen to the common masses. Yang Renquan opened his first, small Dejuquan (德聚全, the three characters being reversed from the current name) inside Yangrou Hutong in

(前門), which at the time was one of the busiest areas in Beijing. His restaurant became an instant success and has since grown into the current branch in Qianmen that employs over 400 staff members and can occupy 900 guests at one time. The Qianmen restaurant, along with the many other Quanjude branches, together form one of the largest food enterprises in the nation. On 19 August 1966, Red Guards from 2nd, 25th and 63rd Middle Schools raided the restaurant, smashing the original antique restaurant sign and replacing with a modern one reading "Beijing Roast Duck Restaurant" as part of the Cultural Revolution's "Smash the Four Olds" campaign. The name was changed back to Quanjude on February 9, 1980.Ntdtv.com
【歷史今天】“全聚德”烤鴨店恢復老字號
2010-02-10. Accessed 2018-05-11.

References

External links

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"Beijing this Month" article on Quanjude

{{Dongcheng District, Beijing Restaurants in Beijing 1864 establishments in China Companies based in Beijing Restaurants established in 1864 Dongcheng District, Beijing 19th century in Beijing