Relive the Cultural Revolution (aka The Weirdest Dinner Theater in Beijing) – AsiaObscura
▻http://asiaobscura.com/2011/06/the-weirdest-dinner-theater-in-beijing.html
A beijing la commémoration culinaire de la révolution culturelle remplit les portefeuilles d’entrepreneurs du spectacle.
Red Restaurant, in the east of Beijing, is an opportunity to relive the passion and pain of China from the late 50s through the late 70s. It’s the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, all rolled into one grand meal. The chance to experience the beating of teachers and parents, the melting of pots and pans, the years of starvation, decade of torture, and the tearing down of anything old. And get dessert, too.
Who would go to a place like this? Reverb and E.T. did. They’re a married couple in their 30s, friends of ours from Shandong Province who now work in Beijing.
“Some people remember those years fondly,” said Reverb. “Our mothers had a very nice time during the cultural revolution. They traveled all over the country because the trains were free to ride. They walked to Beijing to see Chairman Mao. It took a month to get there. All the people would walk arm in arm down the street, singing revolutionary songs, and E.T.’s mom even saw Chairman Mao. They are happy when they remember these times.”
The menu, doused in Chinglish, was filled with dish names like, “The peasant family is happy” (root vegetables and a few bread rolls) and “Recalls past suffering the food” (grain with sand in it, to remember the hard life).
