A new coffee shop opened last week inside the Palace Museum,
located exactly at the same place where a controversial Starbucks
coffee shop had situated for seven years.
With wooden tables, wooden chairs and pictures featuring Chinese
culture, the "Forbidden City Cafe" serves not only coffee, but also
traditional Chinese beverage such as tea.
"Different from the Starbucks coffee shop, the Palace Museum is
the managerial authority of the cafe," Beijing Daily
quoted Li Wenru, deputy curator of the Forbidden City, as
saying.
In a separate interview with the Beijing Youth Daily,
the deputy curator emphasized that the "Forbidden City Cafe" is
only part of a store which mainly sells souvenirs to tourists.
"We want to provide tourists with a package of products relating
to imperial palace and Chinese culture," Li said.
In 2000, the Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. opened its outlet in
the Palace Museum, the former imperial palace, at the heart of
Beijing.
The outlet, however, closed its door in July this year after
facing years of opposition as some Chinese think the American
coffee shop poses a challenge to traditional Chinese culture.
(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2007)