On June 30th, the passionate launch of the "2023 Beijing Consumer Season - Gui Jie Ever-Bright Food Festival" marked the beginning of a series of online promotions by nearly 70 key brand merchants in Gui Street. From now until August 31st, as part of the upgraded version 3.0 of Beijing's night economy policy, Gui Street has become one of the 24 "integrated consumer destinations" in Beijing. The annual "Gui Jie Ever-Bright Food Festival" will provide citizens with a unique nighttime consumption experience.
As the night deepens, Gui Street becomes more bustling with red lanterns, guide signs, and iconic lights featuring crayfish and other delicacies, adding vibrancy to this culinary landmark. Looking back on Gui Street's 30-year development, classic dishes such as spicy crayfish, mouth-watering frog legs, spicy beef tendon, grilled fish, Peking roast duck, hot pot with copper pot, and Daoxiangcun Beijing-style dim sum have inherited the culinary culture of Gui Street. These dishes have come together to form the "12 Flavors of Gui Street", embodying the gastronomic delights cherished by many food enthusiasts.
Among the "12 Flavors of Gui Street", the most famous is undoubtedly the spicy crayfish. At 8 p.m., in front of the flagship store of the renowned restaurant Hu Da Fan Guan, customers are once again queuing up for a table. "This restaurant's reputation precedes it, the queue is extraordinary", said Mr. Wang, who came to Beijing with his family specifically to visit here. "They say it's the liveliest place in Beijing at night."
Chasing after food for social media check-ins has become a new way of life for modern people. Established restaurants like Hu Da Fan Guan and Hua Jia Yi Yuan, which have been operating on Gui Street for many years, have become characteristic eateries with strong regional cultural and landmark attributes. As one of the earliest food streets in Beijing, Gui Street has a strong imprint of its time and regional characteristics. Over the past 30 years, it has nurtured over a hundred restaurant brands and popularized night snacks such as "spicy crayfish" and "mouth-watering frog legs", gradually forming the Gui Street IP and distinctive nighttime culinary culture.
During the ongoing Ever-Bright Festival, nearly 70 key brand merchants in Gui Street, including the "12 Flavors of Gui Street", will collaborate with Meituan to launch online promotional activities, utilizing digitalization to empower consumer spaces. During this period, consumers can log in to the Meituan app daily to receive discounts and subsidies on top of discounted meal packages, enjoying tangible consumer benefits.
With the distribution of summer consumption vouchers, Beijing will once again enter the hottest period for night economy. On that evening, the Beijing Cuisine Association and Gui Street Chamber of Commerce also issued the initiative "Summer Dining Fireworks, Activating the Capital's Night Economy - Capital Catering Industry Boosts Summer Night Economy". The initiative encourages catering operators to explore new paths for year-round dining night economy with different seasons, contents, and themes, enabling the catering night economy to become a space for consumers to enjoy a better life and create memorable experiences.
Translator: TANG Yingqi
Reviewer: BAO Minmin
