news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

Food, supper, beer, market...Since the beginning of summer, many food festivals focusing on summer cooling and night economy have been launched in Beijing, which has rapidly heated up the summer atmosphere in Beijing. On July 19, the Beijing News reporter learned from the Beijing Cooking Association and several well-known catering companies that activities including "2024 Beijing International Food Festival·The Second Silk Road Food Culture Festival", "2024 Beijing International Food Festival·Guijie Night Festival", "New Workers' Stadium Must-eat Carnival", "33rd Beijing International Yanjing Beer Culture Festival" and other activities have been launched one after another, and the activity of Beijing's summer catering market will be further enhanced. At the same time, the passenger flow of many catering companies has increased year-on-year, and the supper time period has been significantly extended.

Multiple food festivals are launched, and the atmosphere is getting hotter

On July 5, the 2024 Beijing International Food Festival Guijie Night Festival kicked off. Nighttime catering consumption activities in 22 catering gathering areas, including Chaoyang Heshenghui, Haidian CapitaLand Jingpin Shopping Center, Tongzhou East Moon River Art Town, Shunyi COFCO Xiangyun Town, Changping Chaoji Heshenghui, and Economic Development Zone Yihuayuan, have also been launched one after another, making Beijing's night economy hot and the "fireworks" of catering nightlife more intense. Zhang Shengtao, operations director of Beijing Hu Da Restaurant, told the Beijing News that since the opening of the Night Festival, Hu Da's average daily passenger flow has exceeded 6,660, an increase of 8.7% over last year. The average daily turnover rate of Hu Da's head office reached 720%, with more than 1,600 people queuing up for numbers every day, and the average daily sales of the signature crayfish exceeded 7,200 kilograms.

On July 12, Chaoyang District's "New Workers' Stadium Must-Eat Carnival" officially opened. The 6,000-square-meter nightlife scene "moved" many high-quality food merchants such as the "Must-Eat List" and "Black Pearl" to New Workers' Stadium. 22 restaurants on Dianping's "Must-Eat List" over the years brought their own signature food to consumers. According to statistics from the relevant person in charge of Beiping Three Brothers Shabu-Shabu, an average of more than 400 skewers are sold every night. In addition to a one-stop collection of "Must-Eat List" restaurants, the event also launched the "Black Pearl Tidal Food Market", M Chao Experience Store, Guoan Flash, Ice Festival and other content, allowing consumers to experience the trendy and interesting Beijing nightlife while tasting food.

The 33rd Beijing International Yanjing Beer Culture Festival, which will last until July 21, will join hands with 282 Yanjing Beer Gardens across the country to integrate beer with camping, light and shadow, sports, music, food and entertainment. In addition to the fresh beer, draft beer, dark beer and other products presented at previous beer festivals, the Yanjing original brew "Little Black Gold" that appeared at this beer festival, as well as the four fruit juice beers developed to suit the taste preferences of young people, such as Mango Sweet Ale, Orange Juice Milkshake IPA, Rose Grape Wheat, and Lime Oil Orange Wheat, have become hot-selling "explosive items". This year, the food stalls on site have also created a "new height" that exceeds previous years: in addition to Beijing time-honored brands such as Donglaishun and Tianfuhao, exotic flavors such as German sausages and Indian curry, Hubei crayfish, Harbin barbecue and many specialty food companies from Gansu have also joined the "food camp" of the beer festival, allowing consumers to realize a "food journey without leaving Beijing". According to statistics from the Gansu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, on the opening day of the beer festival alone, sales of delicacies such as Tianshui Malatang and Tianemingzi milk tea from eight catering companies in Gansu exceeded 9,000 yuan, and sales of cultural and creative products such as "Dunhuang Auspicious Beasts" and Qingyang Sachets exceeded 10,000 yuan.

The 33rd Beijing International Yanjing Beer Culture Festival combines beer with camping, light and shadow, sports, music, food and entertainment. Photo provided by the interviewee

Restaurants extend business hours to boost night economy

The Beijing News reporter also learned that many catering stores in Beijing have also made special preparations for the summer economy and adjusted their business hours according to the characteristics of the summer vacation. For example, in addition to the 24-hour operation of the main store of Hu Da Restaurant, the business hours of other branches have also been extended. The store adopts time limit and diversion to reduce the waiting time for consumers to queue up in the store. Free drinks, Old Beijing popsicles, and snacks are always available in the queuing area. In addition, for customers who queue for more than 1 hour, the store will give benefits to customers through lottery and other means. The relevant person in charge of Chef Fei's Chili Fried Pork said that after the arrival of the summer vacation, the waiting time for each store has increased significantly. In order to alleviate the pressure of customers queuing, Chef Fei's more than 100 stores across the country have been open all day, and the business hours are from 11 am to 9 pm.

On July 15, the National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that in June, the national catering revenue was 460.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%. From January to June this year, the national catering revenue was 2624.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%. According to the latest data released by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, in the first half of 2024, catering revenue accounted for 10.04% of the city's total retail sales of consumer goods, and the market consumption continued to recover. The China Cuisine Association stated that catering companies have actively responded to market changes and innovated business models, which has promoted the stable recovery of market consumption. At present, the summer vacation has begun, and the number of cross-city trips such as parent-child tours, summer vacation tours, and study tours has rebounded significantly, which will significantly drive the growth of catering consumption in various places. The China Cuisine Association recommends that catering companies should not only actively understand policy trends and make full use of national policies to benefit enterprises, but also continue to innovate and launch summer special dishes in a timely manner to attract more consumers.

Beijing News reporter Wang Ping

Editor: Wang Lin

Proofread by Yang Li